Introduction to Haikou

Hainan Island, 520km (322 miles) SW of Guangzhou, 480km (288 miles) SW of Hong Kong

As the capital of Hainan Island, Haikou, formerly a treaty port in the late 1800s, is the transportation hub and center of all government and commercial services. In recent years, the town has developed into another modern Chinese city with large shops and colorful restaurants, but there's little for the average tourist here. Many take the first bus out to Sanya.

Few guidebooks mention that China's gender imbalance is at its peak here with an astonishing estimated 135 men for every 100 women. In Haikou, renowned through the country for its sex industry, these numbers are boosted even higher by Chinese sex tourists. The area around Wuzhishan Lu is especially intimidating, with almost every shop being a liquor store. Street fights are common and the whole area has a distinct air of malice in the evenings. Everywhere in Hainan, the huge surplus of men sit around idly, usually in restaurants with pink plastic chairs, sipping tea while women run around doing all the work. Truly a feminist's nightmare.