Hainan Museum — the island under one roof
| English name | Hainan Museum |
| Chinese | 海南省博物馆 copyHǎinán Shěng Bówùguǎn |
| Destination | 海南省博物馆 copyHainan Museum — as Didi destination |
| Best time | Afternoons, Tuesday to Sunday · last entry 16:30 |
| Bus | Several city buses run along Guoxing Avenue — check in Amap. |
| Didi | From the old town about 15–20 minutes, from the InterContinental on Haidian Island about 20 minutes. |
| Live route | |
| Admission | Free, entry with passport |
| Tickets | Book on Trip.com ↗Affiliate link* |
| Open | Tue–Sun 09:00–17:00, closed Mondays |
| Collection | more than 26,000 objects |
| Duration | 2–3 hours |
The island's provincial museum
The Hainan Museum is the provincial museum and stands on Guoxing Avenue, the city's big cultural district, next to the provincial library and theatre. Founded in 1984, it moved into its present new building in 2008, which was extended with a second section in 2018. According to Chinese sources it was the last provincial museum to open in the People's Republic — Hainan is, after all, the youngest province.
Today, with about 12,000 square metres of exhibition space and more than 26,000 objects, it's the island's most important museum. To see everything you need a good three hours.
The peoples of the island
For travellers the most exciting section is the one on the Li and the Miao. Here you see much of what is only hinted at in Binglanggu: Li brocades in every pattern, bark cloth, jewellery, tools, the boat-shaped houses as models and photos of the tattooed women. The pieces are well preserved and can be viewed in peace — no show schedule and no souvenir shop next door.
There are also sections on the island's history, from the first settlers to the founding of the province in 1988, and on intangible cultural heritage — songs, festivals and crafts you only experience in fragments on the road.
Treasures from the sea
The sea plays a big role here too. The museum helped organise the excavation of the Song wreck Huaguangjiao I, and some of the finds are on show in Haikou: porcelain that lay on the seabed for more than 850 years. If you've visited the museum in Tanmen, this closes the circle.
The collection's best-known piece is a Warring States bronze sword with a gold-inlaid inscription. It isn't always on display, though — best ask at the entrance whether it's currently shown.
Why at the end of the trip
At the start of the trip the museum would have been a flood of names. In Haikou, after three weeks on the island, it's a summary: you stand in front of a display case and think of Xincun, of Tanmen, of the women at the loom. That's exactly why it's in the plan here.
Our impression will follow after the visit — planned for 24.11.2026.