About the City-Haikou
Transportation
Haikou has an extensive urban bus service. Standard fare is 1 yuan, with no bus pass or ticket system in place. Urban minibuses operated prior to 2009, but have since been phased-out. Taxi automobiles and electric motorbikes operate throughout the city. During 2009–2010, petrol-fueled motorbike taxis were banned and seized by police at numerous checkpoints within the city.
During the past few years, Haikou has experienced a substantial increase in cars. Traffic on main streets, once light, is now similar to other major cities, with rush hour problems that have prompted the city to expand several main roads.
Many main roads in the city have a side lane, separated by a median, exclusively for two-wheeled vehicles.
Public bicycle system
At present, 60 bicycles are available for rent at four bicycle service stations within the city through the newly established Haikou Public Bicycle System. A further 1,000 service stations are planned to open by 2013 providing 20,000 bicycles
Airline
Haikou is served by Haikou Meilan International Airport (IATA: HAK, ICAO: ZJHK[1]), which is located 25 km (16 mi) from the city.
In January 2011, Haikou was selected to be the first test site for an experiment allowing private helicopter flight in China.
Rail
A railway links Haikou to the mainland. A ferry service transports the railway cars, along with other motor vehicles across the strait.
The Hainan East Ring Railway links Haikou and Sanya. There are 15 stations in between, either in operation or still under construction. Trains are designed to travel at 250 km/h (155 mph). Travel time from Haikou to Sanya is approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes. The main station in Haikou is Haikou East Railway Station (东环铁路海口东站) located near the southern end of Long Quan Road.
An announcement was made in December 2010, that another high-speed railway will be built along the west coast of Hainan connecting with the Hainan Eastern Ring Railway.
Arts and culture
Several large public buildings now occupy Guoxing Road, the new area for arts and culture. These include the Hainan Provincial Museum, the Hainan Provincial Library, and the Hainan Centre for the Performing Arts. These are all located near to one another on the south side of the road, west of Haikou College of Economics, Haikou campus.
At the west side of Evergreen Park is the Haikou Great Hall of the People, a concert hall, and Hainan Exhibition & Convention Center, a large centre for trade shows and other commercial events. Haikou City Stadium, is the main venue for sports events, and is located at the southeast corner of Evergreen Park.
Nightlife
Haikou has a very active nightlife that continues each evening until dawn. Bars and KTV are patronized until after midnight. Roadside BBQ sites are common throughout the city. These may be part of a daytime restaurant, but are more typically mobile restaurants wheeled out to the roadside. They usually comprise several round tables, plastic patio chairs, and a restaurant setup consisting of a display table for the prepared items and a long metal trough used for barbecueing. Most items for sale are prepared on skewers, with tinfoil bags of shellfish also being served. Patrons drink local beer in large bottles. These businesses operate from around nine pm to five am every night.