HAIKOU is Hainan's steamy capital, set at the north of the island and separated from Guangdong Province by the 30-kilometre-wide Qiongzhou Channel. Business centre, main port and first stop for newly arrived holiday-makers and hopeful migrants alike, Haikou has all the atmosphere of a modern, typical Southeast Asian city. There's a smattering of French colonial architecture, a few parks and monuments, gleaming new highrises, broad streets choked with traffic and pedestrians, and the all-pervading spirit of wilfully glib commerce. An indication of the ethos driving Haikou is that nobody seems to be a local: officials, businessmen and tourists are all from the mainland, while Li, Miao and Hakka flock from southern Hainan to hawk trinkets, as do the Muslim Hui who run the moneychanging businesses - all drawn by the opportunities that the city represents. Energetic yet soulless, Haikou feels a little more spacious and friendly than the average provincial capital, but, while by no means a bad place to spend a day in transit, nobody would pretend there is much to see or do here. Moving on, if you can resist heading straight to Sanya to work on your tan, spend a couple of days hopping down between the towns along Hainan's east coast . This is the part of Hainan longest under Han dominion, and it's a good way to get the feel of the island.