Dear Steemit Friends:
Today we'll be taking a visit to an island called Hainan which is the southernmost province belonging to China.
The island was made a special economic zone in 1988 by Deng Xiaoping as part of the opening up of China and is now a well known tourist destination drawing tourists from all over Asia.
In our adventure today, we'll be going to Sanya which is one of the 10 major cities of Hainan. Situated on the south coast of the island, the city is renowned for it's all year tropical climate which is a major attraction not only for visitors seeking winter refuge, but also retirees wishing to live in permanent all year round warmth. Because of this, it is sometimes called the Florida of China!
Aside from the exotic natural landscapes and tropical atmosphere, Hainan is also the home to many local customs and traditions because of it's small concentration of Li Zu people.
To celebrate the culture of the Li people, a special theme park has been built to help promote their culture and history.
At the entrance, we have some very interesting statues as well as totems. The tallest one in the middle is of the four face Buddha. Beside it, we have two elephants, and some very colourful totems. The whole theme seems very fitting for the tropical backdrop.
Holding the statue up is this stone statue of two elephants decorated in a local style.
Because this park is built in the middle of a forest, there is a lot of plants and vegetation adding to the already very green background. This is one of the paths leading further into the park.
These are fresh coconuts freshly picked from one of the coconut trees!
As you can see in the map, the park is divided into several areas. Each with their own theme.
The Sanya Songcheng Resort consists of the following mini theme parks : Sanya Romance Park, Sanya Songcheng Color Zoo, Sanya Songcheng Ice World and Sanya Songcheng Water Park. It also has some supporting facilities such as the Yunman Hotel.
If you want to know more about what attractions are in each park, or are unsure of what to do, you can always visit the Tourist Centre and pick up a map.
I think the little ice huts are really cute!
This is the beautifully decorated Lover's Valley. In the picture, you can see a large tree with many red ribbons hanging from it.
To the ethnic minority group of Li, this is their wishing tree. The Li ethnic minority has inhabited this island for many generations. They are known as the minority which encourages the freedom of love. On the 3rd day of the 3rd month of each year, they celebrate their own valentines day, or 'Love Date'.
As part of their celebration, they will attach red ribbons to this tree as a symbol and message of love to their loved ones.
The park uses pseudo-classical Chinese architecture for all it's buildings. In this building, we have the match-maker shrine. According to tradition, the old man at the shrine is the god of love. It is his sole responsibility to match make all the men and women for marriage.
This is a sky censer (furnace for burning incense). It is used by the Li people to show their adoration of life. According to the Li, the sky censer functions as a prayer carrier to the heavens. It is at this place, the Li people would pray for good prosperity and many healthy children.
Next up we'll take a walk through the Romance Park, lovers street to experience the Hainan local folk customs and traditions and see what romance we can really conjure.
According to legend, if you wash your hands with this spring water fountain, then you are due for some extra luck!
When I first walked into this street, I was blown away by how amazing the decorations were. There are so many ribbons draping above us, in all sorts of different colours. It's really beautiful.
The main articles of interest here are local hand made arts and crafts.
Let's have a look and see what interesting objects we find.
These are hand made Ocarina's which are a popular wind instrument played by the Li people. There are so many pretty designs here. If I had to choose one, i'd probably go for the cute lady bird !
This is one of craftswomen making a sand picture in a bottle. I'm curious how they make it. Supposedly, they use the pen to deposit the different colour sands layer by layer.
This store really caught my attention.
Inside, they have many hand made paper cut pictures. Each beautiful in their own way.
This skilled craftsmen is able to cut a side portrait of you, live and on the spot!
With each paper cutting being unique, I just had to get mine done. What do you guys think? Does it look like me?
I'm going to put this in my room.
Some cute phone charms.
There's also quite a nice selection of sweets and snacks.
Take a look at these giant lollipops in all sorts of colours!
Sugar-coated Chinese hawthorn on a stick. Aren't they ridiculously red?
Sugar Paintings
Various date flavoured cakes.
These beautiful lanterns really caught my eye too. It's hard to believe that they're actually made completely out of paper (apart from the light inside. You can actually unfold the lantern entirely and it'll just be a flat piece of paper.
Some lovely examples of brightly coloured perfume soaps, and some pretty flower themed phone cases.
Visitors can have the opportunity to make their own pottery flower vases here.
This is what a post office looks like from the early 20th century. Nowadays, it sells posts cards which you can send directly from here.
These are various kinds of brushes and combs made from cow horns.
These are necklaces made with the shell of coconuts. Inside, there's a real preserved flower.
These are some more perfumed soaps. I almost mistook them for being cakes.. especially that one behind the green bar of soap. Looks delicious!
These are some little crafts made with wires and cables. Pretty intricate designs I must say.
Here's a shop selling some of the traditional clothes of the Li people.
These bracelets are completely embroidered. It must take a long time to do each one.
A musical instrument shop, mostly selling island style instruments. Ukuleles, drums etc.
Actually, the drums are used a lot by the local Hainan people when playing their traditional music.
This is a video I made of one of the songs I really liked. It's got a distinctive local folk style unique to Hainan.
Whilst browsing the street markets, I often saw people wearing these traditional outfits walk by. I wondered to myself whether it was just a local dressing like that on a regular day or something else?
It turns out that from time to time, the locals would put on some surprise music and dance shows!
And that wraps up today's visit to the Hainan theme park for the local Li ethnic minority. It's fascinating seeing how different the local customs are for this small ethnical group. The park was surely a great opportunity to celebrate the rich diversity of Chinese culture, one worth experiencing !
As always, I appreciate your up-vote, follows and comments!
今天我想带大家去海南三亚的主题公园探索，海南对于大多数人来说是一年四季度假的好地方，其实在海南，除了美丽的自然景点，也有很多有趣的人文景点，充满了海边民族的文化。门口是一个非常具有热带风情的雕塑门，它好像藏在了茂密的原始森林中，雕刻着有四面佛，大象还有画着民族特色图腾的人脸柱子，整体的颜色特别鲜艳，吸引我赶紧进去看看。这个大象的石柱很漂亮。走过这片鲜花丛和绿色的树丛。好多刚刚从树上采下的新鲜椰子。地图上可以看到，这个主题公园分为好几部分。有水上世界，冰雪世界，还有彩色动物园。
当然如果你有些疑惑，不知道先去哪里，也可以咨询服务台或者拿一份地图看看。进了门，就看到装饰鲜艳的爱情谷，这个是许愿树，你会发现树上挂了红丝带，而这个文化和黎族有关，自古以来，黎族世世代代都居住在海南岛上。这个民族是一个崇尚自由爱情的民族，每年的3月3号，是他们民族的爱情日。每年这天，他们会在红豆树上挂上对情人的祝福。主题景区是以仿古建筑为主，这个是月老祠，传说里，月亮下的老人是中国的爱神，是掌管男女婚姻的神。这个天香炉，代表了黎族人民对生命的崇拜。他们认为天香炉是向上天传递信息的途径，是祈求多子多福的好地方。接下来大家和我走进爱情街去看一看吧，感受一下海南岛浓郁的民俗风情。用传说中的泉水洗手，会得幸运。这条街装扮得好漂亮，并且在卖海南地道的手工艺品。这是黎族用来吹的乐器陶笛，样式各有不同。手工艺人正在制作瓶子中的沙画艺术，我很好奇里面的图案是怎么做的。突然看到这家店是我很喜欢的。里面摆满了漂亮的手工剪纸。手工艺人可以用简单的红纸现场剪出自己的样子，我觉得很有意思，就立刻请他帮我剪了一下。你们觉得像吗？我想把它摆在我的房间里。
这个漂亮的灯也吸引了我，他们完全是用纸片搭成的，所以非常好携带，折下来就是一张卡片大小的纸，是不是很神奇呢。鲜艳的手工香皂还有鲜花手机壳。藏在花丛中的民族饰品。这里可以让游客亲手体验制作陶泥花瓶。非常有海岛特色的乐器。再配上鼓点，演奏出非常地道的海南音乐，下面是我制作的视频，我很喜欢这首歌，非常有民俗风味的歌曲。在逛街的时候，经常看到穿着民俗服装的人走过，我正在思考。原来是顺着逛街的轨迹，还会不时有穿插惊喜的民族小表演。希望大家喜欢我今天带大家探索的海南岛民俗村主题公园游览，之后还有更多关于海南的有趣故事。