Dongfang

Dongfang (东方, Dōngfāng) is a city on the west coast of Hainan Island in southern China.

Understand

Dongfang is a county-level city with jurisdiction over 8 towns and 2 townships. The largest urban center is the coastal town of Basuo, which is home to about 40% of the population.

Get in

By train

• 1 Dongfang Railway Station (东方站), Jiefang Road East, Basuo (八所镇解放东路) (bus nos. 2, 5, 9, 15, 16, 18 and 19). Trains are available to all destinations on Hainan's high-speed rail network, including the airports in Haikou and Sanya. You can also catch a train to Guangzhou and a number of other cities on the mainland, including Beijing. Mainland-bound trains are loaded onto ferries in Haikou and placed back onto the tracks when they reach the mainland port of Xuwen. (updated Jan 2021)

By bus

• 2 Dongfang Bus Station (东方汽车站, 八所汽车站 Basuo Bus Station), Jiefang Road East, Basuo (八所镇解放东路) (about 1.5 km west of the railway station), ☏ +86 898 25523778. Bus services are available to Haikou, Sanya, Danzhou and most major towns on the west side of the island, but if you're going to somewhere on the east coast such as Lingshui or Wanning, you will have to change buses somewhere or else take the train. (updated Jan 2021)

Get around

A public bus service operates in Basuo. The fare is usually one yuan for short trips within the urban area. Taxis are also available.

The Dongfang Bus Station in Basuo has bus services to all the smaller towns in Dongfang, but places in rural Dongfang are generally best reached by car.

See

Basuo

• 1 Beili Village (北黎村) (the village is in Basuo's northern outskirts; take bus no. 3 to the final stop, then walk a few hundred meters north). Founded around 2000 years ago, during the Han Dynasty, Beili Village was originally known as Changxing Village. By the Ming Dynasty, the village had become quite prosperous thanks due to its location on the Beili River. Gradually, however, the river became silted up and Beili's usefulness as a port began to decline. The final blow to the village economy came during the Second World War, when the invading Japanese army occupied the village and built a rival port at Basuo. After the war, the village struggled to recover and today it remains a shadow of its former self. Many of the old buildings have been abandoned and the ones that are still occupied are in a poor state of repair. Nonetheless, a walk down the village streets offers visitors an interesting glimpse into the past. The most notable building is the Yan Family Residence (颜氏民居). This was the main building used by the Japanese army and it was briefly used as a local government office after the war. Free. (updated Jan 2022)

Monument to labourers who died in Basuo during the Japanese occupation of Hainan

• 2 Burial site of laborers killed in Basuo during the Japanese occupation of Hainan (日军侵琼八所死难劳工遗址), Intersection of Bianmao Road and Bianmao Yi Heng Road (边贸路与边贸一横路交汇) (near the Dongfang Bureau of Meteorology (东方气象局); about 1 km east of the Yulinzhou Scenic Area). During their occupation of Hainan, the Japanese army used forced labor to complete several infrastructure projects on the island, most notably the Daguang Dam in eastern Dongfang, the Shilu Iron Ore Mine in Changjiang County and the railway line connecting the mine to the ports in Basuo and Sanya. At first the Japanese mainly relied on Chinese labor but later they began importing POWs that they had captured in Southeast Asia, including POWs who originally hailed from Australia, Canada, Britain and other allied countries. Conditions for the laborers were extremely brutal. Only 6000 of the more than 30,000 laborers survived. Many of the dead are buried here at this site. In 2013, the old prison buildings from the Basuo POW Camp Site were controversially moved here from their original location about 500 meters away. Free. (updated Jan 2021)
• 3 Hainan Railway Museum (海南铁路博物馆), Binhai Road South (滨海南路) (the nearest bus stop is the Honghao Hotel (宏豪宾馆), which is served by bus nos. 2, 3, 5 and 19). A museum about the history of railways on Hainan Island. Hainan's first railway line was built by the Japanese army in the 1940s using forced labour. The museum's main exhibition hall was originally a Japanese military command center and was later converted into an office for the Hainan Railway Company. Free. (updated Jan 2021)
• 4 Yulinzhou Scenic Area (鱼鳞洲风景区), Jiefang Road West (解放西路) (bus nos. 1, 9, 17 and 18; take bus nos. 9 or 18 if coming from Dongfang Railway Station). A small scenic area on the coast near Basuo Port. The main feature is a large rock with a lighthouse on top. This is probably the most recognizable landmark in Dongfang. Free. (updated Jan 2021)

Rural Dongfang

• 5 Baicha Village (白查村) (60 km southeast of Basuo; probably best visited by car, but if you're feeling adventurous, you can try getting a bus to the nearby township of Jiangbian (江边) and then catching a motorized pedicab from there; bear in mind, however, that there are only one or two buses between Jiangbian and Basuo every day). Considered to be the best-preserved traditional Li minority village in Hainan. The village is comprised entirely of boat-shaped thatched cottages. Many of the original inhabitants no longer live here, however, so today the village is more like an open-air museum than a living village. Free. (updated Jan 2021)
• 6 Exian Ridge (俄贤岭) (about 60 km east of Basuo; best visited by car), ☏ +86 898 25678888. Possibly one of Hainan's best-kept secrets, the park features karst scenery similar to that normally associated with Guilin. Hence it is sometimes referred to informally as Little Guilin (小桂林). As of January 2021, however, the infrastructure at the park is under development and parts of the park are either closed off or subject to intermittent closure. Therefore, if you are considering visiting the park, it's probably best to contact the park management office to get an update on the situation. (updated Jan 2021)
• Gull Force Memorial (海鸥支队纪念碑), Lao'ou Village (老欧村) (14 km south of Basuo; best visited by car). A small memorial dedicated to the Gull Force. a battalion of Australian soldiers who were defeated by the Japanese in the Battle of Ambon in 1942. 263 of the captured soldiers were brought to Hainan to work as laborers. Some of the soldiers managed to escape from the Basuo labor camp with the help of local resistance fighters. Two of them later died from disease and are buried in a grave near the memorial. The exact same memorial plaque can also be found in Darwin, Australia. Free. (updated Jan 2021)

Do

• 1 Hai Dongfang Park (海东方公园), Haijing Road, Basuo (八所镇海景路) (take bus no. 16 from Dongfang Railway Station and get off at the last stop). A beach park with a Ferris wheel and a few other amusement rides. Entry to the park is free. (updated Jan 2021)

Sleep

Most of the hotels in Dongfang that accept foreigners are situated in Basuo. The Jerome Hotel & Resort at Jinyue Bay is an exception.

• 1 Chinese Redbud Hotel (紫荆花大酒店), No. 97 Dongfang Avenue, Basuo (八所镇东方大道97号), ☏ +86 898 25523888. Check-in: 10:00, check-out: 12:00. A 4-star hotel. Room rates start from around ¥300 per night.. (updated Jan 2021)
• 2 Jerome Hotel & Resort (佳源东方索契酒店), No. 1 Yingbin Avenue, Jinyue Bay Coastal Resort Area (金月湾滨海旅游度假区迎宾大道1号) (about 9 km by road from Jinyue Bay Railway Station), ☏ +86 898 38977777. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. Dongfang's only 5-star hotel. Room rates start from around ¥500 per night.. (updated Jan 2021)
• 3 Mango Crystal Hotel (东方芒果水晶酒店), No. 117 North 2nd Ring Road, Basuo (八所镇二环北路117号), ☏ +86 898 25871111. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 13:00. A 3-star hotel. Room rates start from around ¥188 per night.. (updated Jan 2021)