Things to do in Ding'an

No. 1 of Global Traveller-Picked Attractions in Haikou

Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park And Botanical Garden

Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park And Botanical Garden is a wildlife park that offers a panoramic view of the island-type tropical rainforest ecosystem, nestled in the tropical jungle by the shores of Dongshan Lake.The park is divided into two major sections: the driving safari area and the walking safari area, displaying animals in a free-range natural setting that is completely different from the high-walled, iron-caged layout of city zoos. The driving safari area is the core experience here. Visitors drive through the free-range predator zone, where African lions, Siberian tigers, black bears, and other animals roam freely outside the vehicle windows, creating a unique sensation of "people in a cage, animals outside." Self-drive visitors can stop in designated areas to observe the animals up close, and those riding the park's tour bus can equally feel the thrill of predators just inches away. In the walking area, visitors can slow down and explore the panda world, the ligers and tigers exhibit, monkey mountain, and other zones one by one.The park's star animals each have their own highlights. Giant pandas Gonggong and Shunshun came to Hainan from Sichuan in 2018 and are a rare opportunity to see giant pandas up close in a tropical region; their process of adapting to the tropical climate is itself a major attraction. The ligers are also a signature population of the park — the park has accumulated extensive experience in the artificial breeding of ligers and is home to one of the larger liger groups in China. The Hainan Eld's deer, a rare deer species endemic to Hainan, can also be observed up close here. In addition, the park is home to a rich variety of tropical plants, and strolling through it offers a taste of the typical tropical rainforest landscape. Experience The attraction is mainly divided into the driving safari area and the walking safari area. The driving safari area breaks away from the caged-animal layout of high walls and iron bars found in city zoos, with various predators roaming freely in a natural setting. Visitors drive through the driving predator zone, fully experiencing the wondrous sensation of "people in a cage, animals outside."The star animals of the attraction mainly include: the national treasure giant panda, Hainan Eld's deer, Asian elephant, giraffe, African lion, Siberian tiger, liger, white-cheeked gibbon, Asiatic black bear, Père David's deer, macaque, hippopotamus, black swan, flamingo, and others.When visiting, it is recommended to explore the drive-through area first, then move on to the walking area. The drive-through area requires driving your own vehicle or taking the park's sightseeing bus through the entire route, and you can stop in designated areas along the way to observe the animals up close; the walking area is better suited for a leisurely stroll to take in the various rare animals in detail.

No. 1 of Best Things to Do in Ding'an

Wenbifeng

Located in the center of Ding'an County, Hainan Province, it features places of importance to Taoist culture. The founder of Southern-sect Taoism, Bai Yuchan, also one of the five ancestors of the South-sect, once lived in seclusion here. Many Taoist temples, such as Yuchan Pavilion, Temple of the God of Wealth and Wenchang Pavilion are distributed along the mountain. The film "Personal Tailor" was filmed here. Besides Taoist culture, this place is also related to Pangu culture. Legend has it that this peak appeared after Pangu created heaven and earth and was made from the Pangu's giant nose. It absorbed the essence of heaven and earth so it became a lucky place.

Hainan Tropical Bird Park

Hainan Tropical Birds World is located in the Taling Development Zone of Ding'an County in Hainan Province. Today it is one of China's largest bird themed parks. In this kingdom of birds, visitors can watch different species of birds and all kinds of performance of the versatile bird performers. It is not only the world of birds, but also the ocean of flowers. Nearly a thousand varieties of exotic flowers and trees flourish in the park, as well as myriads of trees and shrubs.

No. 1 of Best Things to Do in Mission Hills Haikou Resort

Mission Hills Huayi Brothers Feng Xiaogang Movie Town

Mission Hills Huayi Brothers Feng Xiaogang Movie Town is a unique film-themed tourist destination in China, built with a huge investment by Mission Hills Group in collaboration with Huayi Brothers and renowned director Feng Xiaogang. The attraction includes six independent scenic areas: Jiangcheng Ballad · Youth, Hainan Mission Hills Huayi Brothers Feng Xiaogang Movie Town - Nanyang Tide, Old Beijing, Beautiful Village Shishan Village, and Movie Stars Avenue. Within the various zones that recreate movie scenes, there is also a diverse collection of dining, entertainment, shopping, cinemas, coffee shops, bars, and boutique hotels with different brands and specialties... Unforgettable movie scenes, a rich nostalgic atmosphere, and tourism commercial blocks that transition from day to night make the entire project an integration of architectural tourism, film tourism, and commercial tourism, fully showcasing the charm of Chinese urban districts across different eras over the past century and the evolution of urban district architecture. Jiangcheng Ballad · Fanghua attraction is modeled on the scenes from the films Back to 1942 and Youth, bringing the world on the silver screen within reach. The 1942 attraction is based on the Chongqing streets in the film Back to 1942. Its 93 buildings bring together the typical architectural styles of the four major cities along the Yangtze River—Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chongqing—from the 1920s to the 1940s. Among them, 20 buildings have been fully restored according to old photographs, including the Xishan Bell Tower, Cathay Theatre, and Shanghai Rongguang Grand Theatre. Behind every building lies a story of times gone by, inviting recollection and reflection. Fanghua attractionIt is a film set area specially planned and built for the 2017 New Year film *Youth*, with 80% of the scenes in the film shot here. The attraction features a screen wall, basketball court, rehearsal hall and training room, swimming pool, changing room, prop room, military supply depot, and more. To ensure the scenes accurately recreate the era's background, from design to construction and furnishings, from the red slogans seen everywhere in the attraction to even a single tile in the swimming pool, everything strictly follows the authentic appearance and era characteristics of 1970s China, immersing visitors in the experience. Mission Hills Huayi Brothers Feng Xiaogang Movie Town - Nanyang Tide Scenic Area is situated along a waterfront stretching over 300 m, bringing together 65 Nanyang-style buildings that showcase a blend of Chinese and foreign architectural styles. Among them, the Nanyang architectural cluster, including era-evoking archways, wharves, a clock tower, and small bridges, is full of charm.Nanyang StreetIt fully highlights the "Belt and Road" initiative and Hainan's regional characteristics. It not only authentically recreates Nanyang-style architecture and streets, but also faithfully presents the commercial atmosphere of Nanyang's local life, including martial arts schools, pawnshops, Western-style clothing shops, pharmacies, herbal tea shops, and bakeries. At the same time, the performances allow travelers to experience a multidimensional cultural tourism experience, completely reproducing the grandeur and prosperity of "Nanyang Migration," one of the three major migrations in Chinese history. Dongfanghong attractionIt gathers the essence of architectural clusters that capture the charm of old Beijing, authentically recreating the historical atmosphere of the city from the founding of New China through the 1970s. The towering Bell and Drum Towers, together with ancient Ming and Qing dynasty buildings and the imposing Soviet-style architectural complex, embody a grand, dignified, and concise architectural aesthetic, more faithfully expressing the cultural essence of old Beijing. In particular, the Beijing hutong elements from the film Mr. Six have been incorporated, making the Beijing flavor even more pronounced. Meirenbo attractionBased on the distinctive architectural complex of the stone mountain villages in the Haikou volcanic area, and leveraging the natural volcanic crater, a beautiful Haikou village is created with the lighthouse as its center. The attraction adopts an immersive experience concept, recreating traditional Hainan handicraft scenes such as sugarcane pressing, brown sugar boiling, and Li ethnic brocade weaving as live-action settings. A squirrel mini theater and an animal farm are built for children, and the farmers' market at the exit sells local specialty agricultural products from Haikou, fully engaging visitors' interest and participation. The "bird's nest" from the film If You Are the One 2 has been adapted into a hotel, along with themed inns modeled after volcanic dwellings, aiming to let visitors relive the scenes from the movie and providing them with a highly distinctive stay experience. The Stars' Avenue of Fame is set up on both sides of the tree-lined road at the main entrance of the attraction, consisting of handprints and signatures of top domestic film and television stars and directors. Having fully studied and drawn on the Hollywood and Hong Kong, China Walk of Fame, it uses whole blocks of marble, which are manually cut, carved, and polished to create 1.2-meter-high ArtDeco-style bases, making it convenient for visitors to take photos in front of the handprints of their favorite stars. It presents nearly 200 stars' handprints and signatures, and most of the stars and directors have personally visitedMission Hills Huayi Brothers Feng Xiaogang Movie Town, including top-tier domestic stars and directors such as Feng Xiaogang, Ge You, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Xu Fan, Song Dandan, Yao Chen, Li Bingbing, Liao Fan, Duan Yihong, Tsui Hark, and Guan Hu.

Ding'an Ancient City

Ding'an Ancient City is located in Dingcheng Town, Ding'an County, Hainan Province. It is one of the most well-preserved ancient county seat walls in Hainan and was designated as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2019. The ancient city was first built in the second year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty (1466). After subsequent construction and repairs, it formed a traditional urban layout with the county government office at its core and crisscrossing streets, with a history spanning over 500 years. The existing ruins mainly include parts of the city walls, city gates, and the county government office. The bluestone-paved streets and ancient buildings collectively preserve the spatial characteristics of a traditional county seat. Built along the Nandu River, the ancient city was historically an important area for local politics, commerce, and daily life. The remaining West Gate, North Gate, and other ruins allow visitors to get a direct sense of the layout of an ancient city, while the old streets within the city continue to maintain a simple, authentic atmosphere. The county government office building, after protection and restoration, also presents the basic layout of a county-level government office from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

No. 1 of Best Things to Do in Haikou

Leiqiong Global Geopark

Leiqiong UNESCO Global Geopark is located in Shishan Town, Haikou City. The park has a variety of volcanoes and is a natural geological museum. At the commanding heights of the crater, you can get a breathtaking view of the urban areas of Haikou and the Qiongzhou Strait. In addition to the circular caldera view, you can also walk along the trail to the bottom of the caldera. Not only is it cool, there are also many plants, forming a natural oxygen bar.

Jiuwentang Cold Spring

2026 Asia 50 - Hot Springs Attractions

Mission Hills Haikou's Volcanic Spring Valley

Mission Hills Haikou's Volcanic Spring Valley is a large hot spring experience area themed around volcanic rock mineral springs. The main building draws inspiration from the circular tulou of southern China, extensively using bamboo and volcanic stone as materials to create a rustic and natural atmosphere. A winding bamboo corridor runs through the park, connecting the various steaming spring pools along its path. Strolling along the corridor, visitors can reach the five-continent themed hot spring areas one after another. The hot spring area brings together the hot spring styles and therapeutic traditions of five continents—Asia, Oceania, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East & Africa—with a wide variety of pools. In the Asia area, you can soak in Chinese herbal hot springs such as ginseng springs and angelica springs, as well as Japanese-style specialty pools like cherry blossom springs and sake springs. The Angkor Wat-themed area infuses Indian spices into its springs, and the clove spring is located here. The Oceania area features volcanic rock energy springs and crystal energy springs. The Europe area offers an indoor heated hot spring and a surf pool surrounded by white sand. In the Americas area, you can explore volcanic rock cave hot springs and mud springs. The Middle East & Africa area has exotic pools such as Türkiye-style terraced hot springs and Cleopatra's bath. Each themed area also offers steam rooms in different styles, such as herbal floral and colored-light energy steam rooms, ideal for alternating experiences between soaks. The park is built along the natural contours of the terrain, and each of the five continent areas has its own distinct style—perfect for strolling slowly and experiencing area by area.

Hainan Nanli Lake National Wetland Park

Nanli Lake is located in the south of Ding'an County and is an artificial freshwater lake in northern Hainan. The climate here is pleasant, the water temperature is around 22℃ all year round, the lake water is clear and blue, and it is surrounded by rubber forests. There are various small islands in the lake with rich vegetation, wild flowers competing for beauty, bamboo and trees lush and green, and people who swim in it are intoxicated.

No. 12 of Family-friendly Attractions in Hainan

Hainan Museum

The Hainan Museum is a comprehensive museum in Hainan province, located at 76 Guoxing Avenue, Qiongshan district, Haikou. Opened on November 15, 2008, it is a national first-class museum and a national 4A-level tourist attraction. It has been awarded honors including "national advanced collective in culture and tourism systems" and "national advanced collective in cultural relics systems," and has been selected as a national research and practice education base for primary and secondary school students, as well as one of China's first batch of "great ideological and political courses" practical teaching bases. The exhibitions at Hai Nan museum are structured around the Ming dynasty scholar Qiong Jun's "Ode to the marvelous southern land", showcasing Hainan's local cultural charm through multiple dimensions including geography, resources, history, customs, intangible heritage, and maritime civilization. The museum currently features three permanent exhibitions: "Sailing the southern seas - exhibition of South China Sea maritime civilization", "Beyond borders - exhibition of Hainan history", and "Between mortal and divine - exhibition of Hainan customs", along with two special exhibitions: "Queen of woods - exhibition of Hainan huanghuali" and "King of fragrances - exhibition of Hainan agarwood". These are complemented by a "four-in-one" intangible heritage display system creating a special exhibition on Hainan's intangible cultural heritage. Notably, "The direction of the sea - special exhibition of the Huaguangjiao No. 1 shipwreck" and "Sailing the southern seas - exhibition of South China Sea maritime civilization" won the 10th (2011) and 15th (2017) national top ten museum exhibition awards respectively. In recent years, the "Eternal charm, ageless Su Dongpo - Su Shi-themed cultural relics exhibition" launched by Hai Nan Museum won the 22nd (2024) national top ten museum exhibition awards. The "Like heavenly craftsmanship - technological mysteries in ancient Chinese cultural relics" was selected for the "Reading China in museums - promoting excellent traditional Chinese culture and cultivating socialist core values" themed exhibition project jointly organized by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cyberspace Administration of China. The Hai Nan museum serves as an important window for visitors from home and abroad to comprehensively understand Hainan's natural landscape, ethnic history, and cultural arts, attracting travelers from all directions. The museum will continue actively planning and introducing high-quality exhibitions, deepening domestic and international collaborations, and striving to build Hainan Free Trade Port into a cultural hub for "viewing China and seeing the world".