Welcome to Changjiang: the Attraction of China’s Kapok Town Extends across Seasons

The 2021-2022 golden tourism season of Changjiang Li Autonomous County is in full swing and will conclude at the end of March. The tourism season consists of a series of tourism and cultural activities themed “climbing mountains in winter and appreciating flowers in spring”.

Changjiang County is located in the west of China’s Hainan Free Trade Port and is known as “China’s Kapok town”. It has become a popular springtime destination on Hainan Island for its gorgeous Kapok. Also, Changjiang County has recently been awarded the title of “Hainan Forest City”, according to The Convergent Media Center of Changjiang County.

In Changjiang, visitors can appreciating the kapok flowers next to the Changhua River and visiting the Bawangling Forest are musts, as well as mountain climbing at the Nature Reserve. The series of attractions has become a signature experience for those traveling in Changjiang in winter and spring.

Every Year from February to March, the picturesque scenery of mountains and kapok woods along the Changhua River form what’s called “The Ten-Mile Natural Gallery”. The Changhua River banks are transformed by a gorgeous kapok red. The well-known Bawangling Forest Nature Reserve also adds brilliance to the Changjiang scenery. Here, visitors can not only climb cliffs, trek in jungles, trace the river’s source and explore caves, but also appreciate the Hainan gibbon, rarer even than the giant panda. Even 40 years ago, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it was rated as “critically endangered”, and is thus nationally protected. Meanwhile, the beauty of Changjiang is further reflected in its Blue Coastline, natural bathing beach, diverse sea-erosion landforms, and special rock landscapes.

In addition to the unique beautiful natural scenery, Changjiang also boasts the rich customs of Li villages. The Hongshui Village of Wangxia Town is a Li ethnic group village which still retains the ancient boat house, known as the “living fossil of Li culture”. Its inhabitants weave Li brocades and make Li pottery, both of which belong to the national intangible cultural heritage.

Li villages lay among the mountains and waters. Changjiang offers pure beauty, as always. In recent years, relying on its abundant natural attractions and cultural resources, Changjiang has created a full-region, all-season tourism brand of “appreciating kapok flowers in spring, enjoying mango fragrance in summer, visiting Chess Bay in autumn, and climbing Bawangling mountains in winter”, a slogan drawing more tourists to visit and explore Changjiang.

Source: The Convergent Media Center of Changjiang Li Autonomous County