Hainan Island has a population of around 9.03 million, of which 1.4 million are from 37 different ethnic minority groups, including Li. As a result of historical and cultural influences, each minority still retains many genuine customs and folkways. This is what gives Hainan’s society its unique and diverse character. Li Minority Village is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hainan.
 
Li Villages are scattered around Hainan Island. Many of the dwellings in these traditional villages have thatched roofs and hanging reeds. Visitors to the villages get to see inside the houses and to try traditional Li food and drink.
 
Here is a list of Li villages worth checking out on Hainan island.
 
Baicha Village, Dongfang 东方白查村
 
 
 
The ancient dwellings of the Li ethnic group are grass and mud houses constructed in the shape of inverted boats. This technique of residential architecture was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item in 2008.
 
Baicha Village in Dongfang City is the only place where boat-shaped dwellings remain. Baicha Village features 81 boat houses. The village is one of the best preserved natural villages in Hainan.
 
However, nowadays, the villagers moved to a new locale a kilometer away, leaving the village empty like a film set.
 
Chubao Village, Wuzhishan 五指山初保村
 
 
  
Chubao Village, where the Li minority people have remained faithful to their ancient traditions and customs, lies to the west of Wuzhishan Mountain. Here, village life centers around agriculture, fishing, and weaving, just as it has for countless generations.
 
The land is rich with a subtropical climate and plenty of rainfall. Tropical crops such as coconuts, mangos, bananas, pineapples, coffee, and palm oil produce bountiful harvests.
 
Visitors can see the local farming life and traditional architecture of the Li people here. The houses display an interesting architectural style and resemble overturned boats.
 
Hongshui Village, Changjiang 昌江洪水村
 
 
For visitors to Changjiang, a county in northwestern Hainan Province, perhaps the biggest must-see attraction there is the Hongshui Village of Wangxia Township, where the Li people used to live.
 
Surrounded by mountains, lush forests and rivers, Wangxia Township is known as "Hainan’s Little Tibet." Hongshui village is right in a green bowl of rice paddies and coconut palms in Wangxia Township.
 
The Li people were the earliest inhabitants on the island. To preserve the traditional housing style of the Li Minority, most of the villagers have been moved to nearby places and these thatched-roof houses still keep their original style. Hongshui has the most traditional mud houses of the Li minority on all of Hainan Island.
 
Shihan Village, Qiongzhong 琼中什寒村
 
 
Shihan Village is located in Hongmao Town, Qiongzhong.
 
"Shihan" is another way to refer to the Li people. "Shi” (什) means "farmland" in the Li people’s terms, and "Han” (寒) means "cool.” So this village’s name means "cool farmland" in the Li people’s terms.
 
The village was once isolated, remote and poor. Now Shihan Village is becoming an Ecotourism Ethnic Village.
 
The village helps visitors forget their workaday lives with its simple and honest villagers and graceful scenery.
 

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SOURCE: WOS Team