"The five peaks stretch like a green hand, holding up half of the sky ." With its main peak standing 1867 meters above sea level, Wuzhi Mountain is the highest in Hainan and is located in the central region of Hainan Island, known as "the roof of Hainan". The eponymously named Wuzhishan City has a forest coverage rate of nearly 90%, and 63% of its area lies within the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park.

The Wuzhishan Area of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park has a total of 6 species national first-class protected wild plant species, 284 species of plant native to Hainan, 345 species of terrestrial vertebrates, 67 species of fish, more than 1,700 species of insects, and nine species of national-level protected wildlife. It is a quintessential rainforest gene pool. 

Shuiman Township, located in the foothills of the northeastern part of Wuzhishan City, is Hainan’s highest township. Many scenic spots in Wuzhishan City can be found around Shuiman, including Wuzhi Mountain, Lidong Cultural Park, Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area, Fingerprint Tea Plantation, Maona Village, and Ya Pai Reservoir.

Maona Village is settled by the Li people and situated entirely in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park. Here, the mountains are green and the water is sweet, and clouds and mist blanket the fields and peaks. Nighttime in Maona is when countless fireflies come out in their thousands, the light from their tails giving a resounding thumbs-up for the village’s pristine ecology.

The Yahu terraces, adjacent to the Yiggeling Nature Reserve, follow the slope of the mountainside. With 1200 acres of terraces integrating perfectly into the surroundings, they are known as "Hainan's most beautiful terraces".

The scenery of Yahu Terraces varies throughout the year. In spring the fields are filled with water diverted through irrigation channels and the terraces glitter like a mirror set between the mountains, playing with light and shadow. In summer, the seedlings planted in the fields come of age, and the terraces shimmer with green. In autumn, when the rice ripens, the golden seedlings dance in the wind and the terraces sparkle with a golden light, shifting in hue as the sun moves across the sky; from afar, they look like sand dunes.

Located in Shuiman Township, Wuzhishan City, the Wuzhishan Lidong Cultural Park is a must-visit attraction during any trip to the area. Lidong Cultural Park is the spiritual home of the Li people and a holy place where they worship their ancestors. Since 2014, every year on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar (known as ‘Sanyuesan’), Li people from across Hainan gather at the Lidong Cultural Park to hold the ceremony of Pao Longkou to pay tribute to their ancestors.

The Hainan Museum of Ethnic Minorities is a full-fat museum mainly focusing on archaeological excavation, collection, research, and display of ethnic and cultural relics of Hainan, with an extensive collection of Li cultural relics. As such, it is bursting with ethnic charm. Here you can learn more about the traditional life of Hainan’s ethnic minorities and observe Hainan culture up close.

The miniature version of the "Li Tourist Village" is a replica of a pre 19th-century Li village, among which are scenes of traditional farming techniques and the famous Li textile techniques, giving visitors the chance to get a sense of what life was like for the ancestors of the Li up close.

A favorable ecosystem provides a good growing environment for locally-sourced ingredients. After a day spent enjoying the beauty of Wuzhishan, why not try these authentic Wuzhishan delicacies?

The Wuzhishan pig is an unimproved small breed of pig found in Wuzhishan. The legs of this small “five-legged” pig (so-called because of its relatively long snout) are diminutive, and it only weighs about a 50 kg even after a year of raising. It usually tills up the ground with its snout in search for food and rarely looks up, hence "five-legged pig". 

Although it is domesticated, it is raised entirely free-range by the Li. It is fed 2 to 3 times a day but is otherwise free to roam around and forage, so its meat is dense, tender, and crisp (when cooked!), and is great either sliced on its own or added to a hotpot.

The Wuzhishan Ant Chicken is a breed of small chickens reared free-range by local ethnic minorities. It feeds on ants, wild insects, and wild herbs. Because of its small size, it is known locally as the "ant chicken". Ant chickens live among the forests on the mountainsides, where they roost in the trees at night, earning them another moniker of “tree-climbing chickens.” After many generations of adaptation, they have gradually evolved into today's small chicken with glossy feathers weighing in at no more than 1 kg. When cooked, its thin skin is delicate, its lean meat tender, and its bones crispy, making it a beloved meat staple among the local population.

Wuzhishan is also very rich in wild herbs. Wuzhishan Piper betel can be found everywhere in the countryside. Its has an acrid flavor and is considered a “warm” herb that disperses the cold, expels dampness, reduces swellings and relieves pain, and can help alleviate abdominal pain, wind-cold cough and other ailments. Locally in Wuzhishan, its leaves are commonly used in dishes such as omelettes, soups, and dry stir-fried meat. Wuzhishan Lei Gong Root is a favourite wild vegetable of the Li people, and is particularly delicious when cooked with fish and shrimp fry caught from the river.

The cuisine of Wuzhishan City is deeply influenced by that of the Li people. Red ant eggs, honey bee pupae, wood worms, and other things that seem inedible to ordinary people are turned into delicious dishes at the hands of the Li. Enjoy wild scenery and a taste of the wild in Wuzhishan.