Binhai Park (滨海公园) runs along Binhai Road on the northern seafront, a long linear park with walking and cycling paths shaded by rows of coconut palms. To the north, across the Qiongzhou Strait, the hills of Guangdong province are visible on clear days — a reminder that the mainland is only about 20 kilometres away. Haikou has long been an island just visible from the coast, and the view across the strait captures that geographical tension well.
The park is at its best in the early morning, when local residents do tai chi and qigong on the broad promenade, and in the evening when the heat eases and families spread out along the seafront. There are a few snack stalls and places to rent bikes. It is not a dramatic piece of landscape, but it is where the city meets the sea, and it has a genuine ease to it.