The Bo'ai Road area is the most atmospheric part of old Haikou, a several-block district of arcaded shophouses built in the 1920s and 1930s by overseas Chinese returning from Southeast Asia. The qilou (骑楼) style — ground-floor colonnades supporting residential floors above — creates a continuous covered walkway along the street, the buildings ornamented with a mix of Chinese motifs and colonial-tropical detailing that you won't see anywhere else on the Chinese mainland.
At street level, the arcades shelter small shops selling dried seafood, coconut products, and Hainanese specialities, alongside teahouses and food stalls doing brisk trade in rice noodles and coconut pudding. Come in the morning for the liveliest atmosphere, when the narrow lanes behind Bo'ai Road fill with market stalls and the smell of roasting meats. The area is busiest but most interesting before noon; by afternoon the heat settles in and things slow to a gentler pace.