The Wanquan River waterfront in Qionghai is lined with low wooden tables and tiled restaurants serving Jiaji duck, one of the four classic dishes of Hainanese cuisine. The duck is slow-braised in a stock of local herbs and aromatics, with the cooking time long enough to render the meat from the bone but short enough to preserve the texture. It is served at room temperature — a deliberate choice, not an oversight — with the cooking liquor as a dipping sauce and a side of rice.
The riverbank duck restaurants are the primary reason most travellers stop in Qionghai rather than passing through. The setting — low tables beside the water, palm trees overhead, the boats moving on the Wanquan — matches the food well. Most restaurants are open from late morning through evening, and the lunch service is the most animated. A whole duck typically feeds two people with rice and a vegetable dish; you can order by the portion. The best versions are from ducks raised locally on the river grasses, and the restaurants on the main waterfront strip make this claim with varying degrees of accuracy. Trust the ones with the longest queues.