From tourist to local: A real retreat

Nighttime activities

The arrival of the sunset glow also reminds you that, when on a tropical island, the nightlife can be thrilling, but the first task is to find a place to satisfy a hearty appetite.

One such destination not far from Cloudscape is the Haida Night Market, outside the south gate of Hainan University's Haidian campus.

Between 6 pm and 12:30 am, the last 380 meters of Sanxi Road, which leads to the sea, are transformed into a bustling night market, with the traffic blocked and directed by security personnel.

Stalls are arranged on each side of the 16-meter-wide road, and desks and chairs are placed in the middle. Cleaners hop from one stall to another to keep the area tidy.

Chen Min, one of the night market's managers, says the opening of the night market allows mobile street vendors, many of whom were unemployed or struggling financially, to make a living by having a fixed stall. She says the market currently has about 250 stalls, more than half of which sell snacks and fruit, and the rest are small commodity retailers.