Explore Wuzhishan through a range of themes: the history of Hainan and the cultures of the Li, Miao and Hui are at the heart of the Hainan Nationalities Museum; Li brocade, Tongshi’s earlier history and tea history offer further cultural perspectives. For nature lovers, the Taiping Ring Hiking Route is a clearly defined option: a 25-kilometre circular route connected with the tropical rainforest landscape. Plan culture and hiking as separate priorities rather than trying to squeeze both into a tight itinerary.
Cultural History and Li Brocade
The Hainan Nationalities Museum in Tongshi Town presents the history of Hainan and the cultures of the Li, Miao and Hui. The museum has six permanent exhibitions and two temporary exhibition halls. Its scope thus ranges from Hainan’s history to three explicitly named cultural groups. The content of temporary exhibitions may change.
In Tongshi Town, Liu Weitong founded a Li brocade workshop. He is a municipal-level bearer of intangible cultural heritage for traditional Li spinning, dyeing, weaving and embroidery techniques. On plant dyeing, Liu Weitong explained that results vary depending on raw materials, climate and customs; dyes stored for longer produce darker colours. Materials, circumstances and colour are therefore as much a part of appreciating the craft as the textile techniques themselves.
The Tongshi 1988 experience district recreates scenes from a general store and a photo studio from the 1980s. In doing so, it evokes Tongshi’s former heyday as the capital of the former autonomous administrative region. Traditional bamboo and wooden instruments, Li brocade and Miao embroidery are incorporated into the visitor experience through mobile stages and workshop activities. A 2026 account mentions more than 100 intangible cultural heritage performances since the district opened. The recreated everyday settings of the 1980s and traditional cultural forms offer different historical perspectives.
Hiking in the Rainforest
The Taiping Ring Hiking Route starts in Tongshi Town, is 25 kilometres long and forms a loop. It is designed around the tropical rainforest landscape in the surrounding area. Its total length means the hike calls for a different amount of time than a short detour: set aside time for the full circuit. Check current trail conditions and signage before setting out.
Tea History Through Different Time Markers
Tongshi Town’s tea history includes Red Flag Tea Farm. It was founded in 1958 and renamed State-run Tongshi Tea Farm in January 1960. In Shihui Village, traditional tea picking was used as a festive activity; the first Hainan Spring Tea Harvest Festival was also held there.
Another specific moment also takes place in Shihui: on 11 January 2020, a tea artist served tea to visitors in a tea field. The farm’s dates mark an institutional development in 1958 and 1960; the tea-field scene is a single, specifically dated moment from 2020. These different chapters of tea history sit side by side without implying that the individual event was a recurring occasion.
Priorities for Planning Your Trip
If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Wuzhishan, first choose your priorities based on your interests: cultural history and crafts, tea-related themes, or the 25-kilometre hike. Given its total distance, the route warrants a dedicated time plan; the museum, Li brocade and historical tea themes offer different points of focus.
Discover more destinations: Qionghai, Sanya, Wenchang, Tunchang, Ding'an, Danzhou, Xinzhuzhen, Ledong
For the main travel overview: Hainan.
