FOR those who want to see Chinese political will in action, pay a visit to Hainan Island. The island off the southern coast of China is fast developing into a luxury tropical resort - a hybrid of Hawaii with its beach hotels (it's actually along the same latitude) and Hilton Head island (think golf courses) in the making.

The golf course at Meishi Mayflower golf club is just one of 18 courses in Hainan and there are plans to build some eight to 10 more.

It's amazing to think - as you're whizzing down along newly built dual carriageways from Haikou airport towards the city, and marvelling at smartly designed beachview bungalows along the way - that the island used to be China's hinterland for political exiles (apparently, since 110 BC up till just after the Second World War); and that its first major internationally managed upscale hotel was the Sheraton in Sanya in 2002.

In just five years, Hainan has leap-frogged into modernity. And it still has some way to go, according to the government's blueprint. In the pipeline are some eight to 10 more golf courses to add to the 18 courses there now, 10 more hotels for Haikou, and another five being built in Sanya, which already has 50 hotels - all this for an island with a population of eight million.

International hotel chains like the Starwood group has certainly raised confidence in the island, as their plans to manage two more hotels - in the building process - indicate. Those brands will be the Westin and Le Meridien in Sanya, which will join the Sheratons in Sanya and Haikou.

'There is a lot of interest in Hainan because it's the only tropical island in the country,' says David Katemopoulos, the general manager of Sheraton Haikou, which is just over a year old and already exceeding its occupancy expectations. 'The government is putting a lot of emphasis on developing the island. It's not seen as a luxury destination now, but it will be in the future.'

On a visit to Sanya, we could see the Ritz-Carlton stacking up rapidly, with plans to usher in guests next year.

Sheraton recently hosted a group of media and meeting planners on a familiarisation trip to Haikou and Sanya, as it is developing its meetings and incentives market. 'It's just less seasonal business, as leisure travellers come during the winter months. MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) business is year-round, and the spend is different because they stay in the hotel for three to four days,' explains Mr Katemopoulos.

Haikou, in the southern part of the island, is definitely seeing more business travellers now, while Sanya is still largely for the leisure visitor, he adds. And what's the mix of tourists he sees in Hainan? Lots of Russians who spend two to three weeks at Sanya's beaches at a time, and then there are golfers from Japan and Korea. However, domestic travellers from mainland China make up 65 per cent of Sheraton's guests.

The old quarter of Hainan has a street lined with Chinese shophouse buildings built at the turn of the 20th century.

Miss World followers would, of course, remember that Sheraton Sanya hosted the competition there from 2003 to 2005, which was a smart move on the government's part because it certainly put Sanya on the international stage. (The hotel has wall murals 'dedicated' to the contestants, in fact, with their pictures and autographs.)

Whether for leisure or business, Hainan has its charms - even if, at first glance, it's almost like another new economic zone in the making, just with a lot more forest-covered mountains, blue seas, sandy beaches dotted evenly with short coconut trees, and vast tracts of agricultural land in between the three-hour drive from Haikou to Sanya.

Because of all the available land, hotels there are grandiose and spacious, and yes, you could spend an entire day there without that cooped-up feeling - thanks to expansive views of the South China Sea. The waters are calm with see-through clarity at Sanya, with a long stretch of fine and soft sandy beach. But since we weren't there for a meeting, we went on a whirlwind recce of a few of Hainan island's touristic and heritage draws instead.

For such an old island, it doesn't quite look it. Haikou city looks pretty modern, in fact, and big enough for our Sanya-based driver to lose his way, but it has an 'ancient' quarter of sorts - a street lined with Chinese shophouses built at the turn of the 20th century, with money sent back by Hainanese who made good outside China - mainly in Malaysia and Singapore, one guesses.

There, after being taken on a quick trishaw twirl to 'admire' the architecture of Bo Ai Road - its name is inspired by revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat Sen - we accomplished our first 'mission' on the trip - tracking down Hainanese chicken rice.

The dish does originate from Hainan, in case you wonder, and this is because the chicken from Hainan's Wen Chang district is rather famous. So, in Hainan, you don't call it Hainanese chicken rice. You look for wenchang zhi, which is advertised in a rather spartan manner in coffee shops. Whole boiled chickens are displayed in metal tubs in stalls that aren't adorned with much else but a weighing machine and a chopping board. The going rate is 28 renminbi per kati, as people order their chicken by weight.

Famous dish: Wenchang zhi, or what Singaporeans call Hainanese chicken rice, is sold by the kati.

We were taken to a stall whose owners have been selling chicken rice for a couple of generations already, and although the chicken itself is rather 'muscular' like free-range chicken (in Wen Chang, chickens have to be 60 days old before they can be slaughtered) is wont to be, the rice had the most subtle and delicate flavour. And this was accompanied by marvellous soy sauce mix, a bottle of which I couldn't persuade the owner to sell me.

Foodies should note that Hainan is famed for four kinds of produce - wenchang chicken, hele crab, dongshan mountain goat, and jiaji duck. My favourite? The duck, followed by the crab, as I couldn't figure out what was the big deal about the chicken.

Heritage-wise, Hainan is also known for being the birthplace of the famous Soong sisters, one of whom married Dr Sun, and another, Dr Sun's successor Chiang Kai Shek and erstwhile president of Taiwan. For nature lovers, there's the Shishan Volcanic Crater Theme Park formed 10,000 years ago 16km south-west of Haikou. For the religious-minded, there's the gigantic Kuan Yin statue at Nanshan Bay, about a marathon distance west of Sanya.

In those places, what caught the eye were groups of Chinese tourists - men in their full pyjama regalia, dressed in matching tops and bottoms, either in silk or in bright Hawaiian patterns - clicking away on their fancy digital cameras.

Another memorable experience was the Amazing Race-like journey we took to our lunch venue during one of our excursions, which had been capably organised by Haikou Meihao International Travel Service. Getting to the fresh seafood lunch involved taking a cable car ride over pointy hills and a boat ride to Monkey Island.

Over 500 families lived in floating homes next to their kelongs, or fish 'farms', and where we had delicious deep-fried salted fish (made from yen zi yu, or swallow fish) among other more elaborate seafood dishes. That's when I whipped out the small packet of soy sauce mix the chicken rice seller in Haikou did give to me, with compliments, and polished off two bowls of rice with it.

Could Hainan become the Bali or Phuket of China? It's certainly speeding along that track. Hainan might not have the organic charm of these island resorts which have taken shape over time, but here's to a purposeful and orderly tourism development plan.

Photos by Cheah Ui-Hoon

The writer's trip was hosted by Sheraton Haikou and Sheraton Sanya.