Three Landscapes of Ledong

Sojourn in the Three Landscapes of Ledong

Mona and I will, if circumstances permit, attend the 2026 Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival in Ledong Li Autonomous County on September 23. We plan to follow up during the trip with a sojourn in the three distinctive landscapes of Ledong County, which include Jianfengling National Forest Park, Longmu Bay, and Yinggehai Salt Flats. The tour will span over two days.

I consulted Deepseek, and she suggested the following programme, which prioritizes a logical flow, allowing us to experience the Ledong Festival, witness a spectacular sunset, hike in a tropical rainforest, and capture images of the unique beauty of the salt flats:

Day 1: Festival, Coast, and Sunset

Day 2: Rainforest and Salt Flats

Due to the geographical spread of the different landscapes, we will need to rent a car for the two-day tour. Deepseek had recommended we stay the night at Jizhu Holiday Apartment. This residential complex is located 450 meters away from Longmu Bay in ‘China’s Most Beautiful Sunset Beach’.

For residents of Haikou, the sunset at Haikou's Century Park is the quintessential urban sunset. The sunset is painted onto the city, adding a layer of golden magic to the urban landscape. The sunset at Longmu Bay is very different. You are on a 7-km stretch of beach with nothing but the vast ocean and sky. Because the bay faces directly west, you get an unobstructed view of the sun as a ‘perfect circle’ of red or orange, setting the entire sky ablaze with colour, slowly sinking into a ‘sea of orange’. It's quiet, serene, and awe-inspiring.

Jianfengling is the largest and best-preserved tropical rainforest in China. It is a vital habitat for rare wildlife like the highly endangered Hainan black-crested gibbon, clouded leopards, and pangolins. The main peak is at an elevation of 1,412 metres in the central area. Known as the ‘Cool Mountain of the Hot Island’, the negative oxygen ion content there can reach 8,000 per cubic centimeter, making it a true ‘natural oxygen bar’. The hike to the summit is a challenging three hours from the trailhead, but one is rewarded with the ‘Four Wonders’: the sea of clouds, sea of fog, sea of forest, and the distant sea. It is the premier spot for watching the sunrise, requiring one to start one’s climb at 3.30 am from the trailhead. Coming down the trail, you will see Tianchi Lake, a serene mountain lake at an elevation of 800 meters. In the early morning, the misty lake reflects the surrounding peaks, creating a fairy-tale scene. At the bottom is Mingfeng Valley, where one walks on a 1.96km circular boardwalk through the dense forest and observes the classic rainforest phenomena of towering buttress roots, strangler figs, and ‘sky gardens’.

Visiting the salt flats in the late afternoon of the second day is optimal. The Yinggehai Salt Flats is one of China's three major sea salt fields and the largest in southern China. The vast, geometric salt pans, with their shimmering water and crystalline salt mountains, together with the soft, low light of late afternoon, create a unique "sky mirror" landscape that feels otherworldly and ideal for photography.

A sojourn in the three landscapes of Ledong County, comprising the golden and orange hues of a coastal sunset, the deep and towering green trees of the rainforest, and the stark, bright white of the salt pans under a blue sky, provides a stunning variety of photographic opportunities.