Reference News Website, January 14 report: According to the website of the U.S. "New York Times" on January 13, in a banquet hall of a seaside hotel in southern China, two hours before the arrival of the new year, a group of people already got drunk and started to raise their glasses to celebrate the arrival of 2026.
Slurred Russian cheers rang out: "Happy New Year!" Many partygoers - mostly Russians, with some Kazakhs and people from other countries - left the hotel before the real midnight of the new year arrived.
The report pointed out that the number of Russian tourists traveling to Hainan increased 11 times between 2023 and 2024, becoming the largest group of foreign tourists on the island. During the winter tourism season, there are at least eight flights per day from various parts of Russia to Hainan.
"Our two countries have a lot in common," said a Chinese tour guide who spoke Russian. He was leading a group of Russian tourists to visit the tropical rainforest near Sanya. Sanya is a popular coastal resort on Hainan Island.
Russian businessman Dmitry Garifulin, who runs a grocery store in Sanya, sells familiar home-country products to the growing crowd. His store displays black bread, sauerkraut, cheese, sausages, and a wide variety of alcoholic beverages.
His shop is located in Dadao Hai, a resort area that has been flooded with Russian tourists, so that restaurant menus and shop signs are almost all accompanied by Russian translations.
Retired doctor Raniya Tirkulova from the Republic of Tatarstan has come to Hainan for her fifth time. She said her family's connection with China dates back to the 1920s, and she also recalled the pleasant memories of Soviet-era Chinese thermos bottles and various small items. She also said that she has long "loved and admired China," and is a firm believer in traditional Chinese medicine.
Most Russian tourists enjoy their time in Hainan for a simple reason: the weather. Natalia, a cafe owner from the Siberian city of Khabarovsk, said: "My hometown is now minus 30 degrees Celsius, with heavy snowfall, while here it's plus 30 degrees Celsius, sunny and bright."
Original: toutiao.com/article/7595039081311109658/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.