Region boasts a flavor that is world-class

Of all places in China, Xinglong may have the highest number of coffee shops per capita.

"We have more than 100 cafes here," said Zhang Liukun, who returned to China from Indonesia in 1960 and later worked as a teacher at Xinglong High School on Hainan Island.

The earliest settlers brought with them ground coffee, some even coffee beans that could last a good part of a year. When that supply dried up, a shop owned by the farm started to sell a local brew.