Sun-seeking retirees flock to Hainan, 'China's Florida'

Blessed by palm-fringed beaches and balmy weather, the island province of Hainan is fast becoming known as "China's Florida," drawing masses of retirees fleeing the biting cold of their hometowns.

"At home in Harbin, it (can be) -30 C, it's unbearable! But here the climate is perfect," said a 71-year-old pensioner who gave only her surname, Wang.

Hailing from the capital of the polluted, frigid, rust-belt province of Heilongjiang on the Siberian border, Wang and her husband have migrated each winter to the Hainan resort town of Sanya for the past eight years.