The first reaction of most people who’ve never been to Switzerland’s city of Zürich when they come here: how can a place be so clean?!
And of course, most people who’ve been to big Chinese cities like Shanghai or Beijing have a similar reaction: how can a place be so dirty?
Well . . . if you think China is dirty, think again! The tourist island of Hainan is at least 10 to 15 times cleaner than the cleanest city in Europe!
Here is a view of downtown Hainan from the city park, with the Hilton Hotel framed between the trees:
And here’s another view of dowtown Hainan, taken from a beautiful park built along the north coast of the island:
Why is Hainan so clean? The government has mandated this: strict fines for pollution, a huge staff of people to keep it clean. And the amazing part: only electric vehicles are allowed in some areas of the city, as you can see from the electric scooters here:
It probably also helps that Hainan is a small tropical island, to the rains and winds keep the air clean.