If you happen to visit Hainan at 8 am. and see someone dipping youtiao—Chinese salt-flavored churros and traditionally served with soy milk—into a cup of coffee, don't be quick to assume they’re still half-asleep or simply in a rush for an unconventional breakfast. Chances are, they are from Xinglong, a charming county of Wanning, Southern China’s Hainan.

This photo taken on Aug. 24, 2025 shows a picture of Xinglong coffee with Southeast Asian pastries. (Liu Chaoran)

Xinglong, a small town spanning about 111 square kilometers, is home to over 200 coffee shops—a number that, when measured against its size, even surpasses China’s coffee capital Shanghai. Coffee isn't just a drink here, but a part of the fabric of everyday life, intertwined with a unique breakfast tradition: dipping youtiao or pairing it with Southeast Asian pastries, a distinctive eating habit that locals cherish.

“During the peak holiday seasons, we do see more tourists, but it’s the locals who keep our coffee shops bustling year-round,” says Tang Yidong, Assistant Chairman of Xinglong Chocolate Town, a hub of the town's coffee culture.

Drawing on techniques once brought from Southeast Asia, Xinglong, created its own twist: hand-stirring beans with salt, butter, and sugar to balance the sharpness of Robusta.

In 2023, the method was recognized as part of Hainan’s provincial intangible cultural heritage.

Today, China boasts nearly 160,000 coffee shops, most of which are concentrated in megacities like Beijing and Shanghai, or the capitals of provinces. Yet, few are aware that the bond between Xinglong and coffee dates back even further—well over half a century.

In 1951, more than 10,000 overseas Chinese from 21 countries resettled in Wanning city, south China's island province of Hainan..

Finding the tropical soil ideal for cultivation, they established the Xinglong Overseas Chinese Farm Coffee Plant—the first state-owned coffee factory in New China.

This photo taken on Aug. 21, 2025 shows an exhibition introducing the history of Xinglong Overseas Chinese Farm at Xinglong Coffee Culture Park in Wanning, south China’s Hainan Province. (Qiang Baoyi)

The beans soon became a national symbol. When Premier Zhou Enlai visited in 1960, he drank three cups and declared: “Xinglong coffee is world-class. I’ve tasted many foreign coffees, but ours is the best.” 

Today, the coffee culture here has evolved into something far more than just a beverage. As the number of privately owned coffee shops in China continues to rise, Xinglong’s entrepreneurs are working to build a more sustainable and diverse coffee industry.

Zhengda (Hainan) Xinglong Coffee Industry Development Co., Ltd, completed in 2022, combines cafés, plantations, roasting rooms, and automated production lines in a “bean-to-cup” model that lets tourists trace every step.

“Who would expect a small town to build a whole coffee ecosystem—factory, café, tourism all in one?” says Wang Yige, a visitor from Chongqing. “It shows that with enough effort, even local specialties can grow into an industry.”

A worker stirs coffee beans during charcoal roasting at Xinglong Coffee factory in Wanning, south China’s Hainan Province. (Photo provided by Zhengda Xinglong Coffee Industrial Park)

But it’s not just the locals who are excited about Xinglong’s coffee, the town’s distinctive breakfast pairing—coffee with youtiao or Southeast Asian pastries—is slowly capturing the attention of visitors outside there.

According to Cao, an employee at Xinglong Nanyang Flavored Haikou Qilou Shop, one of the oldest Xinglong coffee’s branch in Haikou, the expansion of the store since February this year has settled four branches in Xinglong, Qionghai, and Haikou, attracting tourists from home and abroad.

“I’ve served tourists from the United States, Japan, and Russia. Just ten minutes ago, a foreign couple left, thrilled to have tried coffee with unique pastries. It’s a fun twist on something familiar, and they were eager to taste it,” Cao shared, while his hands moving expertly as he prepared the next round of coffee.

For Xinglong’s residents, coffee is more than just a drink, but a part of their identity.

“As a fourth-generation native of Xinglong, I can tell you that coffee flows in our blood. Whether you're young or old, we all enjoy dipping youtiao in coffee. It’s a tradition that’s as much a part of us as the air we breathe,” Cao says with smile.

As coffee culture sweeps across China, from Starbucks outlets to boutique roasters, Xinglong offers a reminder that the country’s coffee story did not begin with Western chains, but with returning migrants stirring beans in smoky pans more than 70 years ago—an aroma that still lingers in Hainan’s warm air.