Flowers of the Rain Forest

You don't have to go very far inland from the beaches of Hainan to find mountains.  Well...small mountains.  Or maybe they're big hills.   In any case, the fauna and flora change from beach to rain forest.   It seems that everything is covered by lush, green, trees..except for the occasional acre two that is flat enough to be a rice paddy.

While in Hainan, we went one afternoon to visit the Yalong Bay Tropical Heaven Forest Park.  It was a nice day trip and a break from the monotony of the beaches.  

One of the park's features is the "Valley of the Orchids".  I've always liked orchids, but in the mid-West of the USA you can't very easily grow them.  Not warm enough year-round.  And during the parts of the year that are warm enough, there is not enough humidity.  Hainan, on the other hand, is ideal for orchids.  The temperature hovers at 80 to 90 degrees during all the seasons.  The humidity is pretty much a constant 90+%.  

So it goes that the Tropical Heaven Forest Park is like heaven on earth for orchids.   Following are a few photos just to give you a feel.