When my friend HM heard that I was planning a trip to Hainan Island, she casually mentioned that I could stay in her "romantic holiday apartment." My jaw dropped.

Like many young Chinese, HM's imagination had been captured by a line penned by the poet Haizi: "I only face the sea, as flowers blossom in warm spring."

"Where is Haizi?" I once joked.

"He's in my heart, my ideal," HM replied.

She admitted that it was Haizi's romantic descriptions of seaside life that had spurred her hunt for a vacation home.

She originally thought that a Beijing apartment overlooking the river would be good enough. But soaring real estate prices in the city proved an obstacle.

As she despaired, HM chanced upon an advertisement for home sales in Hainan. She then took every chance to visit the island, a journey of thousands of kilometers from the city where she works.

She first considered buying a home in Sanya, a famous scenic city. But soon, housing prices started to climb there as well. Before HM could decide which apartment to buy, prices had risen to more than 6,000 yuan per sq m, way beyond her budget.

Yet she couldn't let go of her dream. Next she began her search in Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan. Less famous among tourists, real estate in Haikou sold for the relatively modest price of about 3,000 yuan per sq m.

HM surfed the Internet to learn more about a local real estate developer's record. At last, she put down a payment on a seaside home. To do so, she had to sell much of her jewelry, art collection and other valuables. She even had to take up many part-time jobs and get a bank loan.

Two years later, she finally had some money to spare on redecorating the home. Altogether she spent nearly 10,000 yuan on travel costs, food and lodging during her prolonged home-dcor project in 2007. But she felt that her dream home was just a step away.

Thanks to her new mission, HM has become a workaholic - doubling her salary and receiving three promotions in recent years.

When I accompanied her on a visit this summer, our car glided along an avenue lined with dense grass and flowers. The sun seemed to sweep away all shadows and doubts on earth. Feeling the seaward breeze brushing over my arms, I was also entranced.

We opened a bottle of fine wine and sat down at a fine table. An enormous window afforded a view of the South China Sea and blooming summer flowers.

My dear friend laid out three sets of dinner plates - the extra one, of course, was for Haizi.

The article first appeared on Sanlian Life Weekly

(China Daily August 5, 2008)