Small country with great power: 350,000 people have 1.6 million foreign companies, 1.27 yuan will drive the whole country.

In Cape Haima, you'd better forget about oil, which is cheaper than water, and the bustling Dubai and Abu Dhabi, because there are no skyscrapers, only less desolate deserts, mountains to conquer and less hot weather. ......

The tour guide said that Al-Haima Point is actually one of the seven Emirates in the United Arab Emirates, with a total population of less than 350,000 and an area of about 2,500 square kilometers. It is difficult to see the specific location clearly on the map without paying attention. However, the little Al-Haima Point is known as "the most unusual place in Arabian Peninsula". Although modern facilities are not as good as the famous Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Cape Al-Haima has created many "best places on the peninsula", such as "the only place where human beings have lived continuously for 7000 years", "the only place where it snows" and "the first place to confront British colonists and the only place to be bombarded by British naval guns".

And it all starts with 1970.

As the only emirate on the peninsula with zero oil reserves, Cape Al-Haima is destined not to become a "rich man" like Dubai, but to seek breakthroughs in manufacturing and high-tech industries. 197 1 opened the first cement plant in the United Arab Emirates (it is still the largest cement plant in the United Arab Emirates), and then founded the two largest limestone companies in the world, supplying 80 million tons of limestone to the Middle East every year, which is also the largest in the world.

1980, Cape Haima invested heavily in introducing medical talents to establish the first pharmaceutical company in the Middle East, with an annual output of10.5 million boxes of drugs; The automobile production line 20 10 was introduced, with an annual output of about 20,000 automobiles; At the same time, an industrial free zone focusing on aerospace and optical storage media has been established. Today, it has 102 foreign-funded enterprises, covering more than 50 industries in 16000 countries around the world, and is known as "the largest free zone in the world".

Haima Point means "tent point" in the indigenous language, but in fact, Shanghai Majiao Emirates has an enclave near the Gulf of Oman in addition to the Persian Gulf in the north, so it has been regarded as a strategic location by the big countries in the Middle East in various periods. It can cross the sea to conduct market trade with the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and Europe, and it is not easy to fall into the mountains. This is also the main reason why the hippocampus was able to face Britain. At the cost of shelling Haima Kok six times, 1.763 only dispatched1.20 thousand soldiers in one attack, and it took 1.77 1 year for Haima Kok to surrender, which was a proper "small country with great power".

However, it is not the British colonists or the large-scale free zone that really makes the hippocampus stand out temporarily, but the unknown but unexpected tourism industry. According to the data released by the United Arab Emirates, the tourism revenue of Cape Al Khaimah has been increasing at an average annual growth rate of 20% at 12, ranking first in the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates.

While Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Emirates are vigorously exploiting oil and infrastructure construction, Cape Al-Haima encourages citizens not to give up traditional industries such as fishing, pearl farming and date palm planting. While major cities in the world are proud of the skyline, Cape Al-Haima emphasizes maintaining the original appearance of Arab culture, restoring desert castles, and supporting Bedouin animal husbandry. Different from Dubai's tourism culture, it attracts millions of foreign tourists instantly, which is similar to "eating more delicacies"

Unexpectedly, the cape hippocampus is full of goodwill. In order not to make tourists feel estranged, Haima Kok requires all four-star hotels to open free shuttle service at Dubai International Airport (90 minutes' drive). Other tourists can also take the "24-hour shuttle bus" (20 dirhams, about 35 yuan RMB) with free WIFI, drinking water and local maps. In order to prevent tourists from getting on the wrong bus because of language barriers, the bus directly painted the destination pattern on the body.

If you rent a car in Dubai, most car dealers will ask for driver's license translation and international payment credit cards. However, if you rent a car at Cape Haima, you can not only pick it up and return it anytime and anywhere, but all gas stations can also enjoy a preferential price of no more than 2 dirhams per liter. Therefore, it is nicknamed "20 dollars/127 yuan gas fee, and you can drive across the country by yourself".

To prove whether this statement is exaggerated or not, my tour guide and I specially rented a small-displacement go on road trip car and walked around eight famous scenic spots in Khaimah Point for four days and five nights. Finally, after confirming the fuel cost of 65438 yuan +027 yuan /42 liter gasoline, there is only one fuel meter left.

The first stop is Iceland Water Park, which is the most popular tourist destination in Cape Keima. But in fact, the largest water park in the Middle East covers an area of one million square meters (ticket 175 dirhams, about 300 yuan), and most of the facilities are rebuilt. Penguins, seals and other sculptures are poorly made, and artificial waterfalls, water football fields and surf pools need to be purchased separately, which is not cost-effective. On the contrary, Al Chamra Resort, which focuses on the comprehensive tourism community, is refreshing. Although only a small part has been completed, its pure and pollution-free beaches, hundreds of villas, swimming pools everywhere, undifferentiated courtesy of waiters and so on. It makes people feel good, which is quite different from Dubai and Abu Dhabi's "Money is Grandpa".

The third stop is Hamar, an abandoned fishing village, which is said to be the earliest tribal seat in Cape Haima with a history of 3,200 years. It is also the earliest place of artificial pearl culture in Arabian Peninsula, which was moved in 1955 due to the influence of petroleum economy.

According to the tour guide's explanation, the reason for the relocation of this fishing village is not the decrease of indigenous people, but that most houses in the fishing village are built with coral blocks. If people continue to live, these ancient buildings with thousands of years of history will be destroyed. Therefore, before finding proper protection measures, the villagers will be moved to other areas as soon as possible, and then the fishing village will be completely blocked to 20 15, but only tourists will be allowed to watch from a distance along the road outside the village, and only one mosque site will be opened to the public.

35km away from the fishing village is Basata Village, the first recorded pearl-picking place for human beings, with a history of 6500 years. According to the research of archaeologists, about 1 10,000 years ago, Jebel Jays, the highest peak in the United Arab Emirates, was covered with snow all year round. After melting snow in summer, it gathers into a river and flows into the Persian Gulf through Basata Village. The unique shallow water and brackish water areas attract a large number of pearl oysters to breed. At first, villagers in Basata only used the sharp shells of pearl oysters to cut food, but in modern times it gradually developed into a huge pearl industry. Although there is not such a large scale and profit now, people still use ancient methods to plant and harvest, and the actual export volume is very limited. Most of them are made up of

In my opinion, the biggest tourist highlight of Cape Haima should be the 30-kilometer-long coastline. According to the data from the UAE Ministry of Tourism, it is forbidden to use any coastline as a private beach, and all beaches should be open to the public free of charge except for some hotels and resorts that can limit their opening hours for security reasons.

Therefore, online celebrity shooting spots and free rest areas can be seen everywhere on the beach in hippocampus. Thanks to measures such as "reporting full punishment", beach protection is also in place, and garbage such as plastic bags and glass bottles can hardly be seen. The most interesting thing is that local farmers can't use artificial facilities such as fishing nets to restrict the activity area of pearl mussels, which leads to these pearl mussels wandering around and some even stranded on the beach. As for whether pearls can be picked, it depends on the luck of tourists.

In order to attract more adventurous young tourists, Haima Cape has successively developed a series of outdoor tourism projects, among which the most popular ones are desert crossing, Bedouin camp exploration, coastal-wasteland road trip and the longest zip line project in the world.

The zip line project highly recommended by local tour guides is located in the middle of Jebel Jess Mountain. When 20 18 was opened at the beginning of the year, it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with a total length of only 2.8 kilometers and a top speed of 160 kilometers per hour. But the zip line coach told me that this is only the initial stage of the project, and the second and third sections will be opened later, with a total length of nearly 10 km, and it will land directly from the top of the mountain to the training center at the foot of the mountain.

It is worth mentioning that you need to go through the "flight procedures" in advance to participate in zip line sports. After simple training, you can board the bus and go to the starting point halfway up the mountain. Remember to rent GoPro and other shooting equipment in advance, and your own equipment needs to be confirmed by the coach before use.

If you don't like outdoor sports, you can also eat, drink and take pictures as a souvenir. Although Haima Point is located near Dubai, the relative tourist price is not so exaggerated, which is related to the factors of the port transshipment center and the fact that local people do not have to pay consumption tax, personal income tax, private enterprise business tax and corporate tax. The overall price is about 15-40% lower than that of Dubai, especially the accommodation consumption. The homestays and restaurants run by local people are basically based on quantity.

Next stop: Umm Qaiwan, the least populous emirate in the United Arab Emirates (less than 50,000).