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Hainan 海南
Province
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	海南省 (Hǎinán Shěng)
• Abbreviation	琼 (pinyin: Qióng; Jyutping: king4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khêng)
• Hainanese	Hái-nâm-séng
• Yue Jyutping	Hoi2 Naam4 Saang2
Landscape of Sanya Nanshan Dongtian Park
Location of Hainan within China
Coordinates: 19°12′N 109°42′E / 19.2°N 109.7°ECoordinates: 19°12′N 109°42′E / 19.2°N 109.7°E
Country	China
Guangnan West Circuit	988
Hainan Special Administrative Region	1944
Incorporation into the PRC	1 May 1950
Separation from Guangdong	26 April 1988
Capital and largest city	Haikou
Divisions	4 prefectures, 25 counties, 218 townships
Government
• Type	Province
• Body	Hainan Provincial People’s Congress
• CCP Secretary	Shen Xiaoming
• Congress Chairman	Shen Xiaoming
• Governor	Feng Fei
• CPPCC Chairman	Li Rongcan
Area [1]
• Total	35,191 km2 (13,587 sq mi)
• Rank	28th
Highest elevation (Wuzhi Shan)	1,840 m (6,040 ft)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	10,081,232
• Rank	28th
• Density	290/km2 (740/sq mi)
• Rank	17th
Demographics
• Ethnic composition	Han: 82.6% Li: 15.84% Miao: 0.82% Zhuang: 0.67%
• Languages and dialects	Standard Chinese, Hainanese, Yue, Lingao, Hakka, Hlai, Miao, Tsat
ISO 3166 code	CN-HI
GDP (2021)	CN¥647.52 billion US$100.39 billion (31st)[3]
GDP per capita	CN¥64,230 US$9,958 (25th)
GDP growth	11.2%
HDI (2018)	0.750[4] (high) (19th)
Website	English Chinese

Hainan Island

Native name: 海南岛
Geography
Location	East Asia
Type	Island
Area	33,210 km2 (12,820 sq mi)
Area rank	42nd
Length	156 km (96.9 mi)
Width	170 km (106 mi)
Highest elevation	1,840 m (6040 ft)
Highest point	Wuzhi Mountain
Administration
People’s Republic of China
Province	Hainan
Largest settlement	Haikou (pop. 2,873,358)
Republic of China (claimed)
Special Administrative Region	Hainan
Demographics
Population	c. 8,180,000
Ethnic groups	Han, Li, Miao, Zhuang, Utsul

Hainan
«Hainan» in Chinese characters
Chinese	海南
Literal meaning	«South of the Sea (Qiongzhou Strait)»
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hǎinán (help·info) Bopomofo ㄏㄞˇ ㄋㄢˊ Wade–Giles Hai3-nan2 IPA [xàɪ.nǎn] Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Hói-nàm Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hói-nàahm Jyutping Hoi2-naam4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hái-lâm Hainanese Romanization Hái-nâm Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Hāi-nàng

Hainan Island
A 19th-century map of Hainan Island
Traditional Chinese	海南島
Simplified Chinese	海南岛
Literal meaning	Island South of the Sea
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hǎinán Dǎo Bopomofo ㄏㄞˇ ㄋㄢˊ

Former names
Zhuya
Chinese	珠崖
Literal meaning	Pearl Cliffs
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhūyá
Qiongya
Traditional Chinese	瓊崖
Simplified Chinese	琼崖
Literal meaning	Jade Cliffs
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qióngyá
Qiongzhou
Traditional Chinese	瓊州
Simplified Chinese	琼州
Literal meaning	Jade Prefecture
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qióngzhou

Hainan (, ;^[5] 海南) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. Hainan Island, the largest and most populous island in China,^{[note 1]} makes up the vast majority (97%) of the province. The name means «south of the sea», reflecting the island’s position south of the Qiongzhou Strait, which separates it from Leizhou Peninsula.

The province has a land area of 33,920 square kilometers (13,100 sq mi), of which Hainan Island is 32,900 square kilometers (12,700 sq mi) and the rest is over 200 islands scattered across three archipelagos: Zhongsha, Xisha and Nansha. It was part of Guangdong from 1950–88, after which it was made a province of its own and was designated as a special economic zone by Deng Xiaoping, as part of the Chinese economic reform program.

Indigenous peoples like the Hlai, a Kra–Dai-speaking ethnic group, are native to the island and comprise 15% of the population. Their native languages include the Hlai languages. The Hlai are recognized by the Chinese government as one of the country’s 56 ethnic groups. The Chinese population, who compose a majority of the population at 82%, speak a wide variety of languages including Standard Chinese, Hainam Min, Yue Chinese, Cantonese, Hakka Chinese, etc.^[6] Speakers of Be, despite speaking a Kra-Dai language, are reckoned officially as ethnically Chinese. Hainan is also home to the Jiamao language, of disputed provenance.

There are ten major cities and ten counties in Hainan Province. The capital of the province is Haikou, on the northern coast of Hainan Island, while Sanya is a well-known tourist destination on the southern coast. The other major cities are Wenchang, Sansha, Qionghai, Wanning, Wuzhishan, Dongfang and Danzhou.

According to China’s territorial claims, several territories in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands (Nansha) and Paracel Islands (Xisha),^[7] are administered under Sansha city of the province.

In 2020, a large-scale plan was announced by the Chinese government to transform the entire island province into a free trade port, with the aim of turning it into the largest free-trade port in the world by 2035. The plan involves building a hub for offshore financing and duty free shopping, as well as using lower taxes and reduced visa requirements to help draw in foreign businesses and tourists.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Names[edit]

The provincial name derives from its major island, Hainan, in Hainanese «Hai Nam», which is named after its position south of the Qiongzhou Strait. (To the north of the strait, the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong is also known as Haibei/Hai Bac or «North of the Sea».) Former names for Hainan Island include Zhuya, Qiongya, and Qiongzhou. The latter two gave rise to the provincial abbreviation 瓊 or 琼 (Qióng/Kheng).

During the 17th and 18th centuries, explorers referred to the island as «Aynam«,^[12][13] which remains the pronunciation of its name in the local Hainanese dialect.

History[edit]

Prehistoric era[edit]

Hainan was originally attached to the Northeastern part of what is now Vietnam; however, the island was formed after it physically broke away from Vietnam due to a volcanic eruption and drifted southeast near China after the Mesozoic, millions of years ago.^[14]

The Baiyue people are among the earliest Kra-Dai residents to arrive on Hainan island. They are believed to have settled there at least 2 to 6 thousand years ago, and carry genetic markers from ancient people who reached the island between 7 and 27 thousand years ago.^[15]

Imperial Era[edit]

Hainan Island was recorded by Chinese mandarin officials in 110 BC, when the Han dynasty of China established a military garrison there following the arrival of General Lu Bode. Han citizens, including military personnel and civil servants began to migrate to Hainan Island from the mainland. For centuries, imperial courts exiled criminals and political dissidents to Hainan island and what is now northern Vietnam, both of which were parts of Guangdong province most of the time during various Chinese dynasties, to toil under the tropical heat. One of the most famous exiled persons is Su Shi, an intellectual, gifted poet, and Song dynasty bureaucrat, who offended many of his colleagues and superiors in the royal court. Su Shi wrote extensively about his exiled experiences on the island during the 11th century AD. After the 11th century AD, more and more poor peasants looked for land and moved from other parts of the Guangdong province to Leizhou peninsula and Hainan island, pushing the indigenous Li people, one of the various Bai-Yue tribes in southern China, into the highlands of the southern half of the island.

Republic of China[edit]

Hainan was historically part of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces and as such was the Qiongya Circuit (瓊崖道) under the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China. In 1921, it was planned to become a special administrative region (瓊崖特別行政區); in 1944, it became Hainan Special Administrative Region with 16 counties, including the South China Sea Islands.

During the 1920s and 30s, Hainan was a hotbed of banditry, many opposition politicians^{[clarification needed]} were hanged, therefore opposition politicians went into hiding. The Communists and the indigenous Hlai people fought a vigorous guerrilla campaign against the Japanese, who were only able to occupy some Hainan territories; but in retaliation the Japanese launched numerous massacres against Hlai villages. Feng Baiju led the Hainan Independent Column of fighters throughout the 1930s and 1940s. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Kuomintang reestablished control. Hainan was one of the last areas to eventually come under the administration of the People’s Republic, having been under the control of ROC forces until March 1950. The People’s Republic attacked Hainan on April 10, 1950 and attained complete control on May 1.

People’s Republic of China[edit]

On 1 May 1950, under the People’s Republic of China, the Hainan Special Administrative Region became an Administrative Region Office (海南行政区公署), a branch of the Guangdong provincial government. During the mid-1980s, when Hainan Island was still part of Guangdong Province, a fourteen-month episode of marketing zeal by Hainan Special District Administrator Lei Yu^[16] put Hainan’s pursuit of provincial status under a cloud. It involved the duty-free imports from Hong Kong of 90,000 Japanese-made cars and trucks at a cost of ¥ 4.5 billion (US$1.5 billion), and exporting them – with the help of local naval units – to the mainland, making 150% profits. By comparison, only 10,000 vehicles were imported into Hainan since 1950. In addition, it involved further consignments of 2.9 million TV sets, 252,000 videocassette recorders & 122,000 motorcycles. The money was taken from the 1983 central government funds destined for the construction of the island’s transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, airports, harbors) over the next ten years.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 October 1984, it became the Hainan Administrative Region (海南行政区), with a People’s Government, and finally as province separate from Guangdong four years later. In 1988, when the island was made a separate province, it was designated a Special Economic Zone in an effort to increase investment.

The central government funds were deemed insufficient by the Hainan authorities for the construction of the island’s other infrastructures (water works, power stations, telecommunications, etc.) and had taken a very liberal interpretation of the economic and trade regulations for Hainan and thirteen coastal cities; the regulations did not mention on prohibiting the re-selling of second-hand goods. Some of the proceeds, from unsold units, were later retrieved by the central government to re-finance the special district.

In June 2020, China announced a master plan for Hainan’s free trade port system. Announced by state-owned media Xinhua News Agency, «Hainan will “basically establish a free trade port system by 2025 and become more mature by 2035.”^[17][18] South China Morning Post described such an initiative as an effort of PRC to «replace Hong Kong as the trading entrepôt» while Cheng Shi, of ICBC International has refused to accept such a claim.^[19][20] Additionally, experts have raised concern about the question of compliance of global trading practices particularly for this project.^[21][22]

Geography[edit]

Hainan, separated by the 20 km (12 mi) wide Qiongzhou Strait from the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong, is the largest island administered by the People’s Republic of China and the 42nd largest in the world. The area of Hainan Island (32,900 km² (12,700 sq mi), 97% of the province) is slightly smaller than that of Taiwan Island. To the west of Hainan Island is the Gulf of Tonkin. Wuzhi Mountain is the highest mountain on the island at 1,840 m (6,040 ft).

Hainan Island measures 288 km (179 mi) long and 180 km (110 mi) wide.

The northern half of Hainan is covered with the ancient Hainan Volcanic Field. Beneath the topsoil is volcanic rock while the topsoil itself contains small pieces of this vesicular rock.

Wetland covers 320,000 hectares, 78,000 hectares of which were created artificially. Most of this is located in the eastern and northern part of Hainan.^[23]

Rivers and lakes[edit]

Most of the rivers in Hainan originate in the central area of the island and flow radially in different directions. The Nandu River in the northern part of the island is 314 km (195 mi) long, and its tributary, the Xinwu River, is 109 km (68 mi) long. Other major rivers include the Wanquan River at 162 km (101 mi)-long in the east, Changhua River in the west, and the Sanya River in the south. Evaporation during the dry season around the coastal areas greatly reduces the flow of the rivers.

There are very few natural lakes in Hainan. However, there are numerous reservoirs, the largest of which is the Songtao Reservoir in the central-north area.

Islands[edit]

Nearby islands[edit]

Several small islands exist around the coast of Hainan Island:

• Dazhou Island is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) off the coast of Wanning
• Haidian Island, on the north coast, is part of Haikou City
• Nanwan Monkey Island, in actuality a peninsula
• Phoenix Island is an artificial resort island currently under construction in Sanya Bay.
• Wuzhizhou Island is located within Haitang Bay
• Xinbu Island is located directly to the east of Haidian Island

Due to their close proximity to the main island, the flora, fauna, and the climate are very similar.

Disputed islands[edit]

A number of small islands, which are located hundreds of kilometers to the south, are claimed and administrated by Sansha as part of Hainan Province.^[24] Sovereignty of these islands is however disputed. These islands include:

• Paracel Islands Xisha Islands – «The West-sands» – claimed by Vietnam, the PRC and the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC)
  • Money Island, Paracel Islands
  • Rocky Island, South China Sea
  • Tree Island, South China Sea
  • Triton Island
  • Woody Island, South China Sea
• Zhongsha Islands – «The Middle-sands»
• Spratly Islands – Nansha Islands – «The South-sands» are subject to claims by Vietnam, the PRC, ROC, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei.
  • Spratly Island
  • Flat Island (Spratly)
  • Taiping Island
  • James Shoal (southernmost point)
  • Loaita Island
  • Namyit Island
  • Nanshan Island
  • Sin Cowe Island
  • Thitu Island
  • West York Island

Environment[edit]

Compared to most of mainland China, the air quality of Hainan is significantly better since it is not affected by factory pollution, which has adversely affected the air on the mainland. Throughout 2012, Hainan had the highest air quality in the country for 351 days.^{[citation needed]}

The provincial government’s environmental protection campaign has taken action against a number of industrial plants. During 2012, several outdated manufacturing facilities had their business licenses revoked, and 175 cases related to illegal sewage discharge were handled.^{[citation needed]}

Total sulfur dioxide emissions for the province were 34,000 tons in 2012, a 3 percent year-on-year reduction. In 2011, smog emissions were reduced 6.3 percent to 15,000 tons.^{[citation needed]}

Province-wide infrastructure development[edit]

From 2015 to the present, a widespread program to improve cities and other settlements in Hainan island has been taking place. It includes the removal of litter from towns, villages, and many roadsides. Small, illegal dumps are being removed. However, illegal dumping of construction debris still occurs on rural roads. Large, plastic dumpsters have been put in place within villages and at countryside road intersections. Towns are being improved with new road and sidewalk surfaces, landscaping features are being created, and many buildings are receiving new façades.

This initiative in Haikou has seen entire neighborhoods demolished and rebuilt, sanitation improved, illegal structures used for business removed, roadside vendors banned, roads and sidewalks replaced, and new street crossings with traffic lights installed.

Climate[edit]

Hainan Island
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D 15 22 15 26 25 17 40 26 18 127 27 20 220 26 20 317 27 21 380 25 20 284 25 19 372 25 20 302 24 18 158 23 16 64 21 14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [25]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D 0.6 72 59 1 77 63 1.6 79 64 5 81 68 8.7 79 68 12 81 70 15 77 68 11 77 66 15 77 68 12 75 64 6.2 73 61 2.5 70 57 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

The climate of Hainan is mostly tropical. The island’s two largest cities, Haikou and Sanya, both possess a tropical Köppen climate. The coldest months are January and February when temperatures drop to 16 to 21 °C (61 to 70 °F); the hottest months are July and August, and the temperatures are 25 to 29 °C (77 to 84 °F). Except for the mountainous regions in the central part of the island, the daily average temperature in Hainan in all months is well above 10 °C (50 °F).

The summer in the northern part is hotter and, (for more than 20 days in a year, the temperature can be higher than 35 °C (95 °F)^{[citation needed]}). The average annual precipitation is 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters (59 to 79 in) and can be as high as 2,400 millimeters (94 in) in central and eastern areas, and as low as 900 millimeters (35 in) in the coastal areas of the southwest. Parts of Hainan lie in the path of typhoons, and 70% of the annual precipitation is derived from typhoons and the summer rainy season. Major flooding occurs due to typhoons, which can cause many problems for local residents.

Annual fog[edit]

From January to February, the island of Hainan is often affected by thick fog, particularly in coastal areas and the northern part of the island. This is caused by cold winter air from the north coming into contact with the warmer sea, causing the moisture that evaporates from the sea to be condensed into fog. The fog remains from day to night, and is evenly distributed. Visibility may be reduced to 50 meters (160 ft) for days at a time. During this period, residents normally keep windows shut. The moisture in the air is so extreme that the walls in homes weep, and floors often accumulate a layer of water.^{[citation needed]}

Flora and fauna[edit]

Hainan has over 1,500 km² (580 sq mi) of tropical forest, in which live 4,600 kinds of plants and more than 570 species of animals.^{[citation needed]} However, due to an invasion of exotic species, human impact from tourism, deforestation, and the release of pollutants, many species are under threat. A report from the Department of Land, Environment and Resources of Hainan Province states that 200 species are near extinction, with 6 species, such as Maytenus hainanensis and Sciaphila tenella already extinct.^[26]

Flora[edit]

The majority of Hainan’s land mass is forest with 61.5 percent coverage (210,000 hectares) reported at the end of 2012, an increase of 34,133 hectares (84,340 acres) since 2011. A further 1,187 hectares (2,930 acres) grass and trees were planted along the province’s highways.^[3]

There are 53 genera in 29 families of wild and cultivated fruit growing on Hainan Island.^[27] There are few large trees on the island; coconut palms are very common along with other smaller trees. Most of Hainan Island is however covered by forest.

Notable species include:

• Hainan yellow lantern chili is a pepper similar to the scotch bonnet.
• Hainan white pine, a species of tree.
• Cephalotaxus hainanensis is a species of plum-yew.

Fauna[edit]

There are numerous protected areas and wildlife preserves on the island. Animals that are ubiquitous throughout the island include frogs, toads, geckos, skinks, and butterflies. Present, but less commonly observed, are snakes (Asian palm pit vipers, red bamboo snake, and occasionally cobras), Siberian chipmunks, squirrels, and the masked palm civet. Almost no large animals remain in the wild. The lakes are largely populated with carp and catfish.

There are 362 known bird species.^[26] Seabirds such as gulls are not generally seen. Egrets and Black-winged kites are common in agricultural areas. Similar to many subtropical areas, insect species are diverse, and mosquitoes are very common.

In the ocean, sea turtles and whale sharks are known to migrate in these waters.

Hainan island has rich bio-diversity of cetaceans and is the site of studying these in Chinese waters.^[28] Many whales such as North Pacific right whales, western gray whales, humpback whales, and blue whales (all of these are almost extinct in Chinese waters)^[29] were historically seen in the winter and spring to mate and calve. These gentle giants of the sea had been hunted heavily and were wiped out by Japanese whalers (established whaling stations on various sites on Chinese and Korean coasts including Hainan and Daya Bay). A few Bryde’s whales and minke whales may still occur in the adjacent waters along with on Leizhou Peninsula and the Gulf of Tonkin.^[30][31] Smaller species of whale and dolphins, such as short-finned pilot whales^[32] and pantropical spotted dolphins,^[33] but most notably the endangered Chinese white dolphin. Declared sanctuary for the species extends along the coasts. These dolphins may appear among clearer waters such as vicinity to Sanya.^[34]

Dugongs still occur in small number, mostly on Gulf of Tonkin side.

Notable species include:

• Hainan gymnure (Neohylomys hainanensis or Hainan moonrat) is a small mammal.
• Hainan partridge (Arborophila ardens) is a species of bird endemic to Hainan Island.
• Hainan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron katsumatae) is an endangered species of the family Phasianidae.
• Hainan black crested gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is one of the world’s most endangered primates. Seacology, a non-profit organization in Berkeley, California, United States, initiated a project to protect the highly endangered Hainan gibbon in exchange for scholarships for the children of four villages near Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve.
• Hainan hare (Lepus hainanus) is a species of hare endemic to Hainan.
• A subspecies of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis alleni) is endemic to Hainan.
• Hainan leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus hainanus) is an Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae.
• Little torrent frog (Amolops torrentis) is a species of frog found only on Hainan Island.

Demographics[edit]

The population density of Hainan is low compared to most coastal Chinese provinces.

In 2000, the ethnic groups of Hainan included the Han-Chinese Hainanese, who are the majority (84% of the population) and speak the Min language, the Li (Hlai) (14.7% of the population); the Miao (0.7%) and the Zhuang (0.6%).^{[citation needed]} The Li are the largest indigenous group on the island in terms of population. Also found on the island are the Utsuls, descendants of Cham refugees, who are classified as Hui by the Chinese government because of their Islamic religion. There is a Tanka community that live at Sanya Bay.^[35]

The Li people mainly reside in the nine cities and counties in the middle and southern part of Hainan – the cities of Sanya, Wuzhishan and Dongfang, the Li autonomous counties of Baisha, Lingshui, Ledong, Changjiang, and the ‘Li and Miao Autonomous Counties of Qiongzhong and Baoting’. Some others live elsewhere on Hainan with other ethnic groups in Danzhou, Wanning, Qionghai, Lingshui and Tunchang. The area inhabited by the Li ethnic group totals 18,700 square kilometers (7,200 sq mi), about 55 percent of the province’s total.^[36]

Although they are indigenous to the island and do not speak a Chinese language, the Limgao (Ong-Be) people near the capital (8% of the Hainan population) are counted as Han Chinese by the Chinese government.

Religion[edit]

Most of the Hainanese population practices Chinese folk religion and Chinese Buddhism. The Li population has a Theravada Buddhist minority. Most of the Utsuls of the island, a branch of Cham people living near Sanya, are Muslims. Because Hainan was a point in the travel route of missionaries, there are some Christians. According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christians constitute 0.48% of the province’s population.^[37]

Nanshan Park is the center of Buddhism on Hainan. Encompassing more than 50 km² (19 sq mi) of forest. The site includes countless grand temples, statues and spiritual gardens the likes of Savior Garden and Longevity Valley, with intricately trimmed hedges and abundant in lotus flowers, a venerated symbol in Buddhism meaning virtue or purity.

At the heart of the valley is the grand Nanshan Temple, its gates flanked by stone figures of Buddha in front of the Tang dynasty-style entrance. The interior displays images of the Four Heavenly Kings amid statues of other deities enshrined in renderings of stone, gold and jade.

Perhaps^{[weasel words]} the most popular^{[according to whom?]} site within the Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone is the awe-inspiring^{[according to whom?]} stone rendering of the Bodhisattva Guan Yin, emerging out of the South China Sea to stand at 108 meters^{[citation needed]}, taller than the Statue of Liberty^{[citation needed]}.

The Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone is visited by thousands of tourists and pilgrims each year who come pay homage to the site that plays a significant role in the religion in China and to sample some of the finest Buddhist vegan cuisine on the island.^[38]

Languages[edit]

Most people in Hainan speak a variety of Min Chinese known as Hainanese. Other Chinese varieties and non-Chinese languages are spoken as well:

• Standard Mandarin (Putonghua) is widely known as in the rest of China. Mandarin is especially common in the city of Sanya.
  • In Yacheng City (as well as its vicinity several dozen miles west of Huihui and Huixin), the so-called military speech dialect of Mandarin (the official language of the southwest among the northern Chinese dialects) is spoken.
• Cantonese is spoken by some, particularly in Haikou.
• In Yanglan Village in the northeast, two Min dialects, both closely related to Cantonese, are spoken: the Mai dialect and the Danzhou dialect, spoken in Haipo Village in the south, which is the same dialect as the dialect spoken in Danzhou in Dan Country in the northern part of the island.
• The Li, Zhuang and Limgao speak Tai–Kadai languages.
• The Miao speak Hmong–Mien languages.
• There are roughly 4,500 Utsul people living in the villages of Yanglan (羊栏) and Huixin (回新), two villages on the outskirts of Sanya. They speak the Tsat language, a member of the Austronesian Chamic languages.

Sociolinguistics[edit]

Standard Mandarin serves as a lingua franca between different ethnic groups. Adults who are members of a minority also have quite high literacy skills in Chinese. Most adults speak several Chinese dialects, and some also speak Li.

When Chams interact with the Hainanese dialect speakers from within Hainan Province, they use the Hainanese dialect, though youngsters generally use Mandarin. Not many can communicate in Li, so the Hainanese dialect or Mandarin is often used.

In the market place and within the Sanya Municipality, the Cham speakers use Cham among themselves, and with others mostly use the Hainanese dialect. However, in the market places near the government seat of Yanglan Township, the Chams either use the Hainanese dialect or the Mai dialect.^[39]

Life expectancy and longevity[edit]

The people of Hainan live longer than those on the mainland. At the end of 2017, there were 1,565 centenarians in Hainan. For every 100,000 people in the province, 17.13 were centenarians. As of 8 March 2018, there were 287,700 residents over 80 years of age, making up 3.15% of the population.^[40]

Government[edit]

Even while Hainan Island was a part of Guangdong it had a considerable amount of local autonomy; the southern half of the island was an autonomous prefecture. Hainan’s elevation to provincial level in 1988 increased its accountability to the Central People’s Government, but by designating the new province a special economic zone the central government expressed its intent to allow Hainan maximum flexibility in devising programs to facilitate foreign investment and economic growth. Administratively, the province has been divided into five economic major districts.^{[citation needed]}

Politics[edit]

The politics of Hainan is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Hainan is the highest-ranking official in the People’s Government of Hainan. However, in the province’s dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Hainan Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary or CCP Party Chief.

Legislation[edit]

On 13 April 1988, the First Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress decided to establish Hainan Province, and at the same time granted the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress and its Standing Committee special legislative power.^[41]
After the 2019 free trade port plan is proposed, Hainan can enact legislation in economic, cultural, local affairs, social management, etc., and implement it in the Hainan Free Trade Zone (port).^[42]

Intelligence[edit]

Per the research conducted by Information Warfare Monitor, Hainan is the physical location of GhostNet. The Chinese government has officially denied the existence of a cyber war and intelligence apparatus.

Administrative[edit]

In the official PRC territorial claim, Hainan Province includes not just one island, but also some two hundred South China Sea Islands. While the containment of the South China Sea Islands means that Hainan Province has a very large water body, it has a disproportionally small land area. James Shoal (曾母暗沙, Zēngmǔ Ànshā), which is presently marked by the PRC, signifies the country’s southernmost border. But Malaysia also claims that it is on their continental shelf.

Subdivisions[edit]

Hainan Province uses a slightly different administrative system than the other provinces of China. Most other provinces are divided entirely into prefecture-level divisions, each of which is then divided entirely into county-level divisions. County-level divisions generally do not come directly under the province. In Hainan, nearly all county-level divisions (the eight districts excepted) come directly under the province. This method of division is due to Hainan’s relatively sparse population, totaling 9.26 million as of 2017.^[43]

Administrative divisions of Hainan
Haikou Sanya Sansha Danzhou Wuzhishan Qionghai Wenchang Wanning Dongfang Ding’an County Tunchang County Chengmai County Lingao County Baisha Li AC Changjiang Li AC Ledong Li AC Lingshui Li AC Baoting Li and Miao AC Qiongzhong Li and Miao AC █ Provincial administered county-level divisions ☐ Sovereignty over Sansha is disputed, see Territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Division code[44]	Division	Area in km2[45]	Population 2020[46]	Seat	Divisions[47]
Districts	Counties	Aut. counties	CL cities
460000	Hainan Province	35191.00	10,081,232	Haikou city	10	4	6	5
460100	Haikou city	2304.80	2,873,358	Xiuying District	4
460200	Sanya city	1910.67	1,031,396	Jiyang District	4
460300	Sansha city*	788.00	2,333	Xisha District	2
460400	Danzhou city#	3394.00	954,259	Nada town
469001	Wuzhishan city**	1131.00	112,269	Tongza town				1
469002	Qionghai city**	1710.14	528,238	Jiaji town				1
469005	Wenchang city**	2459.18	560,894	Wencheng town				1
469006	Wanning city**	1899.90	545,992	Wancheng town				1
469007	Dongfang city**	2272.29	444,458	Basuo town				1
469021	Ding’an County**	1187.00	284,690	Dingcheng town		1
469022	Tunchang County**	1223.97	255,335	Tuncheng town		1
469023	Chengmai County**	2076.28	497,953	Jinjiang town		1
469024	Lingao County**	1343.33	420,594	Lincheng town		1
469025	Baisha Li Autonomous County**	2117.20	164,699	Yacha town			1
469026	Changjiang Li Autonomous County**	1617.70	232,124	Shilu town			1
469027	Ledong Li Autonomous County**	2763.53	464,435	Baoyou town			1
469028	Lingshui Li Autonomous County**	1121.24	372,511	Yelin town			1
469029	Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County**	1166.78	156,108	Baocheng town			1
469030	Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County**	2704.00	179,586	Yinggen town			1
* — Sovereignty over Sansha (including the Paracel, Spratly and Zhongsha Islands) is disputed as of 6 March 2023. ** — Directly administered county-level divisions # — direct-piped cities — does not contain any county-level divisions

Administrative divisions in Chinese and varieties of romanizations
English	Chinese	Pinyin	Hainanese Romanzation
Hainan Province	海南省	Hǎinán Shěng	Hai Nam Teng
Haikou city	海口市	Hǎikǒu Shì	Hai Khau Si
Sanya city	三亚市	Sānyà Shì	Tam Ah Si
Sansha city	三沙市	Sānshā Shì	Tam Sa Si
Danzhou city	儋州市	Dānzhōu Shì	Dam Ju Si
Wuzhishan city	五指山市	Wǔzhǐshān Shì	Ngou Ji Tua Si
Qionghai city	琼海市	Qiónghǎi Shì	Kheng Hai Si
Wenchang city	文昌市	Wénchāng Shì	Von Sio Si
Wanning city	万宁市	Wànníng Shì	Van Neng Si
Dongfang city	东方市	Dōngfāng Shì	Dang Fang Si
Ding’an County	定安县	Dìng’ān Xiàn	Deng An Kuai
Tunchang County	屯昌县	Túnchāng Xiàn	Ton Siang Kuai
Chengmai County	澄迈县	Chéngmài Xiàn	Deng Mai Kuai
Lingao County	临高县	Língāo Xiàn	Liom Ko Kuai
Baisha Li Autonomous County	白沙黎族自治县	Báishā Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Be Tua Loitoc Seji Kuai
Changjiang Li Autonomous County	昌江黎族自治县	Chāngjiāng Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Siang Kiang Loitoc Seji Kuai
Ledong Li Autonomous County	乐东黎族自治县	Lèdōng Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Loc Dong Loitoc Seji Kuai
Lingshui Li Autonomous County	陵水黎族自治县	Língshuǐ Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Leng Tui Loitco Seji Kuai
Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County	保亭黎族苗族自治县	Bǎotíng Lízú Miáozú Zìzhìxiàn	Bo Deng Loitoc Miautoc Seji Kuai
Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County	琼中黎族苗族自治县	Qióngzhōng Lízú Miáozú Zìzhìxiàn	Kheng Tong Loitoc Miautoc Seji Kuai

Urban areas[edit]

Population by urban areas of prefecture & county cities
#	City	Urban area[48]	District area[48]	City proper[48]	Census date
1	Haikou	1,517,410	2,046,170	2,046,170	2010-11-01
2	Sanya	453,819	685,408	685,408	2010-11-01
3	Danzhou[a]	418,834	932,356	932,356	2010-11-01
4	Wenchang	251,795	537,426	537,426	2010-11-01
5	Wanning	221,263	545,597	545,597	2010-11-01
6	Qionghai	194,400	483,217	483,217	2010-11-01
7	Dongfang	153,726	408,309	408,309	2010-11-01
8	Wuzhishan	53,268	104,119	104,119	2010-11-01
(9)	Sansha[b]	444	444	444	2010-11-01

Military base[edit]

Hainan Island is home to the People’s Liberation Army Navy Hainan Submarine Base and strategic nuclear submarine naval harbor at Yalong Bay.^[49] The naval base is estimated to be 60 feet (18 m) high, built into hillsides around a military base. The caverns are capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites. The harbor houses nuclear ballistic missile submarines and is large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers. The U.S. Department of Defense has estimated that China will have five type 094 submarines operational by 2010 with each capable of carrying 12 JL-2 ballistic missiles. Two 950-meter (3,120 ft) piers and three smaller ones would be enough to accommodate two carrier strike groups or amphibious assault ships.

Economy[edit]

Hainan’s economy is predominantly agricultural, and more than a half of the island’s exports are agricultural products. Hainan’s elevation to province-level status (1988), however, was accompanied by its designation as China’s largest «special economic zone», the intent being to hasten the development of the island’s plentiful resources. Prior to this, the province had a reputation for being a «Wild West» area, largely untouched by industrialization; even today there are relatively few factories in the province. Tourism plays an important part of Hainan’s economy, thanks largely to its tropical beaches and lush forests. The central government has encouraged foreign investment in Hainan and has allowed the island to rely to a large extent on market forces.^[50]

Hainan’s industrial development largely has been limited to the processing of its mineral and agricultural products, particularly rubber and iron ore. Since the 1950s, machinery, farm equipment, and textiles have been manufactured in the Haikou area for local consumption. A major constraint on industrial expansion has been an inadequate supply of electricity. Much of the island’s generating capacity is hydroelectric, and it is subject to seasonal fluctuations in stream and river flows.^[51]

In December 2009, the government of China announced that it plans to establish Hainan as an «international tourist destination» by 2020.^[52] This announcement contributed to a surge in the province’s economy, with a year-on-year increase in investment of 136.9% in the first three months of 2010. Hainan’s real estate sector accounted for more than one third of the province’s economic growth.^[53]

According to the Statistical Communiqué of National Economic and Social Development of the statistical authority, the GDP of Hainan Province in 2017 was 446.3 billion yuan (66.1 billion US dollars), up by 7.0 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the value added of the primary industry was 97.9 billion yuan (14.5 billion US dollars), up by 3.6 percent, that of the secondary industry was 99.7 billion yuan (14.8 billion US dollars), up by 2.7 percent and that of the tertiary industry was 248.6 billion yuan (36.8 billion US dollars), up by 10.2 percent. The value added of the primary industry accounted for 21.95 percent of the GDP; that of the secondary industry accounted for 22.34 percent; and that of the tertiary industry accounted for 55.71 percent. The per capita GDP in 2017 was 48,430 yuan (7,173 US dollars).^[54]

Agriculture[edit]

Owing to Hainan’s tropical climate, paddy rice is cultivated extensively in the northeastern lowlands and in the southern mountain valleys.^[52] Leading crops other than rice include coconut, palm oil, sisal, tropical fruits (including pineapples, of which Hainan is China’s leading producer), black pepper, coffee, tea, cashews, and sugarcane.

The hot Hainan yellow lantern chili, a variety similar to the scotch bonnet, is unique to the island, and is grown in the southeast and southwest.

The total tropical crop area of Hainan is 100,000 hectares.^[55]

Hainan is a major rubber producer. In the early 20th century Chinese emigrants returning from then British Malaya, introduced rubber trees to the island; after 1950, state farms were developed, and Hainan now produces a substantial amount of China’s rubber. Natural rubber is now grown on 246,000 hectares of land. This ranks 6th in the world in harvest area and 5th in terms of output.^[55]

Hainan has almost 93,000 hectares of areca palms. The product, the areca nut, is consumed locally and also sent to the mainland. Ninety-five percent of China’s production of this nut is produced in Hainan.^[56]

Domesticated farm animals comprise mainly goats, cows, water buffalo, chickens, geese and ducks.

Fisheries[edit]

Grouper, Spanish mackerel, and tuna^{[citation needed]} constitute the bulk of the catch from offshore fishing grounds. Scallops and pearls are raised in shallow bays and basins for local use and export.

Shrimp production is estimated to have been 120,000 to 150,000 metric tons (130,000 to 170,000 short tons) in 2007, more than 50% of which was exported. Hainan has over 400 hatcheries, most being located between Wenchang and Qionghai.

Tilapia production in 2008 was 300,000 metric tons (330,000 short tons). The island has an estimated 100,000 local, commercial fish farming families.^[57]

Tourism[edit]

Hainan Island is often divided into eight regions for tourism purposes: Haikou and area (Haikou, Qiongshan, Ding’an); the Northeast (Wenchang); the Central East Coast (Qionghai, Ding’an); the South East Coast; the South (Sanya); the West Coast also called the Chinese Riviera (Ledong, Dongfang, Xianghsui, Changjiang); the North West (Danzhou, Lingao, Chengmai); and the Central Highlands (Baisha, Qiongzhong, and Wuzhishan/Tongzha).

Popular tourist destinations include the beaches and resorts in the southern part of the province. Inland is Five Finger Mountain, a scenic area. Tourists also visit the capital of Haikou with area visitor attractions such as Movie Town Haikou and Holiday Beach.

Visa requirements[edit]

In 2000, the province initiated a visa-upon-arrival policy for foreign tourist groups. It is available to citizens of twenty-six different countries, and was established in order to attract visitors.

Beginning 1 May 2018, citizens of 59 countries will be able to visit Hainan for 30 days without requiring a visa, provided that they come on a tour via a travel agency. Countries included among the 59 are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[58]

Statistics[edit]

During 2008, 20.6 million tourists visited Hainan, producing total revenues of 19.23 billion yuan (US$2.81 billion). Of these tourists, 979,800 were from overseas with the largest numbers coming from South Korea, Russia and Japan.^[59]

In 2010, the amount of overnight tourists visiting Hainan was 25.87 million, 663,000 of which came from outside China.^[60]

During 2011, more than 30 million tourists visited Hainan, mostly from mainland China. Of the 814,600 overseas tourists, 227,600 of them came from Russia, a 53.3 percent a rise year-on-year.^[61] Total revenue during that year was 32 billion RMB ($4.3 billion US), up 25 percent from 2010.^[62]

In the first quarter of 2012, the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission reports that Hainan received 208,300 overnight visitors, 25 percent of whom came from Russia.^[61]

In 2014, Hainan received 50.2 million tourists, 660,000 of whom were from overseas.^[63]

During 2015, Hainan received 53 million visitors.^[64]

In 2016, over 60 million tourists went to Hainan, up 12.9% from 2015.^[65]

During 2018, the province received over 76 million domestic and overseas tourists, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. Revenue also increased 14.5% compared to the previous year for a total of 95 billion RMB (US$14 billion).^[66][67]

Medical tourism[edit]

The government of Hainan is expanding the province’s medical tourism industry.^[68][69] The provincial government has established the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in the Bo’ao area. The zone is located six kilometers from the Boao Forum for Asia and covers 20 square kilometers.^[70] This was announced at the Boao Forum for Asia in 2011.^[71] The State Council has approved the development of Lecheng Island^[72] as a medical tourism-themed destination.^[73] Lecheng Island is a small island in the Wanquan River about 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the coastal town of Bo’ao on the west coast of the province. Construction on the 20 km². The zone was begun in December 2014 and will cost a projected 1.5 billion yuan. It was scheduled for completion in 2016 and is the first special zone for medical travel in China.^[74] As part of the zone, the Boao Super Hospital opened in 2018.

Historical sites[edit]

Haikou is the province’s capital and contains interesting historic sites. Also known as Coconut City, Haikou is a major port. The Five Officials Temple (Chinese: 五公祠; pinyin: Wŭgōng cí, 20°0′35.79″N 110°21′17.34″E / 20.0099417°N 110.3548167°E) consists of five traditional temples and halls that were built in honor of five officials of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. These officials were banished to Hainan for periods ranging from 11 days to 11 years for speaking out against what they felt were wrong practices by the emperors. (It is perhaps significant that the establishment of the Five Officials Temple in the late 19th century coincides with a time when China’s territorial integrity was under threat, and that several of the officials honored here were exiled for espousing aggressive policies on the recapture of the north of China from the Jurchens during the Southern Song dynasty.)

Xiuying Fort was built in 1891 to defend the southeastern corner of China during the Sino-French War. The Xiuying Fort Barbette covers about a third of an acre. Its five large cannons are still intact and viewable at the site.

The Tomb of Hai Rui (20°0′29.66″N 110°17′30.18″E / 20.0082389°N 110.2917167°E) is a key national cultural protection site. Hai Rui was a compassionate and popular official of Hainanese origins who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was famous for his lifelong honesty and his willingness to speak out on behalf of local people. In later life, Hai Rui was persecuted and fell out of favor with the emperor. His admirers built the Hai Rui Tomb after his death to commemorate his great works. Construction of the tomb began in 1589.

The Yangpu Ancient Salt Field is a heritage site in Yantian village on Yangpu Peninsula. The area comprises more than 1,000 stones, cut flat on top, used to dry seawater to produce salt.

Other attractions and destinations[edit]

Hainan Island has a number of beaches, hot springs and other attractions. Some top scenic sites include Yalong bay National Resort; Dadonghai Tourist Resort; Qizhi Shan (Seven Finger Mountain), Nuilin mountain tropical botanical reserve in Lingshui county, Guantang Hot Spring Resort, Shishan Volcanic Garden; the Wanquan River, Baishi Ridge Scenic Zone and Baihua Ridge.

Other attractions in Hainan include:

• Phoenix Island, an artificial island in Sanya Bay.
• Monkey Island, near the well-known perfume bay or Xiangshui Wan, a popular tourist destination located in Lingshui County, is a state-protected nature reserve for macaques.
• Yalong Bay (Crescent Dragon Bay or Yalong Wan), a 7 km (4.3 mi) long beach east of Sanya City.
• Xiangshui Bay Scenic Area, 48 km (30 mi) from Sanya Tiandu.
• Luobi Cave, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Sanya City.
• Nanshan Temple, a Buddhist cultural area west of Sanya featuring a 108 meters (354 ft) statue of Guanyin, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.
• Yanoda is a rainforest area. It is open to visitors with guided walking tours, a zipline, and a waterfall climbing activity.

Yachting[edit]

To encourage the international yachting community, new regulations now allow foreign yachts to stay for a total of 183 days each year, with a maximum single stay duration of 30 days. 13 additional ports will be built around the island to accommodate this market.^[60]

Free trade zone[edit]

On 13 April 2018, Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping announced a plan to gradually make the island into a pilot free trade zone by 2020, and transform the entire island into a free trade port by 2025. This will involve inviting foreign and multi-national companies to set up their regional and international headquarters in Hainan.^[75] Goods and services would be subject to low or even no tariffs. The zone will become China’s largest free trade zone, and the first trade port since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded.^[76] Part of the plan is to establish exchanges in commodities and carbon trading, international energy, and shipping. Emphasis will also be placed on the development of service industries including tourism, the Internet, healthcare, finance, as well as conference and exhibitions hosting.^[76]

Since the announcement in April 2018, Hainan had signed 159 contracts with major companies. In September 2018, China National Travel Service Group, China’s biggest travel business conglomerate, relocated its headquarters from Beijing to Haikou. In October 2018, Baidu and Hainan signed a deal to built a 10-billion-yuan (US$1.45 billion) eco-village.^[77]

In September 2018, a symposium was held in Beijing on foreign investment projects in Hainan. During that gathering, the Hainan government signed contracts with 26 international companies including Globevisa Group, Merlin Entertainments Group, Viacom, Ikea Group, Mapletree Investments, Avis Budget Group, Star Cruises, and Boehringer Ingelheim.^[77]

To bring talented workers to Hainan, in November 2018 the Hainan government held a recruitment fair in Beijing in an effort to bring 7,471 people to Hainan to work in government agencies, companies, and other institutions.^[78]

Established prior to this announcement, and currently in existence, are the following economic and technological development zones:

• Haikou Free Trade Zone
• Haikou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
• Yangpu Economic Development Zone

Duty-free program[edit]

On 20 April 2011, a pilot duty-free program commenced with the aim of increasing luxury goods purchases. It permits domestic Chinese visitors to claim tax refunds on imported luxury items purchased within the province. The maximum value is set at 5,000 yuan (US$762), with lowered tax rates on purchases over 5,000 yuan.^[79] In October 2012, duty limits were raised to 8,000 yuan ($1,273), and became available to both domestic and international tourists.^[80]

The total sales of duty-free products for 2012 was 2.4 billion yuan.^[81]

The world’s largest duty-free shopping complex is scheduled to open in Haitang Bay in August 2014.^[82]

During 2018 Spring Festival, Hainan recorded a 25% increase in duty-free revenue, with 450 million yuan ($71 million) in sales. The two duty-free shops, located in Sanya and Haikou, received about 99,000 customers, a 32% gain.^[83]

During 2018, the two duty-free shops had sales of more than 10 billion RMB and received 2.88 million customers.^[66]

Natural resources[edit]

Hainan has commercially exploitable reserves of more than 30 minerals. Iron, first mined by the Japanese during their occupation of the island in World War II, is the most important. Also important are titanium, manganese, tungsten, bauxite, molybdenum, cobalt, copper, gold, and silver. There are large deposits of lignite and oil shale on the island, and significant offshore finds of oil and natural gas have been discovered. Virgin forests in the interior mountains contain more than 20 commercially valuable species, including teak and sandalwood.

Real estate market[edit]

In 1990, Hainan province was the site of the largest property bust in modern Chinese history^[52] With 2009 and the announcement of the Chinese Government’s plan to develop the province into a major international tourist location, property sales rose by 73%, creating the possibility of another bubble in Hainan’s property market.^[52]

Since March 2010, commercial and residential property values in some parts of Hainan have slowed down since the market peaked in February.
In March, average month-on-month transaction prices dropped 12.82% to 12,280 RMB per square meter, with a reduction in volume to 627,000 square meters (6,750,000 sq ft), a 19.05% decline. Later in April, prices declined 2.84% to 11,932 yuan per square metre, with a 57.59% decline in volume to 567,200 square meters (6,105,000 sq ft). Then in May prices declined a further 29.74% from the previous month to 8,483 yuan per square metre, with a 57.95% decline in volume to 229,000 square meters (2,460,000 sq ft).^[84] However, property prices in the tourist resort of Sanya remain strong as of January 2011, with prime developments selling at prices of up to 80,000 RMB per square metre.

Data for 2016 data shows that Hainan saw an increase in house sales of 44%. Volume in sales was 129 billion RMB ($18.82 billion) which is a rise of 51.2 percent year-on-year. During that year in November, commercial apartments in Sanya sold for 20,695 RMB per square meter a rise of 15.75% year-on-year. The total amount of Sanya real estate sold during that time was 212,400 square meters.^[85]

Out of China’s twenty leading real estate developers, eighteen had invested in Hainan during 2016.^[85]

In the beginning of 2017, the price for a house in Haikou was approximately 8,000 RMB ($1,170) per square meter and $20,000 RMB ($2,977) per square meter in Sanya.^[86]

New 2018 regulations[edit]

On 23 April 2018, new rules came into effect regarding home purchases in Hainan. To be able to buy a house, non-Hainan residents must prove that they have a minimum of one family member who has been paying taxes or social security for at least 2 years.

Those non-Hainan residents who wish to purchase a house in Haikou, Sanya and Qionghai must prove that they have a minimum of one family member who has been paying taxes or social security for at least 5 years.

In Wuzhishan, Baoting, Qiongzhong and Baisha (the «central ecological core areas»), houses may only be purchased by local residents.

When non-residents do buy a property, the down payment must be at least 70 per cent. In order to curb speculation, owners may not sell their property for five years after receiving their ownership certificate.^[87]

Golf industry[edit]

This industry is expanding in Hainan, with numerous courses being constructed, including Mission Hills Haikou, which is one of the largest golf complexes in the world. The golf industry attracts foreign investment and overseas golfers from such countries as Australia, South Korea, and Japan.

Automotive industry[edit]

Automotive manufacturing is one of Eight industrial pillar industries. Hainan’s automotive output was 39,600 in 2017, down by 41.1 percent over the previous year. Domestic Chinese manufacturer,^[54] Haima Automobile has its global headquarters in Haikou.

Foreign trade[edit]

As of 2017, the total value of imports and exports of goods reached 70,237 million yuan (10,403 million US dollars). Of which, the value of goods exported was 29,566 million yuan (4,379 million US dollars), the value of goods imported was 40,671 million yuan (6,024 million US dollars).^[54]

Asean was Hainan’s largest export trade partner in 2017, the value of goods exported to Asean was 12,289 yuan (1,820 million US dollars), accounted for 41.56 per cent of the total value of goods exported. Its second-largest foreign trade partner was Hong Kong, the value of goods exported to Hong Kong was 2,966 yuan (439 million US dollars), accounted for 10.03 per cent of that. the 3rd largest partner was EU, the value of goods exported to EU was 2,186 yuan (324 million US dollars), accounted for 7.39 per cent of that.^[54]

Transport[edit]

Road[edit]

Before 1950 there were practically no transport links with the interior of the island. The first roads were built in the early 20th century, but no major road construction was undertaken in the mountains until the 1950s. Parallel north–south roads along the east and west coasts and through the interior of the island constitute most of Hainan’s road network.

Hainan is the only province in China that does not have highway toll stations. This is due to the 1994 «fee-to-tax» reform.^[76] Instead, road maintenance costs are raised through a 60% tax on fuel.^[88]

There are several major highways and expressways linking Haikou on the north coast with Sanya on the south coast. The G224 is 309 kilometers long and runs through the middle of the province. The Hainan Ring Highway has three parts: The G225 is 429 km (267 mi) long and is the western part. For most of its length, the G225 runs parallel to the Hainan western ring railway. The G223 is the eastern part, running from Haikou to Sanya. It is 323 kilometers long. The G98 is a 612.8-kilometer-long orbital expressway that encircles the island. Hainan Highway 1, a new 1,040-km-long scenic highway, will be built around the island, along the coast starting in May 2019.^[89]

There are also numerous rural roads within the province. These are typically two-way asphalt roads and connect larger towns. Connecting the thousands of villages to one another and to farms, are concrete roads about 6 meters wide. Many of these were built from roughly from the year 2000 onward, and as of 2019, are still being built.

Bridges[edit]

While a bridge connecting Hainan to the Leizhou peninsula on the mainland was planned in the early 2000s it never came to fruition. A bridge or tunnel received continued consideration in 2018, as travel by air or ferry can leave residents and visitors isolated when bad weather sets in.^[90]

Air[edit]

Hainan Province has two international airports (Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport) and two domestic airports (Qionghai Bo’ao Airport and Danzhou Airport, the latter is under construction.)

Rail[edit]

Today’s Hainan is ringed by standard-gauge railways. Since 2004, a rail ferry connects the island’s railroad network to Guangdong, mainland China.^[91] In 2005, Ministry of Communications allocated 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to set up a committee to research and study the possibility of a bridge or tunnel link connecting the island to the mainland.^[92] From the ferry terminal, located near Haikou railway station (west of Haikou), freight and passenger trains arriving from the mainland can proceed on the Hainan western ring railway along the island’s west coast, via Dongfang to Sanya. This railway line has been developed over several decades, starting with a few short 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines constructed during the Japanese occupation in the early 1940s.

There is a high-speed railway ring around the island, formed by the eastern ring and western ring along the island’s coast. Both high-speed railways are connected with Haikou and Sanya. There are 15 stations along the east coast, and 16 stations along the west coast. Trains are designed to travel at 250 km/h (160 mph) on the east ring, and 200 km/h (120 mph) on the west ring. The total length of eastern ring is 308.11 km (191.45 mi), while the western ring is 344 kilometers (214 mi).^[93] The first eastern ring high-speed train run started on 30 December 2010,^[94] and the Hainan western ring high-speed railway started its operation in 2015.

Seaports[edit]

• Haikou Xiuying Port (海口秀英港) serves as the main passenger and cargo center.^[95]
• Haikou New Port (海口新港) opened 1 June 2005^[95]
• Macun Port (馬村港) located in Chengmai County; opened 1 June 2005^[95]
• Hainan Strait Port^[96]
• Basuo Port in Dongfang City is a small port on the west coast of Hainan. One of its main cargos is iron ore from the Shilu Mine.

Hainan received 11,000 tons of products via ports November 2010, up 90.1 percent month-on-month. Between January and November 2010, 102,000 tons of products were exported via Hainan, 34,000 tons of which were exported to the US, and 14,000 tons sent to the EU.^[97]

Education[edit]

The level of primary and secondary education has improved since 1949, but facilities for higher education remain somewhat inadequate.^{[citation needed]}

• Hainan University (海南大学)
• Hainan Medical University (海南医学院)
• Hainan Normal University (海南师范大学)
• Hainan Tropical Ocean University (海南热带海洋学院)
• Qiongtai Normal University (琼台师范学院)
• Haikou University of Economics (海口经济学院)
• University of Sanya (三亚学院)

Culture[edit]

As a frontier region celebrated by such exiled poets as Su Dongpo, Hainan acquired an air of mystery and romance. The influx of large numbers of mainlanders after 1950 – particularly in the 1970s, when young Chinese from southern Guangdong were assigned to state farms to help develop Hainan, and in the 1980s, when thousands more came to take advantage of the economic opportunities offered – has perpetuated the frontier atmosphere on the island.^{[citation needed]}

Media[edit]

As well as programs from Central China Television (CCTV), Hainan has a number of local TV stations including Hainan TV and Haikou TV. The Chinese language Nanguo Metropolis Daily, Haikou Evening News, and Hainan Daily newspapers are published in Haikou.

A large film studio is located in the south part of Haikou. Movie Town Haikou comprises several studio buildings and an artificial town used as filming sets and a visitor attraction.

Cuisine[edit]

Hainan cuisine is said to be «lighter, with mild seasonings.» A lot of local taste is mixed with the Han Chinese taste. Seafood predominates the menu, as shrimp, crab, fish and other sea life are widely available.

Wenchang chicken is a dish known throughout the province of Hainan. Although there are many varieties of this dish, the name is usually used to define a type of small, free-range chicken from Wenchang, located on the east coast of the province. As opposed to battery chickens, its meat has more texture and is somewhat drier.

Hainan chicken rice / Coibui is a famous dish in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, bearing the region’s name. However, while many restaurants use chicken fat to quickly add flavor to the dish, the proper local method is to ‘marinate’ the rice with chicken soup to add a more full flavor.

Events[edit]

Numerous events are hosted or sponsored on the island, including:

• Swatch Girls World Pro China — Annual Elite Women’s surfing competition, held at Wanning^[98]
• Hainan International Surfing Festival, held annually at Riyue Bay, Wanning^[99]
• Miss World beauty pageant is regularly held in the city of Sanya.
• Mission Hills Star Trophy is an annual golf tournament that started in 2010.
• Tour of Hainan bicycle race
• Hainan Rendez-Vous, an annual four-day event that draws China’s ultra high-net-worth individuals to the Chinese Riviera-like shores of Hainan^[100]
• Ironman triathlon
• Boao Forum for Asia, held in Boao, is an international high-level government, business, and academia forum.
• H1 Hot Air Balloon Challenge is held annually in Haikou. Balloons from across the nation fly over the Qiongzhou Strait from Haikou to a designated location on the mainland in Xunwen County, Guangdong.^[101]

Miscellaneous topics[edit]

• The novel, Red Detachment of Women, by Liang Xin, was set in Hainan. The novel was first adapted to a feature film in the 1950s, and then a ballet in the 1960s as one of the Eight model plays. Most of the people of that time derived their romanticized image of Hainan Island from the scenes in the ballet, particularly that of the vivid forests of coconut trees, the Five Finger Mountain (Wuzhi Shan), and the Wanquan River.
• Two notable lighthouses are located on Hainan: the Baishamen Lighthouse and Mulantou Lighthouse are among the tallest in the world, the latter being the tallest in China.
• 3024 Hainan, named after the province, is an outer main-belt asteroid discovered in 1981.
• Hainan Kopi Tales is a Singaporean Chinese drama serial set in a famous Hainan coffee shop that explores the Hainanese way of life from the 1960s to the 1980s.
• Hainan Resort is also a multiplayer map in the 2013 video game Battlefield 4.

Space center[edit]

One of China’s satellite launch centers is located in Hainan east of the city of Wenchang. The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, a 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) facility, is the closest Chinese launch center to the equator. The construction plan was first announced in October 2007. The new launch center began operations on 3 November 2016 with the Long March 5 rocket making its maiden flight.

Notable residents[edit]

The poet Su Shi (1036–1101) popularized Hainan’s isolation and exoticism when he was exiled there under the Song dynasty. The Dongpo Academy was built on the site of the residence where he lived in exile.

Hai Rui (1514–1587) was a famous Chinese official of the Ming dynasty. His name has come down in history as a model of honesty and integrity in office.

Chih-Ping Chen (1906-1983) was a distinguished diplomat and statesman for the Republic of China, who served to build the Yunnan-Burma Road, and a diplomatic career that spanned four decades.

The most well-known native of Hainan is Chinese businessman, Charlie Soong, father of the Shanghai-born Soong sisters: Soong Ai-ling, wife of H. H. Kung (once China’s richest man); Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-Sen; and Soong Mei-ling, wife of former ROC President Chiang Kai-shek.

Wang Feifei (Fei), singer, actress, entertainer and member of girl group Miss A;

Wu Xuanyi, member of the South Korean-Chinese girl group WJSN

International partnership[edit]

Hainan has international relationships with the following places:^[102]

Sister state/province	Sovereign country	Date of Establishing Sisterhood Relationship
Hyogo	Japan	28 September 1990
Hawaii	United States	30 June 1992
Jeju	South Korea	6 October 1995
Crimea	Ukraine	15 April 1996
Cebu	Philippines	9 June 1996
Arad	Romania	27 September 2000
Salzburg	Austria	24 October 2000
Prince Edward Island	Canada	20 June 2001
South Sinai	Egypt	3 August 2002
Oulu	Finland	11 December 2002
Baleares	Spain	29 July 2004
Phuket	Thailand	25 September 2005
Southern Province	Sri Lanka	23 April 2005
Canary	Spain	11 November 2005
Lubuskie	Poland	24 February 2006
East New Britain	Papua New Guinea	28 September 2006
Kampong Cham	Cambodia	27 March 2006
Quang Ninh	Vietnam	19 April 2007
Quintana Roo	Mexico	30 September 2008
Kyzylorda	Kazakhstan	3 July 2009
Parana	Brazil	13 March 2010
Gotland	Sweden	2 November 2010
Sardinia	Italy	13 October 2011
Bali	Indonesia	20 October 2011
Nampula	Mozambique	18 September 2013
Penang	Malaysia	7 November 2013
South Moravian Region	Czech Republic	29 April 2016
Pest	Hungary	12 June 2016
Luang Prabang	Laos	16 July 2016

See also[edit]

• List of islands of China
• Hainan Island incident
• Sanya

Note[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• D’Arcy Brown, Liam (2003). Green Dragon, Sombre Warrior: travels to China’s extremes. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6038-1
• Edmonds, Richard Louis. «Hainan province and its impact on the geography of China», Geography, Vol. 74, No. 2 (April 1989), pp. 165–169

External links[edit]

• Hainan Government website (English) Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Hainan Government website (Chinese)
• Economic profile for Hainan at HKTDC
• Dr Howard M Scott «Hainan»
• Resources on the Hainanese in the National Library of Singapore
• Learn Hainanese Website Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Hainan Province Official English Language Tourism Website Archived 3 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine

Hainan 海南
Province
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	海南省 (Hǎinán Shěng)
• Abbreviation	琼 (pinyin: Qióng; Jyutping: king4; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khêng)
• Hainanese	Hái-nâm-séng
• Yue Jyutping	Hoi2 Naam4 Saang2
Landscape of Sanya Nanshan Dongtian Park
Location of Hainan within China
Coordinates: 19°12′N 109°42′E / 19.2°N 109.7°ECoordinates: 19°12′N 109°42′E / 19.2°N 109.7°E
Country	China
Guangnan West Circuit	988
Hainan Special Administrative Region	1944
Incorporation into the PRC	1 May 1950
Separation from Guangdong	26 April 1988
Capital and largest city	Haikou
Divisions	4 prefectures, 25 counties, 218 townships
Government
• Type	Province
• Body	Hainan Provincial People’s Congress
• CCP Secretary	Shen Xiaoming
• Congress Chairman	Shen Xiaoming
• Governor	Feng Fei
• CPPCC Chairman	Li Rongcan
Area [1]
• Total	35,191 km2 (13,587 sq mi)
• Rank	28th
Highest elevation (Wuzhi Shan)	1,840 m (6,040 ft)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	10,081,232
• Rank	28th
• Density	290/km2 (740/sq mi)
• Rank	17th
Demographics
• Ethnic composition	Han: 82.6% Li: 15.84% Miao: 0.82% Zhuang: 0.67%
• Languages and dialects	Standard Chinese, Hainanese, Yue, Lingao, Hakka, Hlai, Miao, Tsat
ISO 3166 code	CN-HI
GDP (2021)	CN¥647.52 billion US$100.39 billion (31st)[3]
GDP per capita	CN¥64,230 US$9,958 (25th)
GDP growth	11.2%
HDI (2018)	0.750[4] (high) (19th)
Website	English Chinese

Hainan Island

Native name: 海南岛
Geography
Location	East Asia
Type	Island
Area	33,210 km2 (12,820 sq mi)
Area rank	42nd
Length	156 km (96.9 mi)
Width	170 km (106 mi)
Highest elevation	1,840 m (6040 ft)
Highest point	Wuzhi Mountain
Administration
People’s Republic of China
Province	Hainan
Largest settlement	Haikou (pop. 2,873,358)
Republic of China (claimed)
Special Administrative Region	Hainan
Demographics
Population	c. 8,180,000
Ethnic groups	Han, Li, Miao, Zhuang, Utsul

Hainan
«Hainan» in Chinese characters
Chinese	海南
Literal meaning	«South of the Sea (Qiongzhou Strait)»
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hǎinán (help·info) Bopomofo ㄏㄞˇ ㄋㄢˊ Wade–Giles Hai3-nan2 IPA [xàɪ.nǎn] Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Hói-nàm Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hói-nàahm Jyutping Hoi2-naam4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hái-lâm Hainanese Romanization Hái-nâm Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Hāi-nàng

Hainan Island
A 19th-century map of Hainan Island
Traditional Chinese	海南島
Simplified Chinese	海南岛
Literal meaning	Island South of the Sea
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hǎinán Dǎo Bopomofo ㄏㄞˇ ㄋㄢˊ

Former names
Zhuya
Chinese	珠崖
Literal meaning	Pearl Cliffs
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhūyá
Qiongya
Traditional Chinese	瓊崖
Simplified Chinese	琼崖
Literal meaning	Jade Cliffs
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qióngyá
Qiongzhou
Traditional Chinese	瓊州
Simplified Chinese	琼州
Literal meaning	Jade Prefecture
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qióngzhou

Hainan (, ;^[5] 海南) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. Hainan Island, the largest and most populous island in China,^{[note 1]} makes up the vast majority (97%) of the province. The name means «south of the sea», reflecting the island’s position south of the Qiongzhou Strait, which separates it from Leizhou Peninsula.

The province has a land area of 33,920 square kilometers (13,100 sq mi), of which Hainan Island is 32,900 square kilometers (12,700 sq mi) and the rest is over 200 islands scattered across three archipelagos: Zhongsha, Xisha and Nansha. It was part of Guangdong from 1950–88, after which it was made a province of its own and was designated as a special economic zone by Deng Xiaoping, as part of the Chinese economic reform program.

Indigenous peoples like the Hlai, a Kra–Dai-speaking ethnic group, are native to the island and comprise 15% of the population. Their native languages include the Hlai languages. The Hlai are recognized by the Chinese government as one of the country’s 56 ethnic groups. The Chinese population, who compose a majority of the population at 82%, speak a wide variety of languages including Standard Chinese, Hainam Min, Yue Chinese, Cantonese, Hakka Chinese, etc.^[6] Speakers of Be, despite speaking a Kra-Dai language, are reckoned officially as ethnically Chinese. Hainan is also home to the Jiamao language, of disputed provenance.

There are ten major cities and ten counties in Hainan Province. The capital of the province is Haikou, on the northern coast of Hainan Island, while Sanya is a well-known tourist destination on the southern coast. The other major cities are Wenchang, Sansha, Qionghai, Wanning, Wuzhishan, Dongfang and Danzhou.

According to China’s territorial claims, several territories in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands (Nansha) and Paracel Islands (Xisha),^[7] are administered under Sansha city of the province.

In 2020, a large-scale plan was announced by the Chinese government to transform the entire island province into a free trade port, with the aim of turning it into the largest free-trade port in the world by 2035. The plan involves building a hub for offshore financing and duty free shopping, as well as using lower taxes and reduced visa requirements to help draw in foreign businesses and tourists.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Names[edit]

The provincial name derives from its major island, Hainan, in Hainanese «Hai Nam», which is named after its position south of the Qiongzhou Strait. (To the north of the strait, the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong is also known as Haibei/Hai Bac or «North of the Sea».) Former names for Hainan Island include Zhuya, Qiongya, and Qiongzhou. The latter two gave rise to the provincial abbreviation 瓊 or 琼 (Qióng/Kheng).

During the 17th and 18th centuries, explorers referred to the island as «Aynam«,^[12][13] which remains the pronunciation of its name in the local Hainanese dialect.

History[edit]

Prehistoric era[edit]

Hainan was originally attached to the Northeastern part of what is now Vietnam; however, the island was formed after it physically broke away from Vietnam due to a volcanic eruption and drifted southeast near China after the Mesozoic, millions of years ago.^[14]

The Baiyue people are among the earliest Kra-Dai residents to arrive on Hainan island. They are believed to have settled there at least 2 to 6 thousand years ago, and carry genetic markers from ancient people who reached the island between 7 and 27 thousand years ago.^[15]

Imperial Era[edit]

Hainan Island was recorded by Chinese mandarin officials in 110 BC, when the Han dynasty of China established a military garrison there following the arrival of General Lu Bode. Han citizens, including military personnel and civil servants began to migrate to Hainan Island from the mainland. For centuries, imperial courts exiled criminals and political dissidents to Hainan island and what is now northern Vietnam, both of which were parts of Guangdong province most of the time during various Chinese dynasties, to toil under the tropical heat. One of the most famous exiled persons is Su Shi, an intellectual, gifted poet, and Song dynasty bureaucrat, who offended many of his colleagues and superiors in the royal court. Su Shi wrote extensively about his exiled experiences on the island during the 11th century AD. After the 11th century AD, more and more poor peasants looked for land and moved from other parts of the Guangdong province to Leizhou peninsula and Hainan island, pushing the indigenous Li people, one of the various Bai-Yue tribes in southern China, into the highlands of the southern half of the island.

Republic of China[edit]

Hainan was historically part of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces and as such was the Qiongya Circuit (瓊崖道) under the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China. In 1921, it was planned to become a special administrative region (瓊崖特別行政區); in 1944, it became Hainan Special Administrative Region with 16 counties, including the South China Sea Islands.

During the 1920s and 30s, Hainan was a hotbed of banditry, many opposition politicians^{[clarification needed]} were hanged, therefore opposition politicians went into hiding. The Communists and the indigenous Hlai people fought a vigorous guerrilla campaign against the Japanese, who were only able to occupy some Hainan territories; but in retaliation the Japanese launched numerous massacres against Hlai villages. Feng Baiju led the Hainan Independent Column of fighters throughout the 1930s and 1940s. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Kuomintang reestablished control. Hainan was one of the last areas to eventually come under the administration of the People’s Republic, having been under the control of ROC forces until March 1950. The People’s Republic attacked Hainan on April 10, 1950 and attained complete control on May 1.

People’s Republic of China[edit]

On 1 May 1950, under the People’s Republic of China, the Hainan Special Administrative Region became an Administrative Region Office (海南行政区公署), a branch of the Guangdong provincial government. During the mid-1980s, when Hainan Island was still part of Guangdong Province, a fourteen-month episode of marketing zeal by Hainan Special District Administrator Lei Yu^[16] put Hainan’s pursuit of provincial status under a cloud. It involved the duty-free imports from Hong Kong of 90,000 Japanese-made cars and trucks at a cost of ¥ 4.5 billion (US$1.5 billion), and exporting them – with the help of local naval units – to the mainland, making 150% profits. By comparison, only 10,000 vehicles were imported into Hainan since 1950. In addition, it involved further consignments of 2.9 million TV sets, 252,000 videocassette recorders & 122,000 motorcycles. The money was taken from the 1983 central government funds destined for the construction of the island’s transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, airports, harbors) over the next ten years.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 October 1984, it became the Hainan Administrative Region (海南行政区), with a People’s Government, and finally as province separate from Guangdong four years later. In 1988, when the island was made a separate province, it was designated a Special Economic Zone in an effort to increase investment.

The central government funds were deemed insufficient by the Hainan authorities for the construction of the island’s other infrastructures (water works, power stations, telecommunications, etc.) and had taken a very liberal interpretation of the economic and trade regulations for Hainan and thirteen coastal cities; the regulations did not mention on prohibiting the re-selling of second-hand goods. Some of the proceeds, from unsold units, were later retrieved by the central government to re-finance the special district.

In June 2020, China announced a master plan for Hainan’s free trade port system. Announced by state-owned media Xinhua News Agency, «Hainan will “basically establish a free trade port system by 2025 and become more mature by 2035.”^[17][18] South China Morning Post described such an initiative as an effort of PRC to «replace Hong Kong as the trading entrepôt» while Cheng Shi, of ICBC International has refused to accept such a claim.^[19][20] Additionally, experts have raised concern about the question of compliance of global trading practices particularly for this project.^[21][22]

Geography[edit]

Hainan, separated by the 20 km (12 mi) wide Qiongzhou Strait from the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong, is the largest island administered by the People’s Republic of China and the 42nd largest in the world. The area of Hainan Island (32,900 km² (12,700 sq mi), 97% of the province) is slightly smaller than that of Taiwan Island. To the west of Hainan Island is the Gulf of Tonkin. Wuzhi Mountain is the highest mountain on the island at 1,840 m (6,040 ft).

Hainan Island measures 288 km (179 mi) long and 180 km (110 mi) wide.

The northern half of Hainan is covered with the ancient Hainan Volcanic Field. Beneath the topsoil is volcanic rock while the topsoil itself contains small pieces of this vesicular rock.

Wetland covers 320,000 hectares, 78,000 hectares of which were created artificially. Most of this is located in the eastern and northern part of Hainan.^[23]

Rivers and lakes[edit]

Most of the rivers in Hainan originate in the central area of the island and flow radially in different directions. The Nandu River in the northern part of the island is 314 km (195 mi) long, and its tributary, the Xinwu River, is 109 km (68 mi) long. Other major rivers include the Wanquan River at 162 km (101 mi)-long in the east, Changhua River in the west, and the Sanya River in the south. Evaporation during the dry season around the coastal areas greatly reduces the flow of the rivers.

There are very few natural lakes in Hainan. However, there are numerous reservoirs, the largest of which is the Songtao Reservoir in the central-north area.

Islands[edit]

Nearby islands[edit]

Several small islands exist around the coast of Hainan Island:

• Dazhou Island is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) off the coast of Wanning
• Haidian Island, on the north coast, is part of Haikou City
• Nanwan Monkey Island, in actuality a peninsula
• Phoenix Island is an artificial resort island currently under construction in Sanya Bay.
• Wuzhizhou Island is located within Haitang Bay
• Xinbu Island is located directly to the east of Haidian Island

Due to their close proximity to the main island, the flora, fauna, and the climate are very similar.

Disputed islands[edit]

A number of small islands, which are located hundreds of kilometers to the south, are claimed and administrated by Sansha as part of Hainan Province.^[24] Sovereignty of these islands is however disputed. These islands include:

• Paracel Islands Xisha Islands – «The West-sands» – claimed by Vietnam, the PRC and the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC)
  • Money Island, Paracel Islands
  • Rocky Island, South China Sea
  • Tree Island, South China Sea
  • Triton Island
  • Woody Island, South China Sea
• Zhongsha Islands – «The Middle-sands»
• Spratly Islands – Nansha Islands – «The South-sands» are subject to claims by Vietnam, the PRC, ROC, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei.
  • Spratly Island
  • Flat Island (Spratly)
  • Taiping Island
  • James Shoal (southernmost point)
  • Loaita Island
  • Namyit Island
  • Nanshan Island
  • Sin Cowe Island
  • Thitu Island
  • West York Island

Environment[edit]

Compared to most of mainland China, the air quality of Hainan is significantly better since it is not affected by factory pollution, which has adversely affected the air on the mainland. Throughout 2012, Hainan had the highest air quality in the country for 351 days.^{[citation needed]}

The provincial government’s environmental protection campaign has taken action against a number of industrial plants. During 2012, several outdated manufacturing facilities had their business licenses revoked, and 175 cases related to illegal sewage discharge were handled.^{[citation needed]}

Total sulfur dioxide emissions for the province were 34,000 tons in 2012, a 3 percent year-on-year reduction. In 2011, smog emissions were reduced 6.3 percent to 15,000 tons.^{[citation needed]}

Province-wide infrastructure development[edit]

From 2015 to the present, a widespread program to improve cities and other settlements in Hainan island has been taking place. It includes the removal of litter from towns, villages, and many roadsides. Small, illegal dumps are being removed. However, illegal dumping of construction debris still occurs on rural roads. Large, plastic dumpsters have been put in place within villages and at countryside road intersections. Towns are being improved with new road and sidewalk surfaces, landscaping features are being created, and many buildings are receiving new façades.

This initiative in Haikou has seen entire neighborhoods demolished and rebuilt, sanitation improved, illegal structures used for business removed, roadside vendors banned, roads and sidewalks replaced, and new street crossings with traffic lights installed.

Climate[edit]

Hainan Island
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D 15 22 15 26 25 17 40 26 18 127 27 20 220 26 20 317 27 21 380 25 20 284 25 19 372 25 20 302 24 18 158 23 16 64 21 14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: [25]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D 0.6 72 59 1 77 63 1.6 79 64 5 81 68 8.7 79 68 12 81 70 15 77 68 11 77 66 15 77 68 12 75 64 6.2 73 61 2.5 70 57 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

The climate of Hainan is mostly tropical. The island’s two largest cities, Haikou and Sanya, both possess a tropical Köppen climate. The coldest months are January and February when temperatures drop to 16 to 21 °C (61 to 70 °F); the hottest months are July and August, and the temperatures are 25 to 29 °C (77 to 84 °F). Except for the mountainous regions in the central part of the island, the daily average temperature in Hainan in all months is well above 10 °C (50 °F).

The summer in the northern part is hotter and, (for more than 20 days in a year, the temperature can be higher than 35 °C (95 °F)^{[citation needed]}). The average annual precipitation is 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters (59 to 79 in) and can be as high as 2,400 millimeters (94 in) in central and eastern areas, and as low as 900 millimeters (35 in) in the coastal areas of the southwest. Parts of Hainan lie in the path of typhoons, and 70% of the annual precipitation is derived from typhoons and the summer rainy season. Major flooding occurs due to typhoons, which can cause many problems for local residents.

Annual fog[edit]

From January to February, the island of Hainan is often affected by thick fog, particularly in coastal areas and the northern part of the island. This is caused by cold winter air from the north coming into contact with the warmer sea, causing the moisture that evaporates from the sea to be condensed into fog. The fog remains from day to night, and is evenly distributed. Visibility may be reduced to 50 meters (160 ft) for days at a time. During this period, residents normally keep windows shut. The moisture in the air is so extreme that the walls in homes weep, and floors often accumulate a layer of water.^{[citation needed]}

Flora and fauna[edit]

Hainan has over 1,500 km² (580 sq mi) of tropical forest, in which live 4,600 kinds of plants and more than 570 species of animals.^{[citation needed]} However, due to an invasion of exotic species, human impact from tourism, deforestation, and the release of pollutants, many species are under threat. A report from the Department of Land, Environment and Resources of Hainan Province states that 200 species are near extinction, with 6 species, such as Maytenus hainanensis and Sciaphila tenella already extinct.^[26]

Flora[edit]

The majority of Hainan’s land mass is forest with 61.5 percent coverage (210,000 hectares) reported at the end of 2012, an increase of 34,133 hectares (84,340 acres) since 2011. A further 1,187 hectares (2,930 acres) grass and trees were planted along the province’s highways.^[3]

There are 53 genera in 29 families of wild and cultivated fruit growing on Hainan Island.^[27] There are few large trees on the island; coconut palms are very common along with other smaller trees. Most of Hainan Island is however covered by forest.

Notable species include:

• Hainan yellow lantern chili is a pepper similar to the scotch bonnet.
• Hainan white pine, a species of tree.
• Cephalotaxus hainanensis is a species of plum-yew.

Fauna[edit]

There are numerous protected areas and wildlife preserves on the island. Animals that are ubiquitous throughout the island include frogs, toads, geckos, skinks, and butterflies. Present, but less commonly observed, are snakes (Asian palm pit vipers, red bamboo snake, and occasionally cobras), Siberian chipmunks, squirrels, and the masked palm civet. Almost no large animals remain in the wild. The lakes are largely populated with carp and catfish.

There are 362 known bird species.^[26] Seabirds such as gulls are not generally seen. Egrets and Black-winged kites are common in agricultural areas. Similar to many subtropical areas, insect species are diverse, and mosquitoes are very common.

In the ocean, sea turtles and whale sharks are known to migrate in these waters.

Hainan island has rich bio-diversity of cetaceans and is the site of studying these in Chinese waters.^[28] Many whales such as North Pacific right whales, western gray whales, humpback whales, and blue whales (all of these are almost extinct in Chinese waters)^[29] were historically seen in the winter and spring to mate and calve. These gentle giants of the sea had been hunted heavily and were wiped out by Japanese whalers (established whaling stations on various sites on Chinese and Korean coasts including Hainan and Daya Bay). A few Bryde’s whales and minke whales may still occur in the adjacent waters along with on Leizhou Peninsula and the Gulf of Tonkin.^[30][31] Smaller species of whale and dolphins, such as short-finned pilot whales^[32] and pantropical spotted dolphins,^[33] but most notably the endangered Chinese white dolphin. Declared sanctuary for the species extends along the coasts. These dolphins may appear among clearer waters such as vicinity to Sanya.^[34]

Dugongs still occur in small number, mostly on Gulf of Tonkin side.

Notable species include:

• Hainan gymnure (Neohylomys hainanensis or Hainan moonrat) is a small mammal.
• Hainan partridge (Arborophila ardens) is a species of bird endemic to Hainan Island.
• Hainan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron katsumatae) is an endangered species of the family Phasianidae.
• Hainan black crested gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is one of the world’s most endangered primates. Seacology, a non-profit organization in Berkeley, California, United States, initiated a project to protect the highly endangered Hainan gibbon in exchange for scholarships for the children of four villages near Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve.
• Hainan hare (Lepus hainanus) is a species of hare endemic to Hainan.
• A subspecies of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis alleni) is endemic to Hainan.
• Hainan leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus hainanus) is an Old World warbler in the family Phylloscopidae.
• Little torrent frog (Amolops torrentis) is a species of frog found only on Hainan Island.

Demographics[edit]

The population density of Hainan is low compared to most coastal Chinese provinces.

In 2000, the ethnic groups of Hainan included the Han-Chinese Hainanese, who are the majority (84% of the population) and speak the Min language, the Li (Hlai) (14.7% of the population); the Miao (0.7%) and the Zhuang (0.6%).^{[citation needed]} The Li are the largest indigenous group on the island in terms of population. Also found on the island are the Utsuls, descendants of Cham refugees, who are classified as Hui by the Chinese government because of their Islamic religion. There is a Tanka community that live at Sanya Bay.^[35]

The Li people mainly reside in the nine cities and counties in the middle and southern part of Hainan – the cities of Sanya, Wuzhishan and Dongfang, the Li autonomous counties of Baisha, Lingshui, Ledong, Changjiang, and the ‘Li and Miao Autonomous Counties of Qiongzhong and Baoting’. Some others live elsewhere on Hainan with other ethnic groups in Danzhou, Wanning, Qionghai, Lingshui and Tunchang. The area inhabited by the Li ethnic group totals 18,700 square kilometers (7,200 sq mi), about 55 percent of the province’s total.^[36]

Although they are indigenous to the island and do not speak a Chinese language, the Limgao (Ong-Be) people near the capital (8% of the Hainan population) are counted as Han Chinese by the Chinese government.

Religion[edit]

Most of the Hainanese population practices Chinese folk religion and Chinese Buddhism. The Li population has a Theravada Buddhist minority. Most of the Utsuls of the island, a branch of Cham people living near Sanya, are Muslims. Because Hainan was a point in the travel route of missionaries, there are some Christians. According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christians constitute 0.48% of the province’s population.^[37]

Nanshan Park is the center of Buddhism on Hainan. Encompassing more than 50 km² (19 sq mi) of forest. The site includes countless grand temples, statues and spiritual gardens the likes of Savior Garden and Longevity Valley, with intricately trimmed hedges and abundant in lotus flowers, a venerated symbol in Buddhism meaning virtue or purity.

At the heart of the valley is the grand Nanshan Temple, its gates flanked by stone figures of Buddha in front of the Tang dynasty-style entrance. The interior displays images of the Four Heavenly Kings amid statues of other deities enshrined in renderings of stone, gold and jade.

Perhaps^{[weasel words]} the most popular^{[according to whom?]} site within the Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone is the awe-inspiring^{[according to whom?]} stone rendering of the Bodhisattva Guan Yin, emerging out of the South China Sea to stand at 108 meters^{[citation needed]}, taller than the Statue of Liberty^{[citation needed]}.

The Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Zone is visited by thousands of tourists and pilgrims each year who come pay homage to the site that plays a significant role in the religion in China and to sample some of the finest Buddhist vegan cuisine on the island.^[38]

Languages[edit]

Most people in Hainan speak a variety of Min Chinese known as Hainanese. Other Chinese varieties and non-Chinese languages are spoken as well:

• Standard Mandarin (Putonghua) is widely known as in the rest of China. Mandarin is especially common in the city of Sanya.
  • In Yacheng City (as well as its vicinity several dozen miles west of Huihui and Huixin), the so-called military speech dialect of Mandarin (the official language of the southwest among the northern Chinese dialects) is spoken.
• Cantonese is spoken by some, particularly in Haikou.
• In Yanglan Village in the northeast, two Min dialects, both closely related to Cantonese, are spoken: the Mai dialect and the Danzhou dialect, spoken in Haipo Village in the south, which is the same dialect as the dialect spoken in Danzhou in Dan Country in the northern part of the island.
• The Li, Zhuang and Limgao speak Tai–Kadai languages.
• The Miao speak Hmong–Mien languages.
• There are roughly 4,500 Utsul people living in the villages of Yanglan (羊栏) and Huixin (回新), two villages on the outskirts of Sanya. They speak the Tsat language, a member of the Austronesian Chamic languages.

Sociolinguistics[edit]

Standard Mandarin serves as a lingua franca between different ethnic groups. Adults who are members of a minority also have quite high literacy skills in Chinese. Most adults speak several Chinese dialects, and some also speak Li.

When Chams interact with the Hainanese dialect speakers from within Hainan Province, they use the Hainanese dialect, though youngsters generally use Mandarin. Not many can communicate in Li, so the Hainanese dialect or Mandarin is often used.

In the market place and within the Sanya Municipality, the Cham speakers use Cham among themselves, and with others mostly use the Hainanese dialect. However, in the market places near the government seat of Yanglan Township, the Chams either use the Hainanese dialect or the Mai dialect.^[39]

Life expectancy and longevity[edit]

The people of Hainan live longer than those on the mainland. At the end of 2017, there were 1,565 centenarians in Hainan. For every 100,000 people in the province, 17.13 were centenarians. As of 8 March 2018, there were 287,700 residents over 80 years of age, making up 3.15% of the population.^[40]

Government[edit]

Even while Hainan Island was a part of Guangdong it had a considerable amount of local autonomy; the southern half of the island was an autonomous prefecture. Hainan’s elevation to provincial level in 1988 increased its accountability to the Central People’s Government, but by designating the new province a special economic zone the central government expressed its intent to allow Hainan maximum flexibility in devising programs to facilitate foreign investment and economic growth. Administratively, the province has been divided into five economic major districts.^{[citation needed]}

Politics[edit]

The politics of Hainan is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Hainan is the highest-ranking official in the People’s Government of Hainan. However, in the province’s dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Hainan Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary or CCP Party Chief.

Legislation[edit]

On 13 April 1988, the First Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress decided to establish Hainan Province, and at the same time granted the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress and its Standing Committee special legislative power.^[41]
After the 2019 free trade port plan is proposed, Hainan can enact legislation in economic, cultural, local affairs, social management, etc., and implement it in the Hainan Free Trade Zone (port).^[42]

Intelligence[edit]

Per the research conducted by Information Warfare Monitor, Hainan is the physical location of GhostNet. The Chinese government has officially denied the existence of a cyber war and intelligence apparatus.

Administrative[edit]

In the official PRC territorial claim, Hainan Province includes not just one island, but also some two hundred South China Sea Islands. While the containment of the South China Sea Islands means that Hainan Province has a very large water body, it has a disproportionally small land area. James Shoal (曾母暗沙, Zēngmǔ Ànshā), which is presently marked by the PRC, signifies the country’s southernmost border. But Malaysia also claims that it is on their continental shelf.

Subdivisions[edit]

Hainan Province uses a slightly different administrative system than the other provinces of China. Most other provinces are divided entirely into prefecture-level divisions, each of which is then divided entirely into county-level divisions. County-level divisions generally do not come directly under the province. In Hainan, nearly all county-level divisions (the eight districts excepted) come directly under the province. This method of division is due to Hainan’s relatively sparse population, totaling 9.26 million as of 2017.^[43]

Administrative divisions of Hainan
Haikou Sanya Sansha Danzhou Wuzhishan Qionghai Wenchang Wanning Dongfang Ding’an County Tunchang County Chengmai County Lingao County Baisha Li AC Changjiang Li AC Ledong Li AC Lingshui Li AC Baoting Li and Miao AC Qiongzhong Li and Miao AC █ Provincial administered county-level divisions ☐ Sovereignty over Sansha is disputed, see Territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Division code[44]	Division	Area in km2[45]	Population 2020[46]	Seat	Divisions[47]
Districts	Counties	Aut. counties	CL cities
460000	Hainan Province	35191.00	10,081,232	Haikou city	10	4	6	5
460100	Haikou city	2304.80	2,873,358	Xiuying District	4
460200	Sanya city	1910.67	1,031,396	Jiyang District	4
460300	Sansha city*	788.00	2,333	Xisha District	2
460400	Danzhou city#	3394.00	954,259	Nada town
469001	Wuzhishan city**	1131.00	112,269	Tongza town				1
469002	Qionghai city**	1710.14	528,238	Jiaji town				1
469005	Wenchang city**	2459.18	560,894	Wencheng town				1
469006	Wanning city**	1899.90	545,992	Wancheng town				1
469007	Dongfang city**	2272.29	444,458	Basuo town				1
469021	Ding’an County**	1187.00	284,690	Dingcheng town		1
469022	Tunchang County**	1223.97	255,335	Tuncheng town		1
469023	Chengmai County**	2076.28	497,953	Jinjiang town		1
469024	Lingao County**	1343.33	420,594	Lincheng town		1
469025	Baisha Li Autonomous County**	2117.20	164,699	Yacha town			1
469026	Changjiang Li Autonomous County**	1617.70	232,124	Shilu town			1
469027	Ledong Li Autonomous County**	2763.53	464,435	Baoyou town			1
469028	Lingshui Li Autonomous County**	1121.24	372,511	Yelin town			1
469029	Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County**	1166.78	156,108	Baocheng town			1
469030	Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County**	2704.00	179,586	Yinggen town			1
* — Sovereignty over Sansha (including the Paracel, Spratly and Zhongsha Islands) is disputed as of 6 March 2023. ** — Directly administered county-level divisions # — direct-piped cities — does not contain any county-level divisions

Administrative divisions in Chinese and varieties of romanizations
English	Chinese	Pinyin	Hainanese Romanzation
Hainan Province	海南省	Hǎinán Shěng	Hai Nam Teng
Haikou city	海口市	Hǎikǒu Shì	Hai Khau Si
Sanya city	三亚市	Sānyà Shì	Tam Ah Si
Sansha city	三沙市	Sānshā Shì	Tam Sa Si
Danzhou city	儋州市	Dānzhōu Shì	Dam Ju Si
Wuzhishan city	五指山市	Wǔzhǐshān Shì	Ngou Ji Tua Si
Qionghai city	琼海市	Qiónghǎi Shì	Kheng Hai Si
Wenchang city	文昌市	Wénchāng Shì	Von Sio Si
Wanning city	万宁市	Wànníng Shì	Van Neng Si
Dongfang city	东方市	Dōngfāng Shì	Dang Fang Si
Ding’an County	定安县	Dìng’ān Xiàn	Deng An Kuai
Tunchang County	屯昌县	Túnchāng Xiàn	Ton Siang Kuai
Chengmai County	澄迈县	Chéngmài Xiàn	Deng Mai Kuai
Lingao County	临高县	Língāo Xiàn	Liom Ko Kuai
Baisha Li Autonomous County	白沙黎族自治县	Báishā Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Be Tua Loitoc Seji Kuai
Changjiang Li Autonomous County	昌江黎族自治县	Chāngjiāng Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Siang Kiang Loitoc Seji Kuai
Ledong Li Autonomous County	乐东黎族自治县	Lèdōng Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Loc Dong Loitoc Seji Kuai
Lingshui Li Autonomous County	陵水黎族自治县	Língshuǐ Lízú Zìzhìxiàn	Leng Tui Loitco Seji Kuai
Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County	保亭黎族苗族自治县	Bǎotíng Lízú Miáozú Zìzhìxiàn	Bo Deng Loitoc Miautoc Seji Kuai
Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County	琼中黎族苗族自治县	Qióngzhōng Lízú Miáozú Zìzhìxiàn	Kheng Tong Loitoc Miautoc Seji Kuai

Urban areas[edit]

Population by urban areas of prefecture & county cities
#	City	Urban area[48]	District area[48]	City proper[48]	Census date
1	Haikou	1,517,410	2,046,170	2,046,170	2010-11-01
2	Sanya	453,819	685,408	685,408	2010-11-01
3	Danzhou[a]	418,834	932,356	932,356	2010-11-01
4	Wenchang	251,795	537,426	537,426	2010-11-01
5	Wanning	221,263	545,597	545,597	2010-11-01
6	Qionghai	194,400	483,217	483,217	2010-11-01
7	Dongfang	153,726	408,309	408,309	2010-11-01
8	Wuzhishan	53,268	104,119	104,119	2010-11-01
(9)	Sansha[b]	444	444	444	2010-11-01

Military base[edit]

Hainan Island is home to the People’s Liberation Army Navy Hainan Submarine Base and strategic nuclear submarine naval harbor at Yalong Bay.^[49] The naval base is estimated to be 60 feet (18 m) high, built into hillsides around a military base. The caverns are capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites. The harbor houses nuclear ballistic missile submarines and is large enough to accommodate aircraft carriers. The U.S. Department of Defense has estimated that China will have five type 094 submarines operational by 2010 with each capable of carrying 12 JL-2 ballistic missiles. Two 950-meter (3,120 ft) piers and three smaller ones would be enough to accommodate two carrier strike groups or amphibious assault ships.

Economy[edit]

Hainan’s economy is predominantly agricultural, and more than a half of the island’s exports are agricultural products. Hainan’s elevation to province-level status (1988), however, was accompanied by its designation as China’s largest «special economic zone», the intent being to hasten the development of the island’s plentiful resources. Prior to this, the province had a reputation for being a «Wild West» area, largely untouched by industrialization; even today there are relatively few factories in the province. Tourism plays an important part of Hainan’s economy, thanks largely to its tropical beaches and lush forests. The central government has encouraged foreign investment in Hainan and has allowed the island to rely to a large extent on market forces.^[50]

Hainan’s industrial development largely has been limited to the processing of its mineral and agricultural products, particularly rubber and iron ore. Since the 1950s, machinery, farm equipment, and textiles have been manufactured in the Haikou area for local consumption. A major constraint on industrial expansion has been an inadequate supply of electricity. Much of the island’s generating capacity is hydroelectric, and it is subject to seasonal fluctuations in stream and river flows.^[51]

In December 2009, the government of China announced that it plans to establish Hainan as an «international tourist destination» by 2020.^[52] This announcement contributed to a surge in the province’s economy, with a year-on-year increase in investment of 136.9% in the first three months of 2010. Hainan’s real estate sector accounted for more than one third of the province’s economic growth.^[53]

According to the Statistical Communiqué of National Economic and Social Development of the statistical authority, the GDP of Hainan Province in 2017 was 446.3 billion yuan (66.1 billion US dollars), up by 7.0 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the value added of the primary industry was 97.9 billion yuan (14.5 billion US dollars), up by 3.6 percent, that of the secondary industry was 99.7 billion yuan (14.8 billion US dollars), up by 2.7 percent and that of the tertiary industry was 248.6 billion yuan (36.8 billion US dollars), up by 10.2 percent. The value added of the primary industry accounted for 21.95 percent of the GDP; that of the secondary industry accounted for 22.34 percent; and that of the tertiary industry accounted for 55.71 percent. The per capita GDP in 2017 was 48,430 yuan (7,173 US dollars).^[54]

Agriculture[edit]

Owing to Hainan’s tropical climate, paddy rice is cultivated extensively in the northeastern lowlands and in the southern mountain valleys.^[52] Leading crops other than rice include coconut, palm oil, sisal, tropical fruits (including pineapples, of which Hainan is China’s leading producer), black pepper, coffee, tea, cashews, and sugarcane.

The hot Hainan yellow lantern chili, a variety similar to the scotch bonnet, is unique to the island, and is grown in the southeast and southwest.

The total tropical crop area of Hainan is 100,000 hectares.^[55]

Hainan is a major rubber producer. In the early 20th century Chinese emigrants returning from then British Malaya, introduced rubber trees to the island; after 1950, state farms were developed, and Hainan now produces a substantial amount of China’s rubber. Natural rubber is now grown on 246,000 hectares of land. This ranks 6th in the world in harvest area and 5th in terms of output.^[55]

Hainan has almost 93,000 hectares of areca palms. The product, the areca nut, is consumed locally and also sent to the mainland. Ninety-five percent of China’s production of this nut is produced in Hainan.^[56]

Domesticated farm animals comprise mainly goats, cows, water buffalo, chickens, geese and ducks.

Fisheries[edit]

Grouper, Spanish mackerel, and tuna^{[citation needed]} constitute the bulk of the catch from offshore fishing grounds. Scallops and pearls are raised in shallow bays and basins for local use and export.

Shrimp production is estimated to have been 120,000 to 150,000 metric tons (130,000 to 170,000 short tons) in 2007, more than 50% of which was exported. Hainan has over 400 hatcheries, most being located between Wenchang and Qionghai.

Tilapia production in 2008 was 300,000 metric tons (330,000 short tons). The island has an estimated 100,000 local, commercial fish farming families.^[57]

Tourism[edit]

Hainan Island is often divided into eight regions for tourism purposes: Haikou and area (Haikou, Qiongshan, Ding’an); the Northeast (Wenchang); the Central East Coast (Qionghai, Ding’an); the South East Coast; the South (Sanya); the West Coast also called the Chinese Riviera (Ledong, Dongfang, Xianghsui, Changjiang); the North West (Danzhou, Lingao, Chengmai); and the Central Highlands (Baisha, Qiongzhong, and Wuzhishan/Tongzha).

Popular tourist destinations include the beaches and resorts in the southern part of the province. Inland is Five Finger Mountain, a scenic area. Tourists also visit the capital of Haikou with area visitor attractions such as Movie Town Haikou and Holiday Beach.

Visa requirements[edit]

In 2000, the province initiated a visa-upon-arrival policy for foreign tourist groups. It is available to citizens of twenty-six different countries, and was established in order to attract visitors.

Beginning 1 May 2018, citizens of 59 countries will be able to visit Hainan for 30 days without requiring a visa, provided that they come on a tour via a travel agency. Countries included among the 59 are: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.^[58]

Statistics[edit]

During 2008, 20.6 million tourists visited Hainan, producing total revenues of 19.23 billion yuan (US$2.81 billion). Of these tourists, 979,800 were from overseas with the largest numbers coming from South Korea, Russia and Japan.^[59]

In 2010, the amount of overnight tourists visiting Hainan was 25.87 million, 663,000 of which came from outside China.^[60]

During 2011, more than 30 million tourists visited Hainan, mostly from mainland China. Of the 814,600 overseas tourists, 227,600 of them came from Russia, a 53.3 percent a rise year-on-year.^[61] Total revenue during that year was 32 billion RMB ($4.3 billion US), up 25 percent from 2010.^[62]

In the first quarter of 2012, the Hainan Provincial Tourism Development Commission reports that Hainan received 208,300 overnight visitors, 25 percent of whom came from Russia.^[61]

In 2014, Hainan received 50.2 million tourists, 660,000 of whom were from overseas.^[63]

During 2015, Hainan received 53 million visitors.^[64]

In 2016, over 60 million tourists went to Hainan, up 12.9% from 2015.^[65]

During 2018, the province received over 76 million domestic and overseas tourists, a year-on-year increase of 11.8%. Revenue also increased 14.5% compared to the previous year for a total of 95 billion RMB (US$14 billion).^[66][67]

Medical tourism[edit]

The government of Hainan is expanding the province’s medical tourism industry.^[68][69] The provincial government has established the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in the Bo’ao area. The zone is located six kilometers from the Boao Forum for Asia and covers 20 square kilometers.^[70] This was announced at the Boao Forum for Asia in 2011.^[71] The State Council has approved the development of Lecheng Island^[72] as a medical tourism-themed destination.^[73] Lecheng Island is a small island in the Wanquan River about 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the coastal town of Bo’ao on the west coast of the province. Construction on the 20 km². The zone was begun in December 2014 and will cost a projected 1.5 billion yuan. It was scheduled for completion in 2016 and is the first special zone for medical travel in China.^[74] As part of the zone, the Boao Super Hospital opened in 2018.

Historical sites[edit]

Haikou is the province’s capital and contains interesting historic sites. Also known as Coconut City, Haikou is a major port. The Five Officials Temple (Chinese: 五公祠; pinyin: Wŭgōng cí, 20°0′35.79″N 110°21′17.34″E / 20.0099417°N 110.3548167°E) consists of five traditional temples and halls that were built in honor of five officials of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. These officials were banished to Hainan for periods ranging from 11 days to 11 years for speaking out against what they felt were wrong practices by the emperors. (It is perhaps significant that the establishment of the Five Officials Temple in the late 19th century coincides with a time when China’s territorial integrity was under threat, and that several of the officials honored here were exiled for espousing aggressive policies on the recapture of the north of China from the Jurchens during the Southern Song dynasty.)

Xiuying Fort was built in 1891 to defend the southeastern corner of China during the Sino-French War. The Xiuying Fort Barbette covers about a third of an acre. Its five large cannons are still intact and viewable at the site.

The Tomb of Hai Rui (20°0′29.66″N 110°17′30.18″E / 20.0082389°N 110.2917167°E) is a key national cultural protection site. Hai Rui was a compassionate and popular official of Hainanese origins who lived during the Ming dynasty. He was famous for his lifelong honesty and his willingness to speak out on behalf of local people. In later life, Hai Rui was persecuted and fell out of favor with the emperor. His admirers built the Hai Rui Tomb after his death to commemorate his great works. Construction of the tomb began in 1589.

The Yangpu Ancient Salt Field is a heritage site in Yantian village on Yangpu Peninsula. The area comprises more than 1,000 stones, cut flat on top, used to dry seawater to produce salt.

Other attractions and destinations[edit]

Hainan Island has a number of beaches, hot springs and other attractions. Some top scenic sites include Yalong bay National Resort; Dadonghai Tourist Resort; Qizhi Shan (Seven Finger Mountain), Nuilin mountain tropical botanical reserve in Lingshui county, Guantang Hot Spring Resort, Shishan Volcanic Garden; the Wanquan River, Baishi Ridge Scenic Zone and Baihua Ridge.

Other attractions in Hainan include:

• Phoenix Island, an artificial island in Sanya Bay.
• Monkey Island, near the well-known perfume bay or Xiangshui Wan, a popular tourist destination located in Lingshui County, is a state-protected nature reserve for macaques.
• Yalong Bay (Crescent Dragon Bay or Yalong Wan), a 7 km (4.3 mi) long beach east of Sanya City.
• Xiangshui Bay Scenic Area, 48 km (30 mi) from Sanya Tiandu.
• Luobi Cave, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Sanya City.
• Nanshan Temple, a Buddhist cultural area west of Sanya featuring a 108 meters (354 ft) statue of Guanyin, Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.
• Yanoda is a rainforest area. It is open to visitors with guided walking tours, a zipline, and a waterfall climbing activity.

Yachting[edit]

To encourage the international yachting community, new regulations now allow foreign yachts to stay for a total of 183 days each year, with a maximum single stay duration of 30 days. 13 additional ports will be built around the island to accommodate this market.^[60]

Free trade zone[edit]

On 13 April 2018, Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping announced a plan to gradually make the island into a pilot free trade zone by 2020, and transform the entire island into a free trade port by 2025. This will involve inviting foreign and multi-national companies to set up their regional and international headquarters in Hainan.^[75] Goods and services would be subject to low or even no tariffs. The zone will become China’s largest free trade zone, and the first trade port since 1949, when the People’s Republic of China was founded.^[76] Part of the plan is to establish exchanges in commodities and carbon trading, international energy, and shipping. Emphasis will also be placed on the development of service industries including tourism, the Internet, healthcare, finance, as well as conference and exhibitions hosting.^[76]

Since the announcement in April 2018, Hainan had signed 159 contracts with major companies. In September 2018, China National Travel Service Group, China’s biggest travel business conglomerate, relocated its headquarters from Beijing to Haikou. In October 2018, Baidu and Hainan signed a deal to built a 10-billion-yuan (US$1.45 billion) eco-village.^[77]

In September 2018, a symposium was held in Beijing on foreign investment projects in Hainan. During that gathering, the Hainan government signed contracts with 26 international companies including Globevisa Group, Merlin Entertainments Group, Viacom, Ikea Group, Mapletree Investments, Avis Budget Group, Star Cruises, and Boehringer Ingelheim.^[77]

To bring talented workers to Hainan, in November 2018 the Hainan government held a recruitment fair in Beijing in an effort to bring 7,471 people to Hainan to work in government agencies, companies, and other institutions.^[78]

Established prior to this announcement, and currently in existence, are the following economic and technological development zones:

• Haikou Free Trade Zone
• Haikou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
• Yangpu Economic Development Zone

Duty-free program[edit]

On 20 April 2011, a pilot duty-free program commenced with the aim of increasing luxury goods purchases. It permits domestic Chinese visitors to claim tax refunds on imported luxury items purchased within the province. The maximum value is set at 5,000 yuan (US$762), with lowered tax rates on purchases over 5,000 yuan.^[79] In October 2012, duty limits were raised to 8,000 yuan ($1,273), and became available to both domestic and international tourists.^[80]

The total sales of duty-free products for 2012 was 2.4 billion yuan.^[81]

The world’s largest duty-free shopping complex is scheduled to open in Haitang Bay in August 2014.^[82]

During 2018 Spring Festival, Hainan recorded a 25% increase in duty-free revenue, with 450 million yuan ($71 million) in sales. The two duty-free shops, located in Sanya and Haikou, received about 99,000 customers, a 32% gain.^[83]

During 2018, the two duty-free shops had sales of more than 10 billion RMB and received 2.88 million customers.^[66]

Natural resources[edit]

Hainan has commercially exploitable reserves of more than 30 minerals. Iron, first mined by the Japanese during their occupation of the island in World War II, is the most important. Also important are titanium, manganese, tungsten, bauxite, molybdenum, cobalt, copper, gold, and silver. There are large deposits of lignite and oil shale on the island, and significant offshore finds of oil and natural gas have been discovered. Virgin forests in the interior mountains contain more than 20 commercially valuable species, including teak and sandalwood.

Real estate market[edit]

In 1990, Hainan province was the site of the largest property bust in modern Chinese history^[52] With 2009 and the announcement of the Chinese Government’s plan to develop the province into a major international tourist location, property sales rose by 73%, creating the possibility of another bubble in Hainan’s property market.^[52]

Since March 2010, commercial and residential property values in some parts of Hainan have slowed down since the market peaked in February.
In March, average month-on-month transaction prices dropped 12.82% to 12,280 RMB per square meter, with a reduction in volume to 627,000 square meters (6,750,000 sq ft), a 19.05% decline. Later in April, prices declined 2.84% to 11,932 yuan per square metre, with a 57.59% decline in volume to 567,200 square meters (6,105,000 sq ft). Then in May prices declined a further 29.74% from the previous month to 8,483 yuan per square metre, with a 57.95% decline in volume to 229,000 square meters (2,460,000 sq ft).^[84] However, property prices in the tourist resort of Sanya remain strong as of January 2011, with prime developments selling at prices of up to 80,000 RMB per square metre.

Data for 2016 data shows that Hainan saw an increase in house sales of 44%. Volume in sales was 129 billion RMB ($18.82 billion) which is a rise of 51.2 percent year-on-year. During that year in November, commercial apartments in Sanya sold for 20,695 RMB per square meter a rise of 15.75% year-on-year. The total amount of Sanya real estate sold during that time was 212,400 square meters.^[85]

Out of China’s twenty leading real estate developers, eighteen had invested in Hainan during 2016.^[85]

In the beginning of 2017, the price for a house in Haikou was approximately 8,000 RMB ($1,170) per square meter and $20,000 RMB ($2,977) per square meter in Sanya.^[86]

New 2018 regulations[edit]

On 23 April 2018, new rules came into effect regarding home purchases in Hainan. To be able to buy a house, non-Hainan residents must prove that they have a minimum of one family member who has been paying taxes or social security for at least 2 years.

Those non-Hainan residents who wish to purchase a house in Haikou, Sanya and Qionghai must prove that they have a minimum of one family member who has been paying taxes or social security for at least 5 years.

In Wuzhishan, Baoting, Qiongzhong and Baisha (the «central ecological core areas»), houses may only be purchased by local residents.

When non-residents do buy a property, the down payment must be at least 70 per cent. In order to curb speculation, owners may not sell their property for five years after receiving their ownership certificate.^[87]

Golf industry[edit]

This industry is expanding in Hainan, with numerous courses being constructed, including Mission Hills Haikou, which is one of the largest golf complexes in the world. The golf industry attracts foreign investment and overseas golfers from such countries as Australia, South Korea, and Japan.

Automotive industry[edit]

Automotive manufacturing is one of Eight industrial pillar industries. Hainan’s automotive output was 39,600 in 2017, down by 41.1 percent over the previous year. Domestic Chinese manufacturer,^[54] Haima Automobile has its global headquarters in Haikou.

Foreign trade[edit]

As of 2017, the total value of imports and exports of goods reached 70,237 million yuan (10,403 million US dollars). Of which, the value of goods exported was 29,566 million yuan (4,379 million US dollars), the value of goods imported was 40,671 million yuan (6,024 million US dollars).^[54]

Asean was Hainan’s largest export trade partner in 2017, the value of goods exported to Asean was 12,289 yuan (1,820 million US dollars), accounted for 41.56 per cent of the total value of goods exported. Its second-largest foreign trade partner was Hong Kong, the value of goods exported to Hong Kong was 2,966 yuan (439 million US dollars), accounted for 10.03 per cent of that. the 3rd largest partner was EU, the value of goods exported to EU was 2,186 yuan (324 million US dollars), accounted for 7.39 per cent of that.^[54]

Transport[edit]

Road[edit]

Before 1950 there were practically no transport links with the interior of the island. The first roads were built in the early 20th century, but no major road construction was undertaken in the mountains until the 1950s. Parallel north–south roads along the east and west coasts and through the interior of the island constitute most of Hainan’s road network.

Hainan is the only province in China that does not have highway toll stations. This is due to the 1994 «fee-to-tax» reform.^[76] Instead, road maintenance costs are raised through a 60% tax on fuel.^[88]

There are several major highways and expressways linking Haikou on the north coast with Sanya on the south coast. The G224 is 309 kilometers long and runs through the middle of the province. The Hainan Ring Highway has three parts: The G225 is 429 km (267 mi) long and is the western part. For most of its length, the G225 runs parallel to the Hainan western ring railway. The G223 is the eastern part, running from Haikou to Sanya. It is 323 kilometers long. The G98 is a 612.8-kilometer-long orbital expressway that encircles the island. Hainan Highway 1, a new 1,040-km-long scenic highway, will be built around the island, along the coast starting in May 2019.^[89]

There are also numerous rural roads within the province. These are typically two-way asphalt roads and connect larger towns. Connecting the thousands of villages to one another and to farms, are concrete roads about 6 meters wide. Many of these were built from roughly from the year 2000 onward, and as of 2019, are still being built.

Bridges[edit]

While a bridge connecting Hainan to the Leizhou peninsula on the mainland was planned in the early 2000s it never came to fruition. A bridge or tunnel received continued consideration in 2018, as travel by air or ferry can leave residents and visitors isolated when bad weather sets in.^[90]

Air[edit]

Hainan Province has two international airports (Haikou Meilan International Airport and Sanya Phoenix International Airport) and two domestic airports (Qionghai Bo’ao Airport and Danzhou Airport, the latter is under construction.)

Rail[edit]

Today’s Hainan is ringed by standard-gauge railways. Since 2004, a rail ferry connects the island’s railroad network to Guangdong, mainland China.^[91] In 2005, Ministry of Communications allocated 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) to set up a committee to research and study the possibility of a bridge or tunnel link connecting the island to the mainland.^[92] From the ferry terminal, located near Haikou railway station (west of Haikou), freight and passenger trains arriving from the mainland can proceed on the Hainan western ring railway along the island’s west coast, via Dongfang to Sanya. This railway line has been developed over several decades, starting with a few short 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge lines constructed during the Japanese occupation in the early 1940s.

There is a high-speed railway ring around the island, formed by the eastern ring and western ring along the island’s coast. Both high-speed railways are connected with Haikou and Sanya. There are 15 stations along the east coast, and 16 stations along the west coast. Trains are designed to travel at 250 km/h (160 mph) on the east ring, and 200 km/h (120 mph) on the west ring. The total length of eastern ring is 308.11 km (191.45 mi), while the western ring is 344 kilometers (214 mi).^[93] The first eastern ring high-speed train run started on 30 December 2010,^[94] and the Hainan western ring high-speed railway started its operation in 2015.

Seaports[edit]

• Haikou Xiuying Port (海口秀英港) serves as the main passenger and cargo center.^[95]
• Haikou New Port (海口新港) opened 1 June 2005^[95]
• Macun Port (馬村港) located in Chengmai County; opened 1 June 2005^[95]
• Hainan Strait Port^[96]
• Basuo Port in Dongfang City is a small port on the west coast of Hainan. One of its main cargos is iron ore from the Shilu Mine.

Hainan received 11,000 tons of products via ports November 2010, up 90.1 percent month-on-month. Between January and November 2010, 102,000 tons of products were exported via Hainan, 34,000 tons of which were exported to the US, and 14,000 tons sent to the EU.^[97]

Education[edit]

The level of primary and secondary education has improved since 1949, but facilities for higher education remain somewhat inadequate.^{[citation needed]}

• Hainan University (海南大学)
• Hainan Medical University (海南医学院)
• Hainan Normal University (海南师范大学)
• Hainan Tropical Ocean University (海南热带海洋学院)
• Qiongtai Normal University (琼台师范学院)
• Haikou University of Economics (海口经济学院)
• University of Sanya (三亚学院)

Culture[edit]

As a frontier region celebrated by such exiled poets as Su Dongpo, Hainan acquired an air of mystery and romance. The influx of large numbers of mainlanders after 1950 – particularly in the 1970s, when young Chinese from southern Guangdong were assigned to state farms to help develop Hainan, and in the 1980s, when thousands more came to take advantage of the economic opportunities offered – has perpetuated the frontier atmosphere on the island.^{[citation needed]}

Media[edit]

As well as programs from Central China Television (CCTV), Hainan has a number of local TV stations including Hainan TV and Haikou TV. The Chinese language Nanguo Metropolis Daily, Haikou Evening News, and Hainan Daily newspapers are published in Haikou.

A large film studio is located in the south part of Haikou. Movie Town Haikou comprises several studio buildings and an artificial town used as filming sets and a visitor attraction.

Cuisine[edit]

Hainan cuisine is said to be «lighter, with mild seasonings.» A lot of local taste is mixed with the Han Chinese taste. Seafood predominates the menu, as shrimp, crab, fish and other sea life are widely available.

Wenchang chicken is a dish known throughout the province of Hainan. Although there are many varieties of this dish, the name is usually used to define a type of small, free-range chicken from Wenchang, located on the east coast of the province. As opposed to battery chickens, its meat has more texture and is somewhat drier.

Hainan chicken rice / Coibui is a famous dish in Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, bearing the region’s name. However, while many restaurants use chicken fat to quickly add flavor to the dish, the proper local method is to ‘marinate’ the rice with chicken soup to add a more full flavor.

Events[edit]

Numerous events are hosted or sponsored on the island, including:

• Swatch Girls World Pro China — Annual Elite Women’s surfing competition, held at Wanning^[98]
• Hainan International Surfing Festival, held annually at Riyue Bay, Wanning^[99]
• Miss World beauty pageant is regularly held in the city of Sanya.
• Mission Hills Star Trophy is an annual golf tournament that started in 2010.
• Tour of Hainan bicycle race
• Hainan Rendez-Vous, an annual four-day event that draws China’s ultra high-net-worth individuals to the Chinese Riviera-like shores of Hainan^[100]
• Ironman triathlon
• Boao Forum for Asia, held in Boao, is an international high-level government, business, and academia forum.
• H1 Hot Air Balloon Challenge is held annually in Haikou. Balloons from across the nation fly over the Qiongzhou Strait from Haikou to a designated location on the mainland in Xunwen County, Guangdong.^[101]

Miscellaneous topics[edit]

• The novel, Red Detachment of Women, by Liang Xin, was set in Hainan. The novel was first adapted to a feature film in the 1950s, and then a ballet in the 1960s as one of the Eight model plays. Most of the people of that time derived their romanticized image of Hainan Island from the scenes in the ballet, particularly that of the vivid forests of coconut trees, the Five Finger Mountain (Wuzhi Shan), and the Wanquan River.
• Two notable lighthouses are located on Hainan: the Baishamen Lighthouse and Mulantou Lighthouse are among the tallest in the world, the latter being the tallest in China.
• 3024 Hainan, named after the province, is an outer main-belt asteroid discovered in 1981.
• Hainan Kopi Tales is a Singaporean Chinese drama serial set in a famous Hainan coffee shop that explores the Hainanese way of life from the 1960s to the 1980s.
• Hainan Resort is also a multiplayer map in the 2013 video game Battlefield 4.

Space center[edit]

One of China’s satellite launch centers is located in Hainan east of the city of Wenchang. The Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, a 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) facility, is the closest Chinese launch center to the equator. The construction plan was first announced in October 2007. The new launch center began operations on 3 November 2016 with the Long March 5 rocket making its maiden flight.

Notable residents[edit]

The poet Su Shi (1036–1101) popularized Hainan’s isolation and exoticism when he was exiled there under the Song dynasty. The Dongpo Academy was built on the site of the residence where he lived in exile.

Hai Rui (1514–1587) was a famous Chinese official of the Ming dynasty. His name has come down in history as a model of honesty and integrity in office.

Chih-Ping Chen (1906-1983) was a distinguished diplomat and statesman for the Republic of China, who served to build the Yunnan-Burma Road, and a diplomatic career that spanned four decades.

The most well-known native of Hainan is Chinese businessman, Charlie Soong, father of the Shanghai-born Soong sisters: Soong Ai-ling, wife of H. H. Kung (once China’s richest man); Soong Ching-ling, wife of Sun Yat-Sen; and Soong Mei-ling, wife of former ROC President Chiang Kai-shek.

Wang Feifei (Fei), singer, actress, entertainer and member of girl group Miss A;

Wu Xuanyi, member of the South Korean-Chinese girl group WJSN

International partnership[edit]

Hainan has international relationships with the following places:^[102]

Sister state/province	Sovereign country	Date of Establishing Sisterhood Relationship
Hyogo	Japan	28 September 1990
Hawaii	United States	30 June 1992
Jeju	South Korea	6 October 1995
Crimea	Ukraine	15 April 1996
Cebu	Philippines	9 June 1996
Arad	Romania	27 September 2000
Salzburg	Austria	24 October 2000
Prince Edward Island	Canada	20 June 2001
South Sinai	Egypt	3 August 2002
Oulu	Finland	11 December 2002
Baleares	Spain	29 July 2004
Phuket	Thailand	25 September 2005
Southern Province	Sri Lanka	23 April 2005
Canary	Spain	11 November 2005
Lubuskie	Poland	24 February 2006
East New Britain	Papua New Guinea	28 September 2006
Kampong Cham	Cambodia	27 March 2006
Quang Ninh	Vietnam	19 April 2007
Quintana Roo	Mexico	30 September 2008
Kyzylorda	Kazakhstan	3 July 2009
Parana	Brazil	13 March 2010
Gotland	Sweden	2 November 2010
Sardinia	Italy	13 October 2011
Bali	Indonesia	20 October 2011
Nampula	Mozambique	18 September 2013
Penang	Malaysia	7 November 2013
South Moravian Region	Czech Republic	29 April 2016
Pest	Hungary	12 June 2016
Luang Prabang	Laos	16 July 2016

See also[edit]

• List of islands of China
• Hainan Island incident
• Sanya

Note[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• D’Arcy Brown, Liam (2003). Green Dragon, Sombre Warrior: travels to China’s extremes. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6038-1
• Edmonds, Richard Louis. «Hainan province and its impact on the geography of China», Geography, Vol. 74, No. 2 (April 1989), pp. 165–169

External links[edit]

• Hainan Government website (English) Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
• Hainan Government website (Chinese)
• Economic profile for Hainan at HKTDC
• Dr Howard M Scott «Hainan»
• Resources on the Hainanese in the National Library of Singapore
• Learn Hainanese Website Archived 1 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Hainan Province Official English Language Tourism Website Archived 3 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine

хайнань

Hunan 湖南
Province
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	湖南省 (Húnán Shěng)
• Abbreviation	HN / 湘 (pinyin: Xiāng)
(clockwise from top) Wulingyuan Fenghuang Old Town Yueyang Tower Tianmen Mountain Yuelu Academy
Map showing the location of Hunan Province
Coordinates: 28°06′46″N 112°59′00″E / 28.11265°N 112.98338°ECoordinates: 28°06′46″N 112°59′00″E / 28.11265°N 112.98338°E
Country	China
Named for	湖, hú – lake 南, nán – south «South of the lake»
Capital (and largest city)	Changsha
Divisions	14 prefectures, 122 counties, 1,933 townships (2018), 29,224 villages (2018)
Government
• Type	Province
• Body	Hunan Provincial People’s Congress
• CCP Secretary	Zhang Qingwei
• Congress chairman	Zhang Qingwei
• Governor	Mao Weiming
• CPPCC chairman	Mao Wanchun
Area [1]
• Total	210,000 km2 (80,000 sq mi)
• Rank	10th
Highest elevation (Mount Lingfeng)	2,115.2 m (6,939.6 ft)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	66,444,864
• Rank	7th
• Density	320/km2 (820/sq mi)
• Rank	13th
Demonym	Hunanese
Demographics
• Ethnic composition	Han – 90% Tujia – 4% Miao – 3% Dong – 1% Yao – 1% Other peoples – 1%
• Languages and dialects	Chinese varieties: Xiang, Gan, Southwestern Mandarin, Xiangnan Tuhua, Waxiang, Hakka Non-Chinese languages: Xong, Tujia, Mien, Gam
ISO 3166 code	CN-HN
GDP (2021[3])	CNY 4.6 trillion USD 724 billion $1.1 trillion (PPP)[3] (9nd)
• per capita	¥69,300 $ 10,908 (14th) $16,618 (PPP)
HDI (2019)	0.755[4] high · 15th
Website	www.enghunan.gov.cn

Hunan
«Hunan» in Chinese characters
Chinese	湖南
Xiang	ɣu˩˧ nia˩˧ (fu-lã)
Literal meaning	«South of the (Dongting) Lake»
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Húnán Bopomofo ㄏㄨˊ   ㄋㄢˊ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Hwunan Wade–Giles Hu2-nan2 IPA [xǔ.nǎn] (listen) Wu Romanization Wu去 noe平 Xiang IPA ɣu˩˧ nia˩˧ (fu-lã) Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Wùh-nàahm Jyutping Wu4-naam4 IPA [wȕːnȁːm] Southern Min Tâi-lô Ôo-lâm

Hunan (, ;^[5] 湖南) is a landlocked province of the People’s Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Guangdong and Guangxi to the south, Guizhou to the west and Chongqing to the northwest. Its capital and largest city is Changsha, which also abuts the Xiang River. Hengyang, Zhuzhou, and Yueyang are among its most populous urban cities. With a population of just over 66 million as of 2020 residing in an area of approximately 210,000 km² (81,000 sq mi), it is China’s 7th most populous province, the fourth most populous among landlocked provinces, the second most populous in South Central China after Guangdong and the most populous province in Central China. It is the largest province in South-Central China and the fourth largest among landlocked provinces and the 10th most extensive province by area.

Hunan’s nominal GDP was US$724 billion (CNY 4.6 trillion) as of 2021, appearing in the world’s top 20 largest sub-national economies, with its GDP (PPP) being over US$1.1 trillion.^[6][7] Hunan is the 9th-largest provincial economy of China, the fourth largest in South Central China, the third largest in Central China and the fourth largest among landlocked provinces. Its GDP (nominal) per capita exceeded US$10,900 (69,300 CNY), making it the third richest province in the South Central China region after Guangdong and Hubei.^[6] As of 2020, Hunan’s GDP (nominal) reached 605 billion US dollars (CNY 4.18 trillion),^[8][9] exceeding that of Poland, with a GDP of US$596 billion and Thailand, with a GDP of US$501 billion, the 22nd and 25th largest in the world respectively.^[10]

The name Hunan literally means «south of the lake».^[11] The lake that is referred to is Dongting Lake, a lake in the northeast of the province; Vehicle license plates from Hunan are marked Xiāng (Chinese: 湘), after the Xiang River, which runs from south to north through Hunan and forms part of the largest drainage system for the province. The area of Hunan was under Chinese rule as far back as 350 BC. Hunan was the birthplace of communist revolutionary Mao Zedong,^[12] who became the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. Hunan today is home to some ethnic minorities, including the Tujia and Miao, along with the Han Chinese, who make up a majority of the population. Varieties of Chinese spoken include Xiang, Gan and Southwestern Mandarin.

The site of Wulingyuan was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.^[13] Changsha, the capital, is located in the eastern part of the province; it is now an important commercial, manufacturing and transportation centre.^[14] The busiest airports serve domestic and international flights for Hunan, including Changsha Huanghua International Airport, Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport and Changde Taohuayuan Airport.^[15] Hunan is the seat of the Yuelu Academy (later become Hunan University), which is one of the four major academies over the last 1000 years in ancient China.^[16] As of 2022, Hunan hosts 130 institutions of higher education, ranking sixth among all Chinese provinces.^[17]

History[edit]

Hunan’s primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao, Tujia, Dong and Yao peoples. The province entered written Chinese history around 350 BC, when the province became part of the Zhou dynasty. After Qin conquered the Chu in 278 BC, the region came under the control of Qin, and then the Changsha Kingdom during the Han dynasty. At this time, and for hundreds of years thereafter, the province was a magnet for settlement of Han Chinese from the north, who displaced and assimilated the original indigenous inhabitants, cleared forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plains.^[18] The agricultural colonization of the lowlands was carried out in part by the Han people, which managed river dikes to protect farmland from floods.^[19] To this day, many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there. Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the Eastern Jin dynasty and the Northern and Southern dynasties periods, when nomadic invaders (Five Barbarians) pushed these peoples south.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Hunan was home to its own independent regime, Ma Chu.

Hunan and Hubei became a part of the province of Huguang until the Qing dynasty. Hunan province was created in 1664 from Huguang, renamed to its current name in 1723.

Hunan became an important communications center due to its position on the Yangzi River. It was an important centre of scholarly activity and Confucian thought, particularly in the Yuelu Academy in Changsha. It was also on the Imperial Highway constructed between northern and southern China. The land produced grain so abundantly that it fed many parts of China with its surpluses. The population continued to climb until, by the nineteenth century, Hunan became overcrowded and prone to peasant uprisings. Some of the uprisings, such as the ten-year Miao Rebellion of 1795–1806, were caused by ethnic tensions. The Taiping Rebellion began in the south in Guangxi Province in 1850. The rebellion spread into Hunan and then further eastward along the Yangzi River valley. Ultimately, it was a Hunanese army (Xiang Army) under Zeng Guofan who marched into Nanjing to put down the uprising in 1864.

In 1920, a famine raged throughout Hunan and killed an estimated 2 million Hunanese civilians.^[20] This sparked the Autumn Harvest Uprising of 1927. It was led by Hunanese native Mao Zedong, and established a short-lived Hunan Soviet in 1927. The Communists maintained a guerrilla army in the mountains along the Hunan-Jiangxi border until 1934. Under pressure from the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) forces, they began the Long March to bases in Shaanxi Province. After the departure of the Communists, the KMT army fought against the Japanese in the second Sino-Japanese war. They defended Changsha until it fell in 1944. Japan launched Operation Ichigo, a plan to control the railroad from Wuchang to Guangzhou (Yuehan Railway). Hunan was relatively unscathed by the civil war that followed the defeat of the Japanese in 1945. In 1949, the Communists returned once more as the Nationalists retreated southward.

In the 1950s General Wang Zhen coerced thousands of Hunanese women into sexual servitude at PLA units in Xinjiang.^[21]

As Mao Zedong’s home province, Hunan supported the Cultural Revolution of 1966–1976.^{[citation needed]} However, it was slower than most provinces in adopting the reforms implemented by Deng Xiaoping in the years that followed Mao’s death in 1976.

In addition to CCP Chairman Mao Zedong, a number of other first-generation communist leaders were also from Hunan: Chinese President Liu Shaoqi; CCP Secretary-generals Ren Bishi and Hu Yaobang; Marshals Peng Dehuai, He Long, and Luo Ronghuan; Wang Zhen, one of the Eight Elders; Xiang Jingyu, the first female member of the CCP’s central committee; Senior General Huang Kecheng; and veteran diplomat Lin Boqu. An example of a more recent leader from Hunan is former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji.

Geography[edit]

Hunan is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River, about half way along its length, situated between 108° 47’–114° 16′ east longitude and 24° 37’–30° 08′ north latitude. Hunan covers an area of 211,800 square kilometres (81,800 square miles), making it the 10th largest provincial-level division. The east, south and west sides of the province are surrounded by mountains and hills, such as the Wuling Mountains to the northwest, the Xuefeng Mountains to the west, the Nanling Mountains to the south, and the Luoxiao Mountains to the east. Mountains and hills occupy more than 80% of the province, and plains less than 20%. At 2115.2 meters above sea level, the highest point in Hunan province is Lingfeng (酃峰).^[22][23][24]

The Xiang, the Zi, the Yuan and the Lishui Rivers converge on the Yangtze River at Lake Dongting in the north of Hunan. The center and northern parts are somewhat low and a U-shaped basin, open in the north and with Lake Dongting as its center. Most of Hunan lies in the basins of four major tributaries of the Yangtze River.

Lake Dongting is the largest lake in the province and the second largest freshwater lake of China.

The Xiaoxiang area and Lake Dongting figure prominently in Chinese poetry and paintings, particularly during the Song dynasty when they were associated with officials who had been unjustly dismissed.^[25]

Changsha (which means «long sands») was an active ceramics district during the Tang dynasty, its tea bowls, ewers and other products mass-produced and shipped to China’s coastal cities for export abroad. An Arab dhow dated to the 830s and today known as the Belitung Shipwreck was discovered off the small island of Belitung, Indonesia with more than 60,000 pieces in its cargo.^{[citation needed]} The salvaged cargo is today housed in nearby Singapore.

Hunan’s climate is subtropical, and, under the Köppen climate classification, is classified as being humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa), with short, cool, damp winters, very hot and humid summers, and plenty of rainfall. January temperatures average 3 to 8 °C (37 to 46 °F) while July temperatures average around 27 to 30 °C (81 to 86 °F). Average annual precipitation is 1,200 to 1,700 millimetres (47 to 67 in).
The Furongian Epoch in the Cambrian Period of geological time is named for Hunan; Furong (芙蓉) means «lotus» in Mandarin and refers to Hunan which is known as the «lotus state».^[26]

Administrative divisions[edit]

Hunan is divided into fourteen prefecture-level divisions: thirteen prefecture-level cities and an autonomous prefecture:

Administrative divisions of Hunan
Changsha Zhuzhou Xiangtan Hengyang Shaoyang Yueyang Changde Zhangjiajie Yiyang Chenzhou Yongzhou Huaihua Loudi Xiangxi Aut. Prefecture
Division code[27]	Division	Area in km2[28]	Population 2010[29]	Seat	Divisions[30]
Districts	Counties	Aut. counties	CL cities
430000	Hunan Province	210000.00	65,683,722	Changsha city	36	61	7	18
430100	Changsha city	11,819.46	7,044,118	Yuelu District	6	1		2
430200	Zhuzhou city	11,262.20	3,855,609	Tianyuan District	5	3		1
430300	Xiangtan city	5,006.46	2,748,552	Yuetang District	2	1		2
430400	Hengyang city	15,302.78	7,141,462	Zhengxiang District	5	5		2
430500	Shaoyang city	20,829.63	7,071,826	Daxiang District	3	6	1	2
430600	Yueyang city	14,897.88	5,477,911	Yueyanglou District	3	4		2
430700	Changde city	18,177.18	5,747,218	Wuling District	2	6		1
430800	Zhangjiajie city	9,516.03	1,476,521	Yongding District	2	2
430900	Yiyang city	12,325.16	4,313,084	Heshan District	2	3		1
431000	Chenzhou city	19,317.33	4,581,778	Beihu District	2	8		1
431100	Yongzhou city	22,255.31	5,180,235	Lengshuitan District	2	8	1
431200	Huaihua city	27,562.72	4,741,948	Hecheng District	1	5	5	1
431300	Loudi city	8,107.61	3,785,627	Louxing District	1	2		2
433100	Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture	15,462.30	2,547,833	Jishou city		7		1

Administrative divisions in Chinese and varieties of romanizations
English	Chinese	Pinyin	Xiang Romanization
Hunan Province	湖南省	Húnán Shěng	fu12 nan12 sǝn2
Changsha city	长沙市	Chángshā Shì	c̣an2 sa11 ṣî32
Zhuzhou city	株洲市	Zhūzhōu Shì	ćy11 c̣ôu11 ṣî32
Xiangtan city	湘潭市	Xiāngtán Shì	? ? ṣî32
Hengyang city	衡阳市	Héngyáng Shì	xǝn12 ian12 ṣî32
Shaoyang city	邵阳市	Shàoyáng Shì	? ian12 ṣî32
Yueyang city	岳阳市	Yuèyáng Shì	io4 ian12 ṣî32
Changde city	常德市	Chángdé Shì	? tô4 ṣî32
Zhangjiajie city	张家界市	Zhāngjiājiè Shì	? ćia11 kai31 ṣî32
Yiyang city	益阳市	Yìyáng Shì	i4 ian12 ṣî32
Chenzhou city	郴州市	Chēnzhōu Shì	? c̣ôu11 ṣî32
Yongzhou city	永州市	Yǒngzhōu Shì	yn2 c̣ôu11 ṣî32
Huaihua city	怀化市	Huáihuà Shì	fai12 fa31 ṣî32
Loudi city	娄底市	Lóudǐ Shì	? ti2 ṣî32
Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture	湘西自治州	Xiāngxī Zìzhìzhōu	? si11 ci31 c̣î31 c̣ôu11

The fourteen prefecture-level divisions of Hunan are subdivided into 122 county-level divisions (35 districts, 17 county-level cities, 63 counties, 7 autonomous counties). Those are in turn divided into 2587 township-level divisions (1098 towns, 1158 townships, 98 ethnic townships, 225 subdistricts, and eight district public offices). At the year end of 2017, the total population is 68.6 million.[1]

Urban areas[edit]

Population by urban areas of prefecture & county cities
#	City	Urban area[31]	District area[31]	City proper[31]	Census date
1	Changsha[a]	2,963,218	3,092,213	7,040,952	2010-11-01
(1)	Changsha (new district)[a]	230,136	523,660	see Changsha	2010-11-01
2	Hengyang	1,115,645	1,133,967	7,148,344	2010-11-01
3	Zhuzhou[b]	999,404	1,055,150	3,857,100	2010-11-01
(3)	Zhuzhou (new district)[b]	94,326	383,598	see Zhuzhou	2010-11-01
4	Yueyang	924,099	1,231,509	5,476,084	2010-11-01
5	Xiangtan	903,287	960,303	2,752,171	2010-11-01
6	Changde	846,308	1,457,419	5,714,623	2010-11-01
7	Yiyang	697,607	1,245,517	4,307,933	2010-11-01
8	Liuyang	588,081	1,279,469	see Changsha	2010-11-01
9	Chenzhou	582,971	822,534	4,583,531	2010-11-01
10	Shaoyang	574,527	753,194	7,071,735	2010-11-01
11	Yongzhou	540,930	1,020,715	5,194,275	2010-11-01
(12)	Ningxiang[c]	498,055	1,166,138	see Changsha	2010-11-01
13	Leiyang	476,173	1,151,554	see Hengyang	2010-11-01
14	Huaihua	472,687	552,622	4,741,673	2010-11-01
15	Liling	449,067	947,387	see Zhuzhou	2010-11-01
16	Loudi	425,037	496,744	3,784,634	2010-11-01
17	Changning	332,927	810,447	see Hengyang	2010-11-01
18	Miluo	321,074	692,080	see Yueyang	2010-11-01
19	Yuanjiang	281,097	666,270	see Yiyang	2010-11-01
20	Zhangjiajie	250,489	494,528	1,478,149	2010-11-01
21	Lianyuan	245,360	995,515	see Loudi	2010-11-01
22	Lengshuijiang	238,275	327,146	see Loudi	2010-11-01
23	Linxiang	225,054	498,319	see Yueyang	2010-11-01
24	Zixing	215,707	337,294	see Chenzhou	2010-11-01
25	Jishou	212,328	302,065	part of Xiangxi Prefecture	2010-11-01
26	Xiangxiang	210,799	788,216	see Xiangtan	2010-11-01
27	Hongjiang	197,753	477,996	see Huaihua	2010-11-01
28	Wugang	187,436	734,870	see Shaoyang	2010-11-01
29	Jinshi	156,230	250,898	see Changde	2010-11-01
30	Shaoshan	27,613	86,036	see Xiangtan	2010-11-01

Politics[edit]

The politics of Hunan is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

The Governor of Hunan is the highest-ranking official in the People’s Government of Hunan. However, in the province’s dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Hunan Chinese Communist Party Provincial Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the «Hunan CCP Party Chief».

Economy[edit]

As of the mid 19th century, Hunan exported rhubarb, musk, honey, tobacco, hemp, and birds.^[33] The Lake Dongting area is an important center of ramie production, and Hunan is also an important center of tea cultivation. Aside from agricultural products, in recent years Hunan has grown to become an important center for steel, machinery and electronics production, especially as China’s manufacturing sector moves away from coastal provinces such as Guangdong and Zhejiang.^[34]

The Lengshuijiang area is noted for its stibnite mines, and is one of the major centers of antimony extraction in China.^{[citation needed]}

Hunan is also well known for a few global makers of construction equipment such as concrete pumps, cranes, etc. These companies include Sany Group, Zoomlion and Sunward. Sany is one of the world’s major players. The city of Liuyang is the world’s top center for manufacturing fireworks.^[35]

Hunan is the 9th-largest provincial economy of China, the third largest in the Central China region after Henan and Hubei, the fourth largest in the South Central China region after Guangdong, Henan and Hubei and the fourth largest among inland provinces after Henan, Sichuan and Hubei.^[6] As of 2021, Hunan’s nominal GDP was US$724 billion (CNY 4.6 trillion), appearing in the world’s top 20 largest sub-national economies with its GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) being over US$1.1 trillion,^[6][7] and its GDP (nominal) per capita exceeded US$10,900 (69,300 CNY), making it the 2nd richest in the Central China region after Hubei and the 3rd richest in South Central China region after Guangdong and Hubei.^[6]

As of 2020, Hunan’s GDP (nominal) was US$605 billion,^[8][9] making it larger than the economies of Poland (the 22nd biggest in the world), Thailand (the 2nd largest in ASEAN), and Nigeria (the largest in Africa).^[10]

Historical GDP of Hunan Province for 1952 –present (SNA2008)[36] (purchasing power parity of Chinese Yuan, as Int’l. dollar based on IMF WEO October 2017[37])
year	GDP	GDP per capita (GDPpc) based on mid-year population	Reference index
GDP in millions	real growth (%)	GDPpc	exchange rate 1 foreign currency to CNY
CNY	USD	PPP (Int’l$.)	CNY	USD	PPP (Int’l$.)	USD 1	Int’l$. 1 (PPP)
2016	3,155,137	475,007	901,236	8.0	46,382	6,983	13,249	6.6423	3.5009
2015	2,917,217	468,373	821,867	8.5	43,157	6,929	12,159	6.2284	3.5495
2014	2,728,177	444,126	768,414	9.5	40,635	6,615	11,445	6.1428	3.5504
2013	2,483,465	400,999	694,307	10.1	37,263	6,017	10,418	6.1932	3.5769
2012	2,233,833	353,875	629,107	11.4	33,758	5,348	9,507	6.3125	3.5508
2011	1,981,655	306,815	565,299	12.8	30,103	4,661	8,587	6.4588	3.5055
2010	1,615,325	238,618	487,925	14.6	24,897	3,678	7,520	6.7695	3.3106
2009	1,315,627	192,597	416,667	13.9	20,579	3,013	6,517	6.8310	3.1575
2008	1,162,761	167,422	366,016	14.1	18,261	2,629	5,748	6.9451	3.1768
2007	948,599	124,750	314,637	15.1	14,942	1,965	4,956	7.6040	3.0149
2006	772,232	96,870	268,350	12.8	12,192	1,529	4,237	7.9718	2.8777
2005	662,345	80,856	231,670	12.2	10,606	1,295	3,710	8.1917	2.8590
2000	355,149	42,901	130,603	9.0	5,425	655	1,995	8.2784	2.7193
1995	213,213	25,531	78,117	10.3	3,359	402	1,231	8.3510	2.7294
1990	74,444	15,564	43,724	4.0	1,228	257	721	4.7832	1.7026
1985	34,995	11,917	24,966	12.1	626	213	447	2.9366	1.4017
1980	19,172	12,795	12,820	5.2	365	244	244	1.4984	1.4955
1975	11,840	6,366		10.3	239	129		1.8598
1970	9,305	3,780		17.6	211	86		2.4618
1965	6,532	2,653		13.2	170	69		2.4618
1960	6,407	2,603		-1.0	176	71		2.4618
1955	3,583	1,376		18.5	104	40		2.6040
1952	2,781	1,251			86	39		2.2227

Economic and technological development zones[edit]

• Changsha National Economic and Technical Development Zone

The Changsha National Economic and Technology Development Zone was founded in 1992. It is located east of Changsha. The total planned area is 38.6 km² (14.9 sq mi) and the current area is 14 km² (5.4 sq mi). Near the zone is National Highways G319 and G107 as well as Jingzhu Highway. Besides that, it is very close to the downtown and the railway station. The distance between the zone and the airport is 8 km (5.0 mi). The major industries in the zone include high-tech industry, biology project technology and new material industry.^[38]

• Changsha National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
• Chenzhou Export Processing Zone

Approved by the State Council, Chenzhou Export processing Zone (CEPZ) was established in 2005 and is the only export processing zone in Hunan province. The scheduled production area of CEPZ covers 3km2. The industrial positioning of CEPZ is to concentrate on developing export-oriented hi-tech industries, including electronic information, precision machinery, and new-type materials. The zone has good infrastructure, and the enterprises inside could enjoy the preferential policies of tax-exemption, tax-guarantee and tax-refunding. By the end of the «Eleventh Five-Year Plan», the CEPZ achieved a total export and import volume of over US$1 billion and provided more than 50,000 jobs. It aimed to be one of the first-class export processing zones in China.^[39]

• Zhuzhou National New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Zhuzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was founded in 1992. Its total planned area is 35 km² (14 sq mi). It is very close to National Highway G320. The major industries in the zone include biotechnology, food processing and heavy industry. In 2007, the park signed a cooperation contract with Beijing Automobile Industry, one of the largest auto makers in China, which will set up a manufacturing base in Zhuzhou HTP.^[40]

Demographics[edit]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1912[41]	27,617,000	—
1928[42]	31,501,000	+14.1%
1936-37[43]	28,294,000	−10.2%
1947[44]	25,558,000	−9.7%
1954[45]	33,226,954	+30.0%
1964[46]	37,182,286	+11.9%
1982[47]	54,008,851	+45.3%
1990[48]	60,659,754	+12.3%
2000[49]	63,274,173	+4.3%
2010[50]	65,683,722	+3.8%

As of the 2000 census, the population of Hunan is 64,400,700 consisting of forty-one ethnic groups. Its population grew 6.17% (3,742,700) from its 1990 levels. According to the census, 89.79% (57,540,000) identified themselves as Han Chinese and 10.21% (6,575,300) as minority groups. The minority groups are Tujia, Miao, Dong, Yao, Bai, Hui, Zhuang, Uyghurs and so on.

In Hunan, ethnic minority languages are spoken in the following prefectures.

• Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture: Qo Xiong language, Tujia language
• Huaihua: Qo Xiong language, Dong language, Hm Nai language, Hmu language
• Shaoyang: Maojia language, Hm Nai language, Pa-Hng language
• Yongzhou: Mien language, Biao Min language
• Chenzhou: Dzao Min language

Hunanese Uyghurs[edit]

Around 5,000 Uyghurs live around Taoyuan County and other parts of Changde.^{[52][53][54][55]} Hui and Uyghurs have intermarried in this area.^[56][57][58] In addition to eating pork, the Uygurs of Changde practice other Han Chinese customs, like ancestor worship at graves. Some Uyghurs from Xinjiang visit the Hunan Uyghurs out of curiosity or interest.^[59] The Uyghurs of Hunan do not speak the Uyghur language, instead, Chinese is spoken as their native language.^[60]

Religion[edit]

The predominant religions in Hunan are Chinese Buddhism, Taoist traditions and Chinese folk religions. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 20.19% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration, while 0.77% of the population identifies as Christian.^[51] The reports didn’t give figures for other types of religion; 79.04% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, folk religious sects.

In 2010, there are 118.799 Muslims in Hunan^[61]

• 

Notable people[edit]

• Zeng Guofan (1811–1872)
• Cai E (1882–1916), Chinese revolutionary leader, General and Governor of Yunnan (1911-1913)
• Jiang Xiaowan (?–1922), interpreter
• Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
• Ma Ying-jeou (born 1950)
• Yuet-ching Lee (1918–1997), Hong Kong actress^{[citation needed]}
• Ted Hui (born 1982), Hong Kong politician^{[citation needed]}

Culture[edit]

Hunan’s culture industry generated 87 billion yuan (US$11.76 billion) in economic value in 2007,^[62] and is major contributor to the province’s economic growth. The industry accounts for 7.5 percent of the region’s GDP.^{[citation needed]}

Language[edit]

Xiang Chinese (湘语) is the eponymous variety of Chinese spoken in Hunan. There are several varieties of Xiang Chinese, such as New Xiang, Old Xiang, and Hengzhou Xiang. In addition to Xiang Chinese, there are also other dialects and languages present, such as Southwestern Mandarin, Hakka, Waxiang, and Xiangnan Tuhua. Nü shu, a writing system for Xiangnan Tuhua, is used exclusively among women in Jiangyong County and neighboring areas in southern Hunan.

Cuisine[edit]

Hunanese cuisine is noted for its near-ubiquitous use of chili peppers, garlic, and shallots. These ingredients give rise to a distinctive dry-and-spicy (干辣; gānlà) taste,^[63] with dishes such as smoked cured ham, and stir-fried spicy beef being prime examples of the flavor.^[63]

Music[edit]

Huaguxi is a local form of Chinese opera that is very popular in Hunan province.

Tourism[edit]

Located in the south central part of the Chinese mainland, Hunan has long been known for its natural environment. It is surrounded by mountains on the east, west, and south, and by the Yangtze River on the north. For thousands of years, the region has been a major center of agriculture, growing rice, tea, and oranges. China’s first all glass suspension bridge was also opened in Hunan, in Shiniuzhai National Geological Park.^[64]

• Wulingyuan is a World Heritage Site and a 5A Scenic Area. Located in south-central Hunan, Wulingyuan is noted for its thousands of quartzite sandstone pillars, caves, and waterfalls. The area also contains Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.
• Shaoshan County, known for being the birthplace of Mao Zedong
• Yueyang Tower, on the shores of Lake Dongting, was built in the Han and Jin dynasties, and has existed in its current state since the Qing Dynasty. Alongside the Pavilion of Prince Teng and Yellow Crane Tower, it is one of the Three Great Towers of Jiangnan.
• Mount Heng, in Hengyang, is one of the Five Great Mountains of China, and is home to the largest temple in southern China.
• Fenghuang County, in Xiangxi Prefecture, has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List for its ancient town. Fenghuang is known for its incorporation of mountain features and water flow into city design, and the ancient syncretism between the local Han and Miao cultures.^[65]

Education and research[edit]

As of 2022, Hunan hosts 130 institutions of higher education, ranking sixth together with Hubei (130) among all Chinese provinces after Jiangsu (168), Guangdong (160), Henan (156), Shandong (153), and Sichuan (134).^[17][66] Hunan is also the seat of 12 adult higher education institutions.^[66] Two major cities in Hunan (Changsha and Xiangtan) were ranked in the top 500 cities in the world by scientific research output, as tracked by the Nature Index in 2017.^[67] There are three national key universities under Project 985 (Hunan University, Central South University and the National University of Defense Technology) in Hunan, the third highest after Beijing and Shanghai. Hunan Normal University in Changsha is the key construction university of the national 211 Project, and Xiangtan University in Xiangtan is a key university jointly built by Hunan Province and the Ministry of Education and a member of national Project 111. These five national key universities are included in the Double First-Class Universities of Hunan Province.

Hunan University and Central South University are the only two universities in Changsha, Hunan to appear in the world’s top 300 of the Academic Ranking of World Universities and the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.^[68][69] Hunan Normal University, the National University of Defense and Technology and Changsha University of Science and Technology located in Changsha, were ranked in the world’s top 701 of the Academic Ranking of World Universities.^[70] Hunan Agricultural University in Changsha and Hunan University of Technology in Zhuzhou were ranked in the top 901 globally of the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities.^[71][72] Hunan University of Science and Technology in Xiangtan, Xiangtan University and Central South University of Forestry and Technology in Changsha were ranked number 988, number 1024 and number 1429 respectively in the 2022 Best Global Universities by the U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking.^[68][73] Hunan University of Chinese Medicine in Changsha ranked the best in Hunan and 33rd nationwide among Chinese Medical Universities.^[74]

National key public universities[edit]

• Central South University (Project 211, Project 985, Double First Class University)
• Hunan University (Project 211, Project 985, Double First Class University)
• Hunan Normal University (Project 211, Double First Class University)
• National University of Defense Technology (Project 211, Project 985, Double First Class University)
• Xiangtan University (Project 111, Double First Class University)

Provincial key public universities[edit]

• Central South University of Forestry and Technology
• Changsha University of Science and Technology
• Hengyang Normal University
• Hunan Agricultural University
• Hunan First Normal University
• Hunan Institute of Science and Technology
• Hunan Institute of Engineering
• Hunan University of Technology and Commerce
• Hunan University of Chinese Medicine
• Hunan University of Science and Technology
• Hunan University of Technology
• Hunan University of Humanities, Science and Technology
• Jishou University
• University of South China
• Shaoyang University

General undergraduate universities (public)[edit]

• Changsha Normal University
• Changsha University
• Hunan University of Finance and Economics
• Hunan Police Academy
• Hunan Women’s University
• Hunan Institute of Technology
• Hunan University of Science and Engineering
• Xiangtan Institute of Technology

General undergraduate universities (private)[edit]

• Changsha Medical University
• Hunan International Economics University
• Hunan Institute of Information Technology
• Hunan Institute of Traffic Engineering
• Hunan Applied Technology University

Vocational and technical colleges/universities[edit]

• Changsha Aeronautical Vocational and Technical College
• Changsha Social Work College
• Hunan Software Vocational College

Transport[edit]

Airports[edit]

There are several airports in Hunan provinces, including Changsha Huanghua International Airport, Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport, Changde Taohuayuan Airport, Chenzhou Beihu Airport, Huaihua Zhijiang Airport, Shaoyang Wugang Airport, Yongzhou Lingling Airport, and Yueyang Sanhe Airport. The busiest airports serve domestic and international flights for Hunan, including Changsha Huanghua International Airport, Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport and Changde Taohuayuan Airport.^[15] Notably, as of 2021, Changsha Huanghua International Airport was one of the 50 busiest airports in the world,^[75] the 12th busiest civil airport in China, the second busiest in South Central China after Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and the busiest in Central China.^[76]

Railways[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2022)

The Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway passes through Hunan.

Sports[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2020)

Professional sports teams in Hunan include:

• Chinese Football Association League One
  • Hunan Billows F.C.

See also[edit]

• Major national historical and cultural sites in Hunan
• Xiaoxiang, the «lakes and rivers» region of south-central China
• State of Chu, ancient Chinese state partly in modern-day Hunan
• Hunanese people

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Hunan travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Hunan Government website
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). «Hu-nan» . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• Economic profile for Hunan at HKTDC
• «History of Hunanese», the first book on the history of Hunanese(Phoelanese) civilization and nation from the perspective of we the hunanese (phoelanese) people.