Hainan

Hainan^{[lower-alpha 1]} is an island province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. It is the southernmost province of China, and the name means "south of the sea", reflecting the island's position south of the Qiongzhou Strait, which separates it from Leizhou Peninsula of the Chinese mainland.

Quick Facts 海南, Name transcription(s) ...

Hainan 海南
Province
Province of Hainan
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	海南省 (Hǎinán Shěng)
• Hainanese	Hái-nâm-séng
• Cantonese Jyutping	hoi2 naam4 saang2
• Abbreviation	琼 (Qióng / Khêng / king4)
Sanya Nanshan Dongtian Park
Location of Hainan within China
Coordinates: 19°12′N 109°42′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	Feng Fei
• Congress Chairman	Feng Fei
• Governor	Liu Xiaoming
• 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
GDP[3]
• Total	CN¥ 689.0 billion US$ 102.4 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 66,602 US$ 9,902
ISO 3166 code	CN-HI
HDI (2018)	0.750[4] (high) (19th)
Website	English Chinese

Close

Quick Facts Native name: 海南岛, Geography ...

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

Close

Quick Facts Chinese, Literal meaning ...

Hainan
"Hainan" in Chinese characters
Chinese	海南
Literal meaning	"South of the Sea (Qiongzhou Strait)"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hǎinánⓘ Bopomofo ㄏㄞˇ ㄋㄢˊ Wade–Giles Hai3-nan2 Tongyong Pinyin Hǎinán IPA [xàɪ.nǎn] Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Hói-nàm Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hói nàahm Jyutping hoi2 naam4 IPA [hɔːi˧˥ naːm˩] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hái-lâm Hainanese Romanization Hái-nâm Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Hāi-nàng

Close

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 to 1988, 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 such as the Hlai, a Kra–Dai-speaking ethnic group, are native to the island and compose 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 disputed territories in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands (Nansha) and Paracel Islands (Xisha),^[7] are administered under Sansha city of the province. While the Paracels are fully under China's control, many of the Spratly Islands are controlled by other countries, such as Vietnam and the Philippines.^[8]

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. Moreover, all goods sold from Hainan to other parts of China would be treated as imports from 2025 onward.^{[9][10][11][12]}