Hainan
(1996 est. pop. 7.1 million). Hainan, an island province in the South China Sea off the coast of China's Guangdong Province, covers an area of 34,000 square kilometers. Before 1988, when the island obtained provincial status, it was part of Guangdong Province. The island has a mountainous inland with dense forests. The highest peak, Mount Wuzhi, rises to 1,867 meters above sea level. The coastal regions consist of plains, low hills, and volcanic terraces. The island has a tropical climate, with average temperatures of 22° to 26°C all year, but in extreme cases in the northern part of the island, temperatures may drop to 0°C. Annual precipitation varies; the western parts have an average of 1,000 millimeters, while the southeast, which is frequently hit by typhoons, averages 1,500 to 2,600 millimeters.
Hainan has a population of 7.14 million (1996), 12.8 percent of which belong to the indigenous Li nationality. Another important minority nationality is the Miao. The province's capital, Haikou (406,000, 1996), is situated on the north shore of Hainan, and there are several autonomous counties and townships mainly concentrated in the middle of the island and on the south coast.
Since the Han dynasty period (206 BCE–220 CE), the island has nominally been part of the Chinese empire, but for long periods, the Li evaded government control. During the Song dynasty (960–1279), when immigration from the mainland began, the island became part of Guangdong Province, a status that continued for centuries except for brief periods—during the Yuan dynasty (1267–1368) and in 1912–1921— when Hainan enjoyed independent provincial statues. In imperial China, undesirable officials were commonly exiled to the island. Hainan was occupied by the Japanese from 1939 to 1945, and since 1950 the island has been part of the People's Republic of China.
Hainan is the only part of China with tropical crops. Forestry accounts for almost half of the agricultural output; Hainan has a big rubber production and coconut farming. Other important tropical crops include coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, cacao, pineapples, bananas, carambolas, longans, litchis, and jackfruits. As one of China's special economic zones, Hainan attracted foreign investments and underwent rapid economic growth in the 1990s. The economy is mainly based on light industry and tourism. Industries are concentrated in the area around Haikou, and industrial products include processed rubber and food, electronic articles, and textiles. The tourist industry is located on the south coast in the area around Sanya (145,100, 1996). The flow of outside investment to Hainan subsided drastically toward the end of the 1990s, and many unfinished construction sites have been abandoned.
Further Reading
Feng, Chongyi, and David S. G. Goodman. (1995) China's Hainan Province: Economic Development and Investment Environment. Nedlands, Australia: University of Western Australia Press in association with Asia Research Centre on Social, Political, and Economic Change, Murdoch University, Western Australia.
Matsuura, Keiichi. (2001) Marine Fauna of the Shallow Waters around Hainan Island, South China Sea. Tokyo: National Science Museum.
Park, Jung-Dong. (1997) The Special Economic Zones of China and Their Impact on Its Economic Development. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Schäfer, Bernhard. (1992) Die Provinz Hainan, ein Beispel für den raumstrukturellen Wandel in der VR China seit Beginn der 80er Jahre. München, Germany: Weltforum.
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