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Haikou
is the capital of Hainan Province and Special Economic Zone, a tropical
island just south of Guangdong. Separated from the mainland by the
30-kilometer-wide Qiongzhou Channel, Haikou is the main port and
business center for the island, a tropical city with streets lined with
palm trees.
Haikou
City View
Hainan
Island has a long and complex history.
The indigenous Li and Miao ethnic peoples each
have distinct cultures and customs.
Hainan was administered as part of Guangdong Province until 1988.
Since then
it has been designated a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and
has become a magnet for investment and has developed a large tourist
infrastructure. Known as “China’s Hawaii,” Hainan attracts
visitors from China and beyond, especially to its southern beaches
around Sanya.
The
tropical climate
of Hainan results in very hot summers and frequent heavy rains,
including typhoons. In the south of the island, the annual rainfall can
be as much as 80 inches.
Historically,
Hainan was considered a remote
and exotic place of exile. For Chinese officials banished there,
Hainan was “the gate of hell,” a place of discomfort, backward in
culture, and full of perils and diseases. The island came under Chinese
control as early as the 2nd century BC, usually administered by
Guangdong or Guangxi Provinces to the north. It was a place of
independent Li ethnic peoples and a center for coastal piracy. Many
officials were banished here during the Tang and Song periods, when
Haikou was developed as a port. The most famous exile was the Song poet
Su Shi (Su Dongpo). In the 15th century during the Ming period, the
indigenous Li people were driven into the mountains and forests of the
south by Han Chinese immigrants from the mainland. The Japanese occupied
the island in 1939, and killed a large percentage of the island’s male
population in retaliation for ongoing resistance fighting. The island
was closed to access during the Vietnam War period.
Hainan was named a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1988. |
