Hainan << hy nahn >> Province is the southernmost province of China. It consists mainly of the large island of Hainan, formerly called Qiong, in the South China Sea. A busy shipping lane called the Hainan Strait separates Hainan Island from the southern tip of the Leizhou Peninsula on China’s mainland. Haikou, on the northern coast of Hainan Island, is the province’s capital and largest city. The province has an area of about 13,200 square miles (34,300 square kilometers).
Mountains and hills cover the central part of Hainan Island. Gentle plains extend to the sea. The island’s tropical climate and beaches attract many tourists. Farmers grow coconuts, coffee, cotton, rice, rubber, sugar cane, and tropical fruits. The surrounding waters produce cultivated pearls and fish. Hainan Island has many mineral resources, including iron ore, tungsten, and sea salt. Some petroleum deposits lie offshore. The province’s main manufactured products include farm equipment and processed foods.
The earliest inhabitants of Hainan Island were people known as the Li. The Miao, usually called the Hmong outside of China, arrived from southern China about 2,000 years ago. The island came under Chinese rule during the Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). A dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family. Chinese rulers used the island as place of exile for disgraced government officials. Starting in the 1300’s, Hainan was administered as part of Guangdong Province.
The Japanese occupied the island from 1939 to 1945, during World War II. The region remained largely undeveloped until the 1980’s. In 1988, the Chinese government made Hainan a separate province and declared it a Special Economic Zone—that is, an area where economic development and foreign investment are encouraged. Since then, the province’s economy and the population have grown rapidly.
Since the mid-1900’s, China and the nearby nations of Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam have disputed the ownership of some tiny islets and reefs in the South China Sea. China considers the areas—including the Paracel Islands, the Macclesfield Bank, and the Spratly Islands—to be part of Hainan Province. Although the islets are mostly uninhabited, the surrounding ocean regions are rich fishing grounds and may contain underwater oil and gas deposits.
