HainanIslandisworld-famousforitsuniqueandcharmingtropicalviews,relaxedandhappynaturalenvironment,particularlymagnificentmarineresourcesandsimpleandkindheartedpeople

　　HainanisaprovinceofthePeople'sRepublicofChina,locatedatthesouthernmostendofthecountry.Itconsistsseveralislands,thelargestofwhichisalsocalledHainan(HainanDao).Andwhenspeakingof"Hainan"inChinese,itisusuallyHainanIslandthatisreferredto.Toemphasizethereferentasaprovince,onesaysHainanSheng("HainanProvince").

　　History

　　HainanIslandwascalledthePearlCliffs(珠崖),theJadeCliffs(琼崖qiong2yai2),andtheQiongPrefecture(琼州Qiongzhou),thelattertwogaverisetotheprovince'sabbreviation,Qiong(琼inSimplifiedChinese).

　　InWuKingdomoftheThreeKingdomsPeriod,HainanwastheZhuyaiPrefecture(珠崖郡).

　　HainanwasoneofthelastareasofChinacontrolledbytheChiangKai-Shek'sKMT.FromMarchtoMay1950,theLandingOperationonHainanIsland(海南岛登陆战役)capturedtheislandfortheChinesecommunists.

　　Duringtheearly1990s,therewasamajorcorruptionscandalinHainan.

　　Administration

　　HainanProvinceconsistsof:

　　2regionalcities(地级市):HaikouandSanya(三亚市)

　　County-level:

　　4counties(县)

　　7county-levelcities(县级市):Wanning

　　1office:theOfficeofWest,South,andCentralShaArchipelagos(西、南、中沙群岛办事处)(theSouthChinaSeaIslands)

　　6nationalityautonomouscounties(民族自治县):allarefortheLi,sometimescohabitedwiththeMiao

　　5municipaldistricts(市辖区)

　　Subcounty-level:

　　2000townships(镇)

　　97regions(乡)

　　2533villages(村)

　　HainanwashistoricallypartofGuangdongProvince,beingassuch,itwastheQionyaiCircuit(琼崖道)in1912(theestablishmentoftheRepublicofChina).In1921,itwasplannedtobecameaSpecialAdministrativeRegion(琼崖特别行政区),andin1944andbecameHainanSpecialAdministrativeRegionwith16countiesthatcontainstheSouthChinaSeaIslands.

　　OnMay1,1950(underthePRC),theSpecialAdministrativeRegionbecameanAdministrativeRegionOffice(海南行政区公署),abranchoftheGuangdongprovincialgovernment.OnOctober1,1984,itbecametheHainanAdministrativeRegion(海南行政区),withaPeople'sGovernment,andfinallyasprovinceseparatedfromGuangdongfouryearslater.

　　Geography

　　HainanisthesecondlargestislandofChina(afterTaiwan).QiongzhouStrait(琼州海峡)locatesnorthofHainanandseparatesitfromtheLeizhouPeninsula(雷州半岛)ofGuangxi.TothewestistheGulfofTonkin.

　　Notjustoneisland,Hainanalsocontainsall250SouthChinaSeaIslandsasapartoftheofficialPRCterritory.ThecontainmentoftheSouthChinaSeaIslandsmakesHainanProvincehaveaverylargewaterbody,butdisproportionallysmalllandarea.JamesShoal(曾母暗沙ZengmuAnshan),whichispresentlyoccupiedbythePRC,signifiesthecountry'ssouthernmostborder.ButtheMalaysiansalsoclaimitisontheircontinentalshelf.

　　Economy

　　Sincethe1980s,theHainanprovincehasbeenaspecialeconomiczoneofChina.Theprovincehasareputationforbeinga"WildWest"area.

　　Demographics

　　Thereare10,000BuddhistHainanese,and6,500Muslims.BecauseHainanhadbeenapointinthetravelrouteofmissionaries,ther