30 years on, the rise of China’s southernmost end

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“We did not have proper roads and electricity in my hometown back then,” Cheung Hok-sau recalled in an interview with the China News Service. “The only ‘roads’ were too narrow for the cars to get in.”

Cheung, current honorary president of Hong Kong Hainan Commercial Association, was among those who started businesses in Hainan two decades ago. According to him, tremendous changes have taken place in the island since then.

“Look at now. The modernized urban planning, the G98 Ring Expressway, and over 50 international air routes. Hainan is opening up in an internationalized fashion,” he said.

Sanya, Hainan, on February 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

Hainan, the tropical island on the southernmost tip of China, has developed from the youngest economic zone of the country with a vast rural area into one of its most vibrant economies.

Hainan: Witness of China’s opening up

As Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), Hainan stands as an important historical witness of China’s reform and opening up.

Exactly 30 years ago on this day during the 1st plenary session of 7th National People’s Congress (NPC), the idea of establishing the Hainan Province and Hainan Special Economic zone (SEZ) was passed. Thirteen days later on April 26, 1988, Hainan Provincial Committee and its government were officially listed. Since then, a set of policies have been carried out to vitalize the region.

Hainan’s achievements 30 years on

In 2017, the island’s GDP reached 446.3 billion yuan, or 70.96 US dollars, which is 78 times than that of 30 years ago. Tertiary industry – segment of economy that provides services to consumers – takes up over 55 percent of its total revenue.

Additionally, because of its pleasant environment and trade-friendly policies, more and more people choose to move there and invest.

Many also attribute the rapid growth to the Boao Forum for Asia, as it chose Hainan Province to be its permanent host.

Jiang Xiang is a local from Qionghai City. He has been running his restaurant and bar since 2010.

“If it was not opened in Boao and instead in another place, it may not be what it is now – popular with its own household brand. It’s because of the annual Boao forum that people from around the world come to this town. So the impact is quite large,” Jiang said.

Hainan on the way, what to expect next?

The Hainan government is taking a step further, looking to keep up efforts in the tourism industry as well as ecological development.

In the tourism front, it aims to establish an international tourist island by 2020. The government hopes to see it turn into a world-class relaxing tourism resort island by 2025.

In the ecology front, a 62-percent-plus forest coverage rate and a 95-percent-plus water quality of major lakes and rivers are expected. The government is also monitoring in other areas including air quality and soil quality.

Tourists have fun in Sanya, Hainan on April 7, 2018. /VCG Photo

“The opening up of the economy has driven the development of this place, and it is now at a historical turning point,” Jiang said, citing President Xi Jinping’s visit to the forum for the third time since he took office.

He added things will only get better and better, given the direction set for this island. As a Hainan local, he is very optimistic about the future.