Over the past thirty years, China's southernmost province has gone from an isolated, backward moving place to the nation's largest Special Economic Zone. Being the host for big international events such as Asia's annual Boao Forum and the BRICS leaders meeting, Hainan Province is the pioneer of China's reform and opening-up and continues to accelerate its development of pilot free zones and free trade ports. China's only tropical island province is also a popular tourist paradise among Chinese and foreign visitors. And it aims to become a world-class medical tourism destination in years to come. CGTN reporter Zhou Jiaxin has more.

Since it became a province in 1988, Hainan has been the first in China to put forward and establish a socialist market economic system.

In 2018, Hainan's GDP and the local government's general budget revenue grew by 23.1 and 253.3 times respectively compared to 1987's figures.

Hainan authorities on Monday shared what has contributed to China's largest Special Economic Zone.

LIU CIGUI, SECRETARY CPC HAINAN PROVINCIAL COMMITTEE "Hainan's economic and social achievements fully bear out CPC's great leadership and the superiority of the socialist system."

They also prove reform and opening-up are key to the development of China, particularly in case of Hainan, and economic globalization is irresistible trend of the world.

Liu says opening-up is the priority of provincial development, adding it will better manage risks and improve reform measures in building an island-wide free trade pilot zone.

In 2018, newly established foreign-funded enterprises increased 85.6 percent, the actual utilization of foreign capital jumped 112.7 percent, and the import and export volume grew by 20.8 percent.

From January to August of this year, the three figures jumped by 189.2 percent, 565.5 percent and 37.4 percent respectively. Among its reform efforts across the country, Beijing has tapped Hainan to accelerate the international medical tourism industries.

In 2013, the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, was launched as such. Furthermore, the State Council decided that Hainan itself can authorize the imports of medical drugs and devices that are not legitimately available in the Chinese mainland.

SHEN XIAOMING, GOVERNOR HAINAN PROVINCE "The Pilot Zone can largely allow global innovative drugs to come to Chinese market quicker at a lower cost, which gives international companies more confidence and benefits a wider range of patients in China."

As authorities say, one drop of water reflects the sunlight, while a particular place can also reflect the situations of the whole country. Hainan's achievement and its opening-up in medical tourism fully express what the socialism of Chinese characteristics is delivering. Zhou Jiaxin, CGTN, Beijing.