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Hainan
Island
History/History of
Hainan
Island
History can’t make up its mind about the Hainan Island. Sitting
off the southern coast of China and to the east of Vietnam, it
has been both eulogized as the Hawaii of the East and condemned
as the Gates of Hell. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in
between. Originally considered by the Chinese to be the place
where the civilized world officially ended and fit only to send
convicts, the Hainan of today is conversely overrun with Chinese
tourist and espoused by many as China’s idyllic island paradise.

Human activities on Hainan
Island can be traced back between 6000 and 10000 years. Written
history, however only begins after 200 BC when Hainan Island
fell under Chinese Control during the Qin Dynasty. Subsequent
dynasties like the Tang, Song and Yuan (6th-14th centuries) set
up special administrative offices on Hainan Island and began
incorporating it into the country’s central government. Han
Chinese moved in and the indigenous tribes retreated further
inland.
According to ancient records, Hainan Island was nicknamed the
Tail of the Dragon, the last unexplored frontier of China and
civilization. Because of its remote and forbidding location,
many renegades were exiled to its sand shores, including the
famous Poet Su Dongpo, who was banished there during the Song
Dynasty.
In more recent times, Hainan Island was used as a strategic
military outpost in 1890 to combat the French in the Qing
Dynast. Similarly, the Hainan people later helped the Communists
to battle the Japanese in the 1930-1945. In 1950, the PRC
officially established the Hainan Special Administrative Area.
Finally in 1988, Hainan Island officially became a province, the
youngest and smallest province of China in Land and the biggest
in ocean area with Haikou established as the capital. At the
same time, Hainan Island became a special economic zone. Free
market economies quickly took root and Hong Kong investment
began pouring in. Since then, the local government and people
have both caught the tourism bug, seeing the tourism industry as
the easiest way to make a quick buck and advance the economy.
Their motto is to promote the 10 major tourist resources: blue
sea, bright sunshine, sandy beaches, hot springs, tropical
climate, tropical rainforest, grottos, minority culture, clean
air and beautiful scenery.

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Hainan
Island
History/History of
Hainan
Island
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