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