Haikou

Haikou 海口 美兰 (Měi lán)
—  Prefecture-level city  —
海口市
Chinese transcription(s)
- Chinese	海口
- Pinyin	Hǎikǒu
Haikou city skyline
Location of Haikou Prefecture within Hainan
Haikou Location in China
Coordinates: 20°02′34″N 110°20′30″E / 20.04278°N 110.34167°E / 20.04278; 110.34167
Country	China
Province	Hainan
Area
- Total	2,304.84 km2 (889.9 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- Total	830,192
- Density	360.2/km2 (932.9/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	570000
Area code(s)	898
Website	http://www.haikou.gov.cn/

Haikou (simplified Chinese: 海口; pinyin: Hǎikǒu), situated at the north of Hainan island, is the capital of Hainan Province of the People's Republic of China and has an estimated population of 830,192 (2006), therefore by far the largest city on the island.

Some people also call it "Meilan (美兰 Měilán)", as its airport area and name are Meilan District.

History

Haikou originally served as the port for Qiongshan, the ancient administrative capital of Hainan island, located 5 km inland.haikou was a part of Guangdong province. In the 13th century it was fortified and became a military post under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The port is located west of the mouth of the Nandu, Hainan's principal river. When Qiongshan was opened to foreign trade under the Treaty of Tianjin (1858), Haikou started to rival the old administrative city. In 1926, Haikou overtook Qiongshan in population in the 1930s after it was declared a separate administrative county. Haikou was developed as a port during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) when the Japanese invaded and occupied Hainan Island from early 1939 to 1945.

Since 1949, Haikou has maintained its position as Hainan's main port, handling more than half of the island's total trade. It has replaced Qiongshan as the island's administrative capital. In 1988, Haikou was made a prefecture-level city as well as the capital of the newly-created Hainan Province.

The Old Haikou (the oldest buildings in the area) were mostly built by the rich Chinese from the mainland and some overseas Chinese who returned to their homeland. The houses are mixture of Portuguese, French and Southeast Asian style. These streets used to be divided into areas for selling Chinese and western medicine, a street for silk and tailor-make clothes, one for the fresh fish and meat, another for incense, candles, paper, ink, etc.

Various projects are currently under discussions to decide the best way to restore and preserve these historical buildings.

Geography

Haikou has an area of 2,304.84 square kilometers.^[1] It is situated on the north coast of Hainan Island, facing the Leizhou Peninsula, across the Hainan Strait (15 km wide); in an area that reaches from Zengmu Ansha in the south to the Qiongzhou Strait in the north; bordering the sea areas of the South China Sea and facing Vietnam in the west across Beibu Bay. Part of Haikou city, the district of Haidian island, is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Nandu river. It is the northernmost part of Haikou, and is accessed by one of three bridges, the largest being Haikou Century Bridge which connects Guomao district with Haidian island at the west mouth of the Nandu river.

Climate

The city of Haikou is on the northern edge of the torrid zone, and is part of the monsoon tropical zone. April to October is the active period for tropical storms and typhoons; most occur between August and September. May to October is the rainy season with most rainfall coming in September.^[2]

Average temperature (°C):

Average rainfall (mm):

Environment

Shopping street in Bo'ai Lu area (French colonial district)

Haikou has the second highest rated air quality in China, second only to Kunming.^[3]

The groundwater is of international standard, and is classified as mineral water.

In 1995, the Haikou city government began an initiative to improve the quality of life for its residents. With the approval of the World Health Organization, and China's Ministry of Health, a ten-point plan was undertaken to address such issues as:

• Community health care
• Vaccinations for children
• Waste recycling
• Green belts and urban trees
• Environmentally friendly construction
• Public toilets
• Sewage treatment
• Communications
• Noise pollution

By 2004, the city had established 43 new community health service centers reaching 85 percent of the population. The initiative has increased the size of Haikou's green spaces to 2,000 hectares, with trees lining 40 percent of its roads. Noise pollution has dropped from 61.1db to 58.2db. 300 public toilets have been built. All industrial effluents, industrial waste water and solid waste, and all live sewage, is now processed through centralized treatment centers, and is disposed of without environmental impact. These improvements and others have increased life expectancy in Haikou to 78.26 years.^[4]

Haikou city has also built 163 model ecological villages. Now, over 200,000 villagers in 933 villages have tap water in their homes.

Economy

Haikou Century Bridge

The GDP per capita was $3,573 USD in 2008, ranked number 43 among 659 Chinese cities.

Haikou exports great quantities of agricultural produce and livestock. There is a small amount of industry, including canning, textiles, rice hulling, and light engineering.

Tourism

Haikou received 4.11 million tourists in 2002, up 7.99 percent from 2001. The city earned approximately three billion yuan (361 million US dollars) from the tourism industry during that period, up 11 percent from the previous year.^[5]

Subdivisions

秀 英 区 龙 华 区 琼 山 区 美兰区

• Longhua District （龙华区）
• Xiuying District （秀英区）
• Qiongshan District （琼山区）
• Meilan District （美兰区）

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Haikou is twinned with:

• Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom
• Oklahoma City, United States
• Gdynia, Poland
• Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia

Gallery

A view south from Bin Hai road

Haikou Century Bridge connecting Hai Dian island over the Nadu river

Skyline from Ever Green park

The northern part of Guo Mao area

A view east from Ever Green park area

The customs building

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Haikou

• Haikou Government website
• Detailed information about Haikou

Coordinates: 20°02′34″N 110°20′30″E / 20.04278°N 110.34167°E / 20.04278; 110.34167

v • d • e Hainan Province History • Politics • Economy Prefecture-level cities Haikou • Sanya Districts of Haikou Longhua • Meilan • Qiongshan • Xiuying Below are the Sixteen county-level divisions directly under the province, with no intermediate prefecture level County Chengmai • Ding'an • Lingao • Tunchang County-level cities Wenchang • Qionghai • Wanning • Wuzhishan • Dongfang • Danzhou Autonomous counties Baisha • Baoting • Changjiang • Ledong • Lingshui • Qiongzhong Administrative Office Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority (disputed) See also: List of Hainan County-level divisions