Haikou

Haikou's Qilou Old Street (骑楼老街) features arcaded buildings blending Southern Chinese and colonial styles, reflecting its history as a treaty port. The hanzi characters comprising the city's name, 海口, mean ocean/sea and mouth/port, respectively. Thus, the name "Haikou" is also a word for "seaport" – similar to Portsmouth in Britain. Haikou originally served as the port for Qiongshan, the ancient administrative capital of Hainan island, located some 5 km (3.1 mi) inland to the south east. During its early history 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 River, Hainan's principal river. When Qiongshan was opened to foreign trade under the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, Haikou started to rival the old administrative city. …

Haikou is situated on the north coast of Hainan Island, by Haikou Bay, facing the Leizhou Peninsula across the Qiongzhou Strait that stretches west from Beibu Bay near Vietnam to the James Shoal bordering the South China Sea to the west. Most of the city is almost completely flat and only a few metres above sea level. It has an area of 2,304.84 km2 (889.90 sq mi). The Meishe River winds through the east side of the city flowing northward to the Haidian River. The northern part of Haikou City, the district of Haidian Island, is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River, a tributary of the Nandu River. The district is accessed by one of four bridges, the largest being Haikou Century Bridge, which connects the Guomao district with Haidian Island at the estuary of the Haidian River. …

Several large public buildings now occupy Guoxing Avenue, the new area for arts and culture. These include the Hainan Provincial Museum, the Hainan Provincial Library, and the Hainan Centre for the Performing Arts. These are all located near to one another on the south side of the road, west of Haikou College of Economics, Haikou campus. At the west side of Evergreen Park is the Haikou Great Hall of the People, a concert hall, and Hainan Exhibition & Convention Center, a large centre for trade shows and other commercial events. Haikou City Stadium, is the main venue for sports events, and is located at the southeast corner of Evergreen Park. The Wuyuan River Stadium opened in April 2018. It is located west of downtown Haikou, near the newly built Haikou West Coast. With a capacity of over 40,000, it is the largest stadium in the province. …

The GDP per capita was US$3,573 in 2008, ranked number 43 among 659 Chinese cities. In 2011, the city's GDP reached 71.3 billion yuan, amounting to about 30 percent of the province's total. Haikou exports substantial quantities of agricultural produce and livestock. There is a small amount of industry, including canning, textiles, rice hulling, and light engineering. The "International Tourism and Central Business District" is under construction on the west part of Guoxing Avenue. The road was once only home to government buildings. Starting around 2011, HNA and other groups began erecting office buildings. Also located at the western end of Guoxing is the HNA Building, the headquarters of Hainan Airlines. Near the southern end of Haikou, automotive manufacturer Haima Automobile has its global headquarters. The Haikou Free Trade Zone (Haikou FTZ) (海口保税区) is a state-level, 1. …

Also known as the "Coconut city", Haikou is an important tourist destination for China. The city received 4.11 million tourists in 2002, up 7.99 percent from 2001. In 2019, the number of tourists in Haikou has exceeded 83.11 million. 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. Haikou is also developing its Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing, Exhibitions industry. The local government set up the Haikou Convention and Exhibition Bureau in June 2012 and pledged RMB35 million (US$5.6 million) to support the development of the MICE industry. More international hotel chains are also arriving. In 2016, the China Merchants holdings group unveiled its plans to develop Shenzhen, Haikou and Sanya as the three destination ports that its South China Sea passenger cruises would serve. …

Haikou has an extensive urban bus service. Standard fare is 1 yuan, with no bus pass, ticket, or transfer system in place. Urban minibuses operated prior to 2009, but have since been phased-out. Taxi automobiles and electric motorbikes operate throughout the city. During 2009–2010, petrol-fueled motorbike taxis were banned and seized by police at numerous checkpoints within the city. Haikou has experienced a substantial increase in cars since the early 2000s. Traffic on main streets, once light, is now similar to other major cities, with rush hour problems that have prompted the city to expand several main roads and build a new elevated road from the west end of Guoxing Avenue to new developments west of Holiday Beach. Many main roads in the city have a side lane, separated by a median, for two-wheeled vehicles. …