The island is thought to have formed part of China's Leizhou Peninsula around 500,000 years ago. Human activity on Hainan has a long history that can be traced back more than 6,000 years. The original natives of the island are believed to be the Li nationality. People of the Han nationality moved in gradually from the start of the Han Dynasty onward. Hainan first became part of China in the "Spring and Autumn" Period in around 200 B.C. Emperor Hanwuti established two administrative centers in Hainan after conquering the southern part of China in 110 B.C.
During the Tang Dynasty additional administrative centers were established. In the later Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties various government offices were also set up for the administration of Hainan. The island received its current name 1,000 years ago due to its location in the South China Sea ("Hai" meaning sea and "Nan" meaning south). Beautiful as it has always been, Hainan was surprisingly used as a place of exile in ancient China. Many high-ranking officials were sent here during their banishment. The official and poet Su Dongpo of the Song Dynasty was perhaps the most well-known among them.
Historical Events on Hainan
- Hainan was under the administration of the Xiang prefecture in the Qin Dynasty. In around 100 B.C. it was sub-divided into two prefectures.
- In the Nanbei Dynasty emperor Liangwu established the "Zhou" system for Hainan so the island came to be called Ya Zhou.
- The two prefectures of Linzheng and Zuya were set up during the Shui Dynasty.
- In the Ming Dynasty, Hainan was called Qiongzhoufu, with Dangzhou, Wanzhou, Yazhou and 10 counties under its administration.
- At the time of the Qing Dynasty Hainan became a strategically key point for military defence. In 1890 the government ordered the army stationed along the coast to be on alert combat-ready to resist the invasion of the French Army. Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Liangguang, decided to build a military battery composed of five large protected cannons. The Xiuying Fort Barbette in modern day Haikou made up one of the Four Big Barbettes in ancient China.
- Qiongyadao was set up in 1912 and Haikou was established as a city in 1926.
- In 1948, The Hainan Special Administrative Area was founded directly under the control of the State Administrative Council. A Hainan Administrative Office was set up in 1951.
- The Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Regions were founded in 1952 and then became the Hainan Li and Miao Nationalities Prefectures in 1955.
- In 1984, The Hainan Administrative Area was founded. Hainan was established as a province with Haikou being the capital. The island of Hainan was proclaimed a Special Economic Zone in 1988.