Economy

The new International Tourism and Central Business District on Guoxing RoadThe GDP per capita was $3,573 USD 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 Road. 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, 1.93 square kilometer area located between Nanhai Road and Yehai Road. It was approved on October 21, 1992 by the State Council.

Geography

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).[citation needed][3]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. From east to west the remaining three road connections are provided by the Renmin, Heping and Xinbu Bridges.Climate[edit]Further information: Hainan#Annual fogHaikou is on the northern edge of the torrid zone, and is part of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. April to October is the active period for tropical storms and typhoons, most of which occur between August and September. May to October is the rainy season with the heaviest rainfall occurring in September. Despite its location, the city has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), falling just short of a tropical climate, with strong monsoonal influences. Nevertheless, the area has hot summers and warm winters, usually with high humidity.[4] Extremes temperatures have ranged from 2.8 to 39.6 °C (37 to 103 °F) [5] From June to October torrential rains may occur, with 7.0 days annually receiving at least 50 mm (1.97 in) of rain; this period accounts for nearly 70 percent of the annual rainfall of 1,650 mm (65 in). With monthly percentage of possible sunshine ranging from 31% in February to 61% in July, the city receives 2,070 hours of bright sunshine annually.Environment[edit]As of 2012[update], Haikou has the second best air quality among major cities nationally, preceded only by Lhasa, Tibet.[8] However, since approximately 2009, due to an increase in the number of automobiles, there has been worsening air pollution.According to the 2005 statistical book issued by the National Bureau of Statistics, Haikou scored the highest among China's main cities in air quality, with 366 days (2004) of ambient air quality equal to or above grade II, with only 0.033 milligrams/m2 of particulate matter (the least of all main cities), 0.003 milligrams/m2 of sulphur dioxide (only Lhasa had less), and 0.013 milligrams/m2 of nitrogen dioxide (the least of all main cities).[9]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 Ministry of Health, a ten-point plan was undertaken to address such issues as:Community health careVaccinations for childrenWaste recyclingGreen belts and urban treesEnvironmentally friendly constructionPublic toilets (These are available throughout the city, are staffed, and well maintained.)Sewage treatmentCommunicationsNoise pollutionThe groundwater is of international standard[clarification needed], and is classified as mineral water.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.[10]Haikou city has also built 163 model ecological villages. Now, over 200,000 villagers in 933 villages have tap water in their homes.Comprehensive city-improvement campaign[edit]During 2015 and 2016, large-scale city improvements have taken place as part of a province-wide initiative called 双创 ("double create"). It is described by government sources as a campaign to create a cleaner city and create a more civilized city. It is focused on traffic and commerce, but has also improved the overall appearance of the city, tackling air pollution from industry emissions, aiming to ensure the safety of drinking water sources, improving public security in such places as hospitals, schools, malls, and visitor attractions.[11][12][13] Details of these improvements include:Traffic: Many new street crossings with traffic lights were installed around the city to improve two-wheel vehicles (consisting mainly of electric motorbikes) and pedestrian travel. Throughout the city, teams of police have been stationed at major intersections to ensure that two-wheel vehicles obey the law. Although there are many side lanes for these bikes, the actual pedestrian sidewalks serve as legal, one-way routes. Police at intersections stop vehicles either going the wrong way, or running red lights. Offenders may be forced to wear a red sash, stop other offenders, and lecture them.Commerce: Around August 2015, teams of officers physically removed nearly all illegal structures used for business in the city (a province-wide campaign). These structures were commonly made of corrugated metal or cinderblocks and were shop extensions or simply unused space that had been built upon. Street vendors were banned (most of whom sold vegetables or fruit), as was the night operation of roadside BBQ sites and the placement of tables onto the sidewalks by restaurants. These night time food operations were once common throughout the city.Roads and sidewalks: Many small roads have been repaved including narrow lanes in old neighbourhoods. Also, many sidewalks have been upgraded with new brick. Bricks are used as sidewalk material in Haikou because of the large amount of ficus trees, the roots of which deform the surrounding sidewalk.Demolition and reconstruction: A number of entire neighbourhoods within the city have been, and are being, entirely demolished with new buildings and roads being built.Water and sewage treatment[edit]The treatment of Haikou's wastewater, and the supply of tap water is operated by the French company Veolia Water. The partial privatization agreement gives 49 percent ownership to Veolia Water in a 30-year joint venture with Haikou Water Group.[14][15][16][17]

Demographics

According to the 2010 Census, the prefecture-level city of Haikou has a registered population of 2,046,189 inhabitants, 537,848 more than the population declared on the past census in 2000. The average annual population growth during the period 2000–2010 was of 3.1 percent. Most of the population of Haikou are Han Chinese (around 97.75 percent, according to the 2010 Census).

History

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 England. 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. It was known internationally as 'Hoihow', based on the local dialect. In 1926, Haikou overtook Qiongshan in population and it was declared a separate administrative city. 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.Haikou old town contains the oldest buildings in the city and was largely built by wealthy Chinese from the mainland and some "overseas Chinese" who had returned to their homeland. The houses are a mixture of styles including Portuguese, French, and Southeast Asian. The streets used to be divided into different areas selling Chinese and western medicine, for silk and bespoke clothes, one for fresh fish and meat, and others for the sale of incense, candles, paper, ink, and other goods.Various projects are currently under discussion to decide the best way to restore and preserve these historical buildings.