Хайнань / Хайнан / ไหหลำ (ไห่หนาน) / Xαϊνάν / 해남 (하이난) / Hải Nam / 海南 / هينان / हाइनान / חאינאן

A tropical island the size of Taiwan, Hainan is located in the South China Sea. Like islands everywhere, it is a compact unity in itself, a small world of its own away from the grand scale and shifting boundaries of the continent. Like many islands it is a comfortable sort of place, isolated from the currents that have periodically raged in the centres of power.

For a long time Hainan was remarkable only for its intractable indigenous inhabitants and its role as a destination for exiled politicians from the Chinese Mainland. For many people, including many who live there, Hainan is nothing more than a Sun Belt location where life is easy and doesn't make too many demands on the intellect. The concept that Hainan has its own culture or history fails to make much impression in the indolent atmosphere of the tropical resort.

But culture (or rather, cultures) it does have, and history, too, even if these pale beside the grand cultures and histories of the world's great metropolitan centres. Hainan has also made its own unique contributions to the world.

• The superior weaving techniques of the Hlai helped establish the Mainland Chinese textile industry, now the undisputed powerhouse for the entire world's garment industry.
• Hai Rui was a Hainanese-born official of the Ming dynasty widely respected and admired for his fairness and uncorruptibility. A play about Hai Rui is said to have precipitated the Cultural Revolution.
• The Hainanese who left to seek their fortune in Southeast Asia did a lot for the places they settled in, including such immortal contributions as Singapore's national dish, Hainan Chicken Rice, and that world-famous cocktail the Singapore Sling.
• Hainan is the ancestral place of the Soong sisters who played such contrasting roles in the making of modern China.
• Hainan is the home of the Red Detachment of Women, who fought so valiantly against the Japanese. The Red Detachment of Women has passed into the national mythology of modern China.
• More recently, Hainan has put itself on the map for forced landings by US spy planes and events like Triathlons, the Miss World Contest, and the Boao Forum for Asia.

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