Historic city · Cultural centre · Port · Hainan
Danzhou
儋州
Su Dongpo's place of exile on the north-west coast of Hainan
Danzhou is a prefecture-level city in north-western Hainan, one of the island's oldest administrative centres. The poet Su Shi (Su Dongpo) spent three years of exile here, and his school survives as the Dongpo Academy; the city also includes the port and industrial zone of Yangpu and ancient sea-salt fields.
Key facts
Overview
Danzhou continues the Han commandery of Dan'er, established in 110 BCE, and was for centuries the seat of the western half of the island. Its town of Zhonghe, where the old prefectural seat stood, is where Su Shi lived from 1097 to 1100 and taught local students; one of them later became the first Hainanese to pass the provincial examination.
The city was upgraded to prefecture level in 2015. Its coast includes the deep-water port of Yangpu, one of the key zones of the free trade port, and its inland farms produce rubber and tropical crops.
Names and nicknames
诗乡歌海
“home of poetry, sea of songs”
Local epithet for its poetic tradition, credited to Su Shi, and its folk-song culture.
History
The Han created Dan'er commandery here in 110 BCE. Under later dynasties the prefecture was known as Danzhou or Changhua. The Song court exiled Su Shi here in 1097 at the age of sixty-one; he wrote and taught until he was pardoned in 1100. The salt fields of Yangpu, where seawater is evaporated on stone basins, are said to have been worked for more than a thousand years.
110 BCE
Dan'er commandery
One of the first two Han administrations on Hainan.
1097–1100
Su Shi in exile
The poet lived at Zhonghe, founded a school in the Zaijiu Pavilion and wrote many poems about the island and its people.
2015
Prefecture-level city
Danzhou was raised from a county-level city under the province to prefecture level.
Landmarks
Historic site
Dongpo Academy
东坡书院
The academy on the site of Su Shi's school at Zhonghe, with his statue and memorial halls.
Historic site
Yangpu ancient salt fields
洋浦千年古盐田
Hundreds of stone basins on the shore where salt is made by evaporating seawater.
Neighbourhoods
Nada
那大
The modern administrative centre of the city.
Zhonghe
中和镇
The old prefectural town, with the Dongpo Academy.
Food
Mi lan
儋州米烂
Soft rice noodles in broth with dried fish, peanuts and chilli.
Guangcun sandworms
光村沙虫
Peanut worms from the tidal flats, served in soup or stir-fried.
Culture
Danzhou is the home of tiaosheng, antiphonal songs sung by groups of young men and women in the Danzhou dialect, and of a strong tradition of folk poetry that local people trace to Su Shi. The Danzhou dialect itself is distinct from Hainanese and is spoken only in this area.
九死南荒吾不恨，兹游奇绝冠平生。Jiǔ sǐ nán huāng wú bù hèn, zī yóu qí jué guàn píngshēng.
“Nine times near death in the southern wilds, I have no regrets: this journey was the most wondrous of my life.”
— Su Shi, “Crossing the Sea on the Night of the Twentieth Day of the Sixth Month” (六月二十日夜渡海), 1100
Getting around
- Danzhou station on the western round-island high-speed line links the city with Haikou and Sanya.
Day trips
Shihua cave
石花水洞
Limestone cave with crystal formations and an underground river.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Danzhou Municipal People's Government — Danzhou Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Su Shi — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)