National park · Hainan
Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park
海南热带雨林国家公园
The tropical forests of Hainan's central mountains and the last Hainan gibbons
Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park protects the forested mountains of central Hainan, from Wuzhi Shan at 1,867 metres to Bawangling, Jianfengling, Yinggeling and Diaoluoshan. Established in 2021 as one of China's first five national parks, it holds the largest continuous tropical rainforest in China and the only population of the Hainan gibbon, one of the rarest primates in the world.
- National park · 2021
- National nature reserves (within the park)
Key facts
Overview
The park spans the mountainous heart of Hainan Island, bringing together former nature reserves, forest parks and state forestry farms in several counties into a single protected area of more than four thousand square kilometres. Its forests range from lowland rainforest in the valleys to montane rainforest and mossy dwarf forest on the ridges, and they feed the island's three main rivers — the Nandu, the Changhua and the Wanquan.
Much of this forest was logged for timber from the 1950s to the 1990s, when commercial logging was halted. The national park, created in October 2021 with the Sanjiangyuan, Giant Panda, Northeast China Tiger and Leopard and Wuyishan parks, is meant to reconnect the fragments into a single ecosystem and to reconcile protection with the lives of the Li and Miao communities who live in and around the mountains.
How the landscape formed
Hainan's central mountains are built mainly of granites and older metamorphic rocks, uplifted into a dome from which rivers radiate to the coast. Deep weathering in the hot, wet climate has produced thick red soils, steep valleys and many waterfalls. The island's position at the northern edge of the tropics, with monsoon rains from the south-west and typhoons from the east, makes the south-western slopes drier and the eastern slopes wetter, and the forest types change accordingly.
Highlights
Wuzhi Shan
五指山
The Five Finger Mountain, the highest peak of Hainan at 1,867 metres.
Bawangling
霸王岭
The forested mountains in the west of the park that are home to the Hainan gibbon.
Jianfengling
尖峰岭
A ridge in the south-west with long-term forest research plots and a well-developed network of forest trails and a mountain lake.
Diaoluoshan
吊罗山
Wet eastern mountains with waterfalls and dense forest.
Yinggeling
鹦哥岭
A remote central range, one of the least disturbed parts of the park.
Limushan
黎母山
The Mountain of the Li Mother, revered as the ancestral mountain of the Li people.
Plants and wildlife
The park is a hotspot of tropical biodiversity at the northern edge of the Asian tropics, with thousands of plant species, many endemic to Hainan. Its flagship, the Hainan gibbon, was reduced to a handful of individuals in a single forest patch at Bawangling by the late twentieth century; decades of protection have allowed it to recover slowly, and forest restoration aims to give its groups room to spread.
Plants
Dacrydium
陆均松
Dacrydium pectinatum, a tall podocarp typical of Hainan's montane rainforest.
Hainan rosewood
降香黄檀
Dalbergia odorifera, the source of the prized huanghuali wood, now strictly protected.
Tree fern
桫椤
Relict tree ferns grow along the moist valleys.
Strangler figs
绞杀植物
Figs that germinate on other trees and envelop them, typical of tropical rainforest.
Wildlife
Hainan gibbon
海南长臂猿
Nomascus hainanus, found only in Bawangling and one of the rarest primates in the world; its dawn songs carry through the forest.
Hainan peacock-pheasant
海南孔雀雉
An endemic pheasant with iridescent eye-spots, rarely seen on the forest floor.
Hainan partridge
海南山鹧鸪
A small endemic partridge of the montane forests.
Culture and legend
The central mountains are the homeland of the Li, Hainan's oldest inhabitants, and of Miao communities who arrived later. Li culture is known for its weaving — Li brocade and its spinning, dyeing and weaving techniques were inscribed by UNESCO in 2009 on the list of intangible heritage in need of urgent safeguarding — and for its boat-shaped thatched houses. The national park includes villages whose livelihoods are being adapted to conservation.
Li people
黎族
The indigenous people of Hainan, living mainly in the central and southern mountains.
Li brocade
黎锦
Textiles woven on back-strap looms in patterns of people, animals and ancestral figures.
Boat-shaped houses
船型屋
Traditional Li dwellings with long thatched roofs that resemble upturned boats.
History
1950s–1990s
Commercial logging
Large areas of Hainan's natural forest are cut by state forestry farms.
1994
Commercial logging of natural forest halted
Hainan stops logging its natural forests, and the forestry farms turn to protection.
2019
National park pilot
A pilot scheme combines the reserves of the central mountains under one plan.
October 2021
National park established
Announced as one of China's first five national parks.
Through the seasons
Spring
The dry season ends; warm and pleasant for forest walks, with flowering trees in the canopy.
Summer
Hot and very wet, with daily thunderstorms and typhoons; leeches on forest trails and some paths closed after heavy rain.
Autumn
Still typhoon season into October; rivers and waterfalls are at their fullest.
Winter
The dry, mild season — the most comfortable time for hiking and the clearest views from the peaks.
Routes and ways in
Jianfengling forest trails
Boardwalks and paths through the rainforest near the Tianchi mountain lake, with trails of different lengths.
Bawangling forest walks
Trails in the lower forests of Bawangling; the gibbon groups themselves are in protected areas off-limits to casual visitors.
Wuzhi Shan ascent
A steep forest climb from Shuiman to the summit ridge; a full day up and down.
Practical notes
- Much of the park is a strictly protected core area closed to the public; visitors use designated areas such as Jianfengling, Bawangling, Wuzhi Shan and Diaoluoshan.
- Rainforest trails are hot, humid and slippery; carry water, insect repellent and protection against leeches in the wet season.
- Sanya and Haikou are the main gateways, with airports and the round-island high-speed railway; the park itself is reached by road.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Hainan Provincial Forestry Bureau (Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration) — Hainan Provincial Forestry Bureau (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration — National Forestry and Grassland Administration (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Hainan Provincial People's Government — Hainan Provincial People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Li Textile Techniques: Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidering — UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (retrieved 27 September 2026)
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