Chengmai Overview

Chengmai County (澄迈县) is located in northwestern Hainan Province, immediately west of the provincial capital Haikou. Known for its long history, selenium-rich soils, tropical agriculture and reputation for longevity, Chengmai is also one of Hainan's strongest county-level economies. Its identity today combines ancient villages and traditional culture with the rapidly developing Hainan Free Trade Port, digital industries, offshore oil-service businesses, advanced manufacturing and modern logistics.

Chengmai has more than 2,000 years of administrative history dating back to the Western Han Dynasty. Unlike Hainan's major resort destinations, its development is not based mainly on beach tourism. Instead, the county has evolved into a diversified area where Haikou-linked urban development, technology parks, ports, tropical countryside, volcanic landscapes, coffee culture and historic communities coexist.

Basic Information

Chengmai officially administers 11 towns, with the county government located in Jinjiang Town (金江镇). Latest 2025 administrative data place the permanent population at approximately 508,700, with an urbanization rate of about 61.75 percent. Some provincial overview pages still show an older population figure of around 560,000, reflecting differences in statistical dates and population definitions.

Geography and Location

Chengmai occupies the northwestern part of Hainan Island and is closely integrated with the Haikou metropolitan region. It borders Haikou City and Ding'an County to the east, Tunchang County and Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County to the south, and Lingao County and Danzhou City to the west. Its northern coastline faces the Qiongzhou Strait, with Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula lying across the sea.

This location gives Chengmai an unusually strong economic advantage. The eastern part of the county, particularly the Laocheng (老城) area, is effectively connected with the western expansion of Haikou, while Jinjiang remains the traditional administrative center farther inland. Chengmai therefore has a distinctive dual-center development pattern, combining Jinjiang's county-seat functions with the much more industrialized and technology-oriented Laocheng coastal area.

The county's landscapes are similarly varied. Coastal plains and port areas dominate the north, while the interior contains rivers, tropical farmland, hills and extensive rural communities. Volcanic geology inherited from northern Hainan has also influenced soils, village construction and local agricultural conditions.

Climate

Chengmai has a tropical monsoon climate influenced strongly by the surrounding sea. Temperatures remain warm throughout the year, seasonal temperature differences are relatively small, and there is a clear distinction between the rainy and dry seasons.

Historical climate data place the average annual temperature at around 23.7°C, while Hainan as a whole now averages close to 24.9°C. Chengmai's cooler period generally falls from December to February, while June to August is hotter and more humid.

As elsewhere in Hainan, May to October is the main rainy season and November to April is comparatively dry. Summer and autumn can bring tropical storms, heavy rainfall and typhoon-related weather, although local conditions vary considerably from year to year.

The combination of abundant sunshine, heat and rainfall supports year-round tropical agriculture. Chengmai's soils are also widely associated with naturally occurring selenium, which has become an important part of the county's agricultural branding and health-oriented image.

Transportation and Regional Connections

Chengmai benefits enormously from its proximity to Haikou, making it one of the most accessible counties in Hainan. Railways, expressways, ports and Haikou's international airport together create a strong multimodal transportation network.

The Hainan Ring High-Speed Railway, Yuehai Railway and western railway corridor pass through Chengmai, providing rail connections with Haikou, Danzhou, Sanya and other parts of the island. Road access is supported by the G98 Hainan Ring Expressway and other expressway and national-road systems linking Chengmai directly with the provincial capital and western Hainan.

For air travelers, Haikou Meilan International Airport is the principal gateway. Because the eastern side of Chengmai adjoins Haikou, transfers between the airport, Haikou urban areas, Laocheng and northern Chengmai are relatively straightforward compared with many inland Hainan counties.

Maritime transportation is equally important. Macun Port (马村港) forms part of the core port area of Haikou Port and includes a national first-class open port. It has also become a major base for offshore oil and gas support services. Construction of Macun Port Phase III is among the major Hainan infrastructure projects being advanced in 2026.

Population and Ethnic Composition

Chengmai had approximately 508,700 permanent residents at the end of 2025. Population distribution is uneven, with major concentrations around Jinjiang, Laocheng and other economically developed towns, while large parts of the interior retain a more rural settlement pattern.

The population is predominantly Han Chinese, with smaller communities belonging to Li, Miao and other ethnic groups. Mandarin is widely used in education and public services, while different varieties of Hainanese and other local Chinese dialects remain part of everyday cultural life.

Chengmai's demographic profile has also been influenced by its proximity to Haikou. The development of Laocheng, the software industry, oilfield-service businesses and modern manufacturing has attracted employees, entrepreneurs and technical professionals from other parts of Hainan and mainland China.

History and Cultural Identity

Chengmai is one of Hainan's oldest counties, with an administrative history extending back more than 2,000 years. County-level administration dates to the Western Han period, and the historical county seat was once located around today's Laocheng area before eventually moving to Jinjiang in the late Qing Dynasty.

The name Chengmai itself is traditionally linked with local geography. Historical accounts connect “Cheng” with the Chengjiang River and “Mai” with Maishan, combining the names of the local river and mountain landscape.

Traditional villages are particularly important to Chengmai's cultural character. Northern Hainan's volcanic geology supplied local communities with dark volcanic stone, which was widely used for houses, walls, lanes, wells and village infrastructure. This has created concentrations of volcanic-stone villages with a distinctive architectural appearance.

Chengmai is also strongly associated with longevity culture. Its climate, ecological environment, local food traditions and selenium-rich agricultural products have been used to develop a broader wellness and longevity identity. Official Hainan introductions continue to describe Chengmai as a well-known longevity area.

Coffee and Agricultural Culture

Agriculture remains one of Chengmai's cultural as well as economic foundations. Tropical conditions support rice, vegetables, fruit, coffee, livestock and other products, while the county has developed a recognizable range of agricultural brands.

Fushan Coffee (福山咖啡) is especially associated with Chengmai. Coffee cultivation and coffeehouse culture have become part of the county's modern identity, giving Chengmai one of Hainan's most recognizable coffee traditions.

The county also promotes selenium-rich and geographically distinctive agricultural products. By 2025, Chengmai's “6+2” branded agricultural products maintained annual output of around 180,000 tonnes and output value exceeding 1.6 billion yuan. Chengmai was also established as Hainan's only national geographical-indication protection demonstration zone.

Economy and Major Industries

Chengmai is one of the most economically significant county-level administrative areas in Hainan. In 2025, GDP reached 55.992 billion yuan, up from 34.836 billion yuan at the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Its economic scale has consistently ranked first among Hainan's county-level administrative regions, rather than third among all prefecture- and county-level jurisdictions in the province.

The most dynamic part of the economy is concentrated around Laocheng Technology New City and Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community, where digital industries have become a major growth engine.

In 2025, Chengmai's core digital-economy industries generated approximately 102.55 billion yuan in revenue, representing growth of 22.3 percent. The Hainan software community has developed strong clusters in online games, digital culture, cross-border digital services, artificial intelligence and overseas content distribution. More than 2,000 digital-culture-related companies have gathered in the software community, according to provincial reporting in 2026.

Oil Services, Manufacturing and Logistics

A second major economic pillar is the offshore oil and gas service industry centered around Macun Port and Laocheng. In 2025, the oilfield-service base had attracted more than 260 companies, generating approximately 17.4 billion yuan in revenue, up 40.57 percent year on year. The cluster was recognized as Hainan's only national-level specialized industrial cluster for small and medium-sized enterprises in its category.

Advanced manufacturing is also expanding. High-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size generated output exceeding 10 billion yuan in 2025, while industrial internet applications, green building materials, energy services and equipment manufacturing are strengthening Chengmai's industrial base.

Modern logistics benefits from the county's proximity to Haikou, railway access, expressways and Macun Port, allowing Chengmai to function as an important distribution and industrial-support center for northern Hainan.

Tourism Development

Tourism in Chengmai increasingly emphasizes culture, longevity, countryside experiences, volcanic heritage, coffee culture and lifestyle travel, rather than conventional large-scale beach resorts.

The county has been developing “Cultural Chengmai” as a destination brand, using historical heritage, traditional villages and cultural events to create stronger links between tourism and local identity. In 2025, major events including the Dongpo Cultural Tourism Conference and music festivals helped increase visitor attention, while 35 major cultural, tourism and sports activities generated approximately 410 million yuan in related consumption.

Chengmai is also being integrated more strongly into western and northern Hainan tourism. Hainan's 2026 officially promoted tourism routes connect Chengmai, Lingao and Danzhou, emphasizing the combination of ancient culture, traditional communities and new leisure experiences.

For 2026, Chengmai has set a target of receiving about 5.3 million tourist visits and generating more than 4.4 billion yuan in tourism revenue, while also seeking significant growth in inbound tourism.

Chengmai Today

Modern Chengmai County has two complementary identities. On one side is an ancient Hainan county shaped by traditional villages, tropical agriculture, coffee, volcanic geology and a strong longevity culture. On the other is one of the island's fastest-developing centers for digital industries, offshore oil services, advanced manufacturing, logistics and international business.

Its immediate proximity to Haikou gives Chengmai advantages that few other Hainan counties possess. As Laocheng Technology New City, Hainan Free Trade Port Resort Software Community and Macun Port continue to expand, Chengmai is increasingly functioning as part of the larger Haikou economic area while retaining the historic and rural character of western and northern Hainan.

For international travelers, Chengmai is therefore best understood not simply as a sightseeing destination but as a place where ancient Hainan culture, tropical countryside and the modern Free Trade Port economy meet, offering a useful perspective on how the island is changing beyond its famous coastal resorts.