Wanning
The old Tang prefecture of Wan'an steps down from Niushang Ridge to the bays and fishing villages of Hainan's southeast shore.
A place shaped through time
Wanning lies on the southeastern coast of Hainan, facing the South China Sea, with land and sea areas of almost equal size. A county called Wan'an was founded here in 631 and later raised to a prefecture; the name Wanning appeared in the Southern Song, and the Ming called it Wanzhou, each the seat of the island's southeast. The land falls in steps from west to east, from Niushang Ridge at about twelve hundred metres through hills and plains to the coast. Wancheng town marks the old prefectural seat, while bays, beaches and fishing villages line the shore. Around Xinglong, returned overseas Chinese planted coffee and tropical crops, adding a Southeast Asian flavour to local life.