The Yinggeling Ridge in the mist. [Photo courtesy of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park Administration] 

Developing the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park is a major task assigned by President Xi Jinping and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. During his visit to Hainan on April 11–13 this year, Xi pointed out that Hainan is a province of ecological resources and building the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park is a top priority. He said the park has great bearing on the development of China as a whole. He stressed the strategic significance of the park and urged local officials to make persistent efforts to make it a success. Xi added the park is a national treasure which helps conserve water, boost grain production, improve the economy and act as a carbon sink. He required rainforests should be strictly protected, saying that the efforts to protect the ecosystem, pursue green development and improve people's lives must go hand in hand, so as to demonstrate to the world the progress that China has achieved in building national parks and protecting biodiversity.

Since 2019, when the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park was piloted, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (National Park Administration) and the government of Hainan have fully implemented Xi's important guidance. Various measures have been taken to streamline the administrative system, reform operation mechanisms, cement the rule of law and strengthen supervision and management, in order to lay a solid foundation for the inauguration of the park and reinforce ecological support for the Hainan Free Trade Zone.

Unmatched ecology

"Held captive by the egrets hovering above the autumn river, I didn't notice that the evening tide had retired from the green grove." This is how Su Shi, a literary giant of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127), described Hainan's ecological beauty during his exile on the island more than 900 years ago.

The towering trees are home to wildlife. An important part of the world's tropical rainforests, the Hainan tropical rainforest is the most concentrated, best preserved and largest contiguous tropical rainforest in China, and is a treasury of tropical biodiversity and genetic resources. The national park acts as strong protection for the wildlife in the rainforest.