Hainan (Chinese: 海南; pinyin: Hǎinán) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. It consists of several islands, the largest of which is also called Hainan Island (Hainan Dao). And when speaking of "Hainan" in Chinese, it is usually the main Hainan Island that is referred to. To emphasize that the entire province is meant, one says Hainan Sheng ("Hainan Province"). Its capital city is Haikou.

Hainan Island was called the Pearl Cliffs (珠崖 Zhu1 ya2), the Fine Jade Cliffs (瓊崖 Qiong2 ya2), and the Fine Jade Land (瓊州 Qiong2 zhou1), the latter two gave rise to the province's abbreviation, Qiong (琼 in Simplified Chinese), referring to the greenery cover on the island.

In Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms Period, Hainan was the Zhuya Commandery (珠崖郡).

Hainan was one of the last areas of China controlled by the Chiang Kai-Shek's KMT. From March to May 1950, the Landing Operation on Hainan Island (海南島登陸戰役) captured the island for the Chinese communists.

During the mid-1980s (01.1984-03.1985), when Hainan was still part of the Guangdong Province, a 14-month episode of marketing zeal by Hainan Special District Administrator Lei Yu* (08.1982-03.1985) put Hainan’s pursuit of provincial status under a cloud. It involved the duty-free importation from Hongkong of 90,000 Japanese-made cars & trucks at a cost of C¥ 4.5 bn (US$ 1.5 bn), and exporting them - with the help of local naval units - to the mainland, making 150 % profits. By comparison, only 10,000 vehicles were imported into Hainan since 1950. In addition, it involved further consignments of 2.9 million TV sets, 252,000 videocassette recorders & 122,000 motorcycles. The money was taken from the 1983 central gov’t funds destined for the construction of the island’s transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, airports, harbours) over the next 10 years.