Haikou

Haikou 海口市
Prefecture-level city
Top:Panoramic view of Haikou, from Xixiu Beach, Middle left:A facade building in Zhongshan Road in Qiongshan District, Center:Hainan Performance of Art Center, Middle right:Haikou Century Bridge and Nandu River, Bottom:Haikou People’s Park in Lonhua District
Nickname(s): Coconut City (椰城)
Location of Haikou City jurisdiction in Hainan
Haikou Location of the city centre in Hainan
Coordinates: 20°02′34″N 110°20′30″E / 20.04278°N 110.34167°E / 20.04278; 110.34167Coordinates: 20°02′34″N 110°20′30″E / 20.04278°N 110.34167°E / 20.04278; 110.34167
Country	China
Province	Hainan
Government
• CPC Municipal Party Secretary	Chen Ci ()
• Mayor	Ni Qiang ()
Area
• Prefecture-level city	2,237 km2 (864 sq mi)
• Urban	2,237 km2 (864 sq mi)
• Metro	2,280 km2 (880 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census)
• Prefecture-level city	2,046,189
• Density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
• Urban	2,046,189
• Urban density	910/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
• Metro	2,046,189
• Metro density	900/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	570000
Area code(s)	898
Website	http://www.haikou.gov.cn/

Haikou
"Haikou", as written in Chinese
Chinese
Literal meaning	Mouth of the sea
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hǎikǒu Yue: Cantonese Jyutping hoi2hau2 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Hái-kháu Hainanese Romanization Hái-khāu

Hǎikǒu (Chinese: ), is the capital and most populous city of Hainan province, China. It is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is the district of Haidian Island, which is separated from the main part of Haikou by the Haidian River, a branch of the Nandu.

Administratively, Haikou is a prefecture-level city, comprising four districts, and covering 2,280 square kilometres (880 sq mi). There are 2,046,189 inhabitants in the built up area all living within the 4 urban districts of the city.

Haikou was originally a port city. Today, more than half of the island's total trade still goes through its ports. The city is home to Hainan University, which has its main campus on Haidian Island.

The hanzi characters comprising the city's name, 海口, mean ocean/sea and mouth/port, respectively. Thus, the name "Haikou" is also a word for "seaport" - similar to Portsmouth in England. Haikou originally served as the port for Qiongshan, the ancient administrative capital of Hainan island, located some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland to the south east. During its early history Haikou was a part of Guangdong province. In the 13th century it was fortified and became a military post under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The port is located west of the mouth of the Nandu River, Hainan's principal river. When Qiongshan was opened to foreign trade under the Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, Haikou started to rival the old administrative city. It was known internationally as 'Hoihow', based on the local dialect. In 1926, Haikou overtook Qiongshan in population and it was declared a separate administrative city. Haikou was developed as a port during the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45) when the Japanese invaded and occupied Hainan Island from early 1939 to 1945.