Prefecture-level city (地级市)
Danzhou
Hainan's industrial west, and the municipality containing Yangpu — the island's petrochemical, bulk-commodity and shipping centre.
儋州市 · Part of Danzhou–Yangpu economic circle
Danzhou is Hainan's third economic pole and the anchor of the island's western industrial belt. It was upgraded from county-level city to prefecture-level city in 2015 and, unusually, was not subdivided into districts — it is a 不设区的地级市.
Its economic significance is inseparable from Yangpu Economic Development Zone, which sits inside its territory but is administered by the province. The two are planned together as the Danzhou–Yangpu economic circle, and the province's investment programme for Danzhou is heavily weighted towards port, shipping, logistics and industrial functions.
Danzhou is also home to a substantial agricultural and academic base, including tropical agricultural research, which sits alongside rather than competing with the industrial economy on the coast.
At a glance
- Administrative tier
- Prefecture-level city (地级市)
- Districts
- None — a prefecture-level city without a district tier
- Economic circle
- Danzhou–Yangpu economic circle (儋洋)
- Principal asset
- Yangpu Port and Yangpu Economic Development Zone
What it is being built for
International shipping and marine logistics
Container and bulk shipping, bonded logistics and cross-border marine trade built around Yangpu Port.
Petrochemicals and new materials
Oil, gas and chemical processing in the Yangpu industrial cluster.
Tropical agriculture and agri-science
Rubber, tropical crops and the agricultural research base inland.
Free Trade Port zones located here
Yangpu Economic Development Zone (洋浦经济开发区)
Oil and gas chemicals, bulk commodities and international energy trading, international shipping and port logistics. Province-administered; profiled separately.
Getting things and people in and out
- Sea
- Yangpu Port, including its container terminal programme — a national logistics hub
- Rail
- Hainan ring high-speed railway — a continuous loop of more than 600 km around the island
- Air
- Preparatory work is under way on a Danzhou airport
How the incentives apply here
- Businesses in Yangpu access that zone's own regime, which is materially more developed than the island-wide baseline for trade, shipping and processing operations — see the Yangpu profile.
- Processing activity here is directly relevant to the customs regime: goods substantially transformed in Hainan can enter the mainland without being treated as imports, which is the central economic incentive behind the island's industrial policy.
Who this place suits
- Shipping, bunkering and marine logistics operators
- Petrochemical, energy-trading and bulk-commodity businesses
- Manufacturers whose model depends on processing imported inputs for the Chinese mainland market
Last reviewed September 2026. This page is general information about the Hainan Free Trade Port, not legal, tax or investment advice. Eligibility for every incentive described here turns on facts specific to your entity, your industry classification and your substance in Hainan. Nothing on this page should be relied on without advice on your own position.
Considering Danzhou? Speak with an expert about what establishing there actually involves.