Haikou City, the capital of Hainan Province, is located on the southern bank of the Qiongzhou Strait, facing the mainland's Leizhou Peninsula.

Built on the mound of the coast, it is the biggest city in Hainan Province. Haikou City has an annual mean temperature of 23.6 centigrade degree (about 70 F).  It is an ancient city. It has tropical crops processing, electronics and textiles as the mainstays of its light industry, and it is a foreign trade and sea port city with advanced communications and a complete range of service equipment.. The city has beautiful scenery, a pleasant climate and luxuriant vegetation.

Among the ancient remains and tourist sites are Wugong Temple reputed to be the "First Building Under Heaven", the admirable Qiongtai Academy of Classical Learning, the Hairui Tomb, the Qiujun Tomb, and others.

Arguably the best place in all of China to see sailing junks, which have sadly disappeared form most other parts of the country; shipyards in Haikou welcome visitors interested in traditional boat-building methods.