Ding'an

Ding'an County sits in the middle of Hainan island, just across the Nandu River from the provincial capital Haikou, making it one of the most accessible rural counties on the island and a growing bedroom community for the capital. Its economy blends traditional wet-rice and areca-nut farming with the Ding'an black pig, a locally bred, geographically protected pork breed prized for its flavor, alongside a rising eco-tourism trade centered on the Taoist temple complex atop Wenbi Peak. The county has no university of its own, and its students commute to Haikou for Hainan University and the capital's other campuses, though Ding'an takes particular local pride in its Qing-dynasty scholar Zhang Yuesong, one of Hainan's most celebrated historical literary figures, whose preserved former residence still stands in the county town. Visitors are drawn to the wooded hills and temples of the Wenbi Peak Taoist Cultural Tourism Zone, the still waters of Nanli Lake, and the Ming-dynasty Jianlong Tower, while the county's signature dish, Ding'an zongzi wrapped in wild rush leaves and stuffed with pork trotter and salted egg yolk, is regarded as one of Hainan's three most famous rice-dumpling styles. Ding'an's mix of quiet countryside, culinary reputation and easy proximity to Haikou gives it a character distinct from Hainan's better-known beach resorts.

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