Changjiang

Changjiang Li Autonomous County occupies Hainan's arid west coast, one of the six ethnic autonomous counties on the island, with a permanent population of roughly 237,000 centered on the county seat of Shilu town. Its economy has long been anchored by heavy industry: the Shilu Iron Ore Mine, one of the richest iron deposits in China, has been worked since the 1940s, and the county is also home to the Changjiang Nuclear Power Plant on its coast, alongside growing tropical agriculture and Li ethnic handicrafts such as brocade weaving and traditional pottery. There is no university in Changjiang itself, and students travel to Haikou or Sanya for higher education, while the county supports local vocational schools tied to its mining and industrial base. Its most important landmark is the Hainan Bawangling National Nature Reserve, a mountainous rainforest that is the last refuge of the critically endangered Hainan gibbon, one of the rarest primates on Earth, alongside long stretches of relatively undeveloped coastline. Connected to the rest of the island via the Hainan Western Ring Railway, Changjiang remains one of Hainan's least-visited counties, offering a rare mix of heavy industry, Li ethnic culture and untouched tropical wilderness.