Nanwan Nature Reserve

Nanwan Nature Reserve

Nanwan Nature Reserve is a provincial-level nature reserve.

The Hainan Nanwan Provincial Nature Reserve is situated on Nanwan Peninsula in Xincun Town, Lingshui Li Autonomous County, Hainan Province, 15 kilometers from the county seat of Lingshui. It spans longitude 109°22′–110°03′ and latitude 18°22′–18°25′. The reserve borders the South China Sea to the west and south, faces the inner sea to the north, and connects to the mainland of Lingshui County in the northeast, with Xincun Harbor serving as the passage between the South China Sea and the inner sea. The terrain consists mainly of hilly shrubland forests, with the highest elevation at 250 meters and a total area of 1,026.67 hectares.

Established in 1965, the Hainan Nanwan Provincial Nature Reserve was upgraded to a provincial-level protected area in 1976 under approval document No. Yue Lin Ge [1976] 177 issued by the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Bureau Revolutionary Committee. It is a flora and fauna nature reserve primarily aimed at protecting the Hainan macaque.

The Hainan Nanwan Provincial Nature Reserve is a sub-departmental public institution under the Lingshui County Forestry Bureau and is classified as a provincial-level nature reserve. Its operations are guided and managed by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Bureau of the Hainan Provincial Forestry Department. Internal divisions within the reserve include the Reserve Management Office, National Wildlife Disease Monitoring Station, National Key Public Welfare Forest Management Office, Reserve Fire Prevention Office, and Chitu Zi Checkpoint. Following institutional reforms in 1998, the Lingshui County government officially assigned a staff quota of 20 personnel.

After decades of conservation, construction, and development, the reserve boasts a rich diversity of wildlife and plant species. Surveys indicate the presence of 342 species of vascular plants, including 19 ferns, 2 gymnosperms, and 322 angiosperms. Among these, 12 are endemic to Hainan, and 3 species are under national key protection. Valuable plants include the dragon’s blood tree, Hainan cycad, Prunus mume, and Diospyros eriantha. There are also 457 species of insects and 197 species of terrestrial vertebrates, comprising 20 mammal species, 144 bird species, 33 reptile species, and 10 amphibian species. Among these, one species is under national first-class protection, 15 under national second-class protection, and 10 under provincial protection. Nationally protected animals include pythons, macaques, pangolins, and sambar deer. The macaque population has seen healthy growth, increasing from just over 100 individuals at the establishment of the reserve to more than 1,800 today, distributed across 30 groups.