Hainan University

Hainan University is a comprehensive key university formed by a merger with the former South China University of Tropical Agriculture in August 2007. It is jointly administered by the Ministry of Education and the Hainan Provincial People's Government. 

The university has made great achievements by adhering to the motto of "openness and inclusiveness" and the spirit of "self-improvement, dedication, kindness and perseverance". In December 2008, it was approved by the state as a key university under the 211 Project. In 2012, it was included in the Plan of Strengthening Higher Education in Middle and Western China and was successively supported by the National Basic Ability Construction Project of Western and Central China and the National Comprehensive Strength Enhancement Project of Western and Central China. In 2017, HNU was listed in the national plan for establishing world-class disciplines. In 2018, the Hainan provincial Party Committee and provincial government made a strategic decision to fully sponsor the development of Hainan University. Also in that year, the university came under the joint administration of the Ministry of Education and the Hainan Provincial People's Government, and was included among universities directly administered by the Ministry of Education. 

The former South China University of Tropical Agriculture, founded in 1958, and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, founded in 1954, were known as "twin stars" in tropical agricultural science and education in China. Through arduous efforts, these two institutions have made China the only country in the world that has realized sizable plantation of rubber in the range of 18° N-24° N, and the fifth largest rubber producer in the world. The university has hence established a leading position in the academic field of rubber and tropical agriculture, and has garnered more than 900 scientific and educational achievements, including the first prize of national invention award, the first prize of national science and technology progress award, and the second prize of national teaching outcome award. It has contributed significantly to the development of national defense and local economies.

Hainan University was first established in a wasteland in 1983. Before the 2007 merger, it had the largest academic system in the province with extensive influence as a provincial comprehensive key university. Hu Yaobang, former General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, inscribed the name of the university. In 2005 its undergraduate teaching programs were rated exceptional by the Ministry of Education, and the university was approved as a national cultural quality education base. Since then, HNU has further enhanced its educational quality and research capacity and improved its overall management. It continues to contribute to economic and social development in Hainan.