Hainan Museum

The Hainan Museum is a provincial institution in Haikou's cultural district housed in several contemporary buildings that contain exhibition galleries and storage areas. The collection holds more than 20,000 objects spanning different periods of the region's past.

The institution was founded in 1984 and reopened in 2008 after major renovation to document Hainan's development from early times to the present. The collection has expanded significantly since then with discoveries from maritime trade routes that brought goods and cultural influences to the island.

The museum displays the heritage of Hainan's ethnic minority groups through traditional crafts and daily objects that show how these communities lived and worked. Visitors can see how these traditions remain visible in the island's current culture.

The site offers free admission for all visitors with audio guides in multiple languages to explore the collections at your own pace. Plan to spend at least two to three hours to view the exhibitions without feeling rushed.

One of the most notable acquisitions is a collection of items from shipwrecks, including the restored Huaguangjiao wreck containing thousands of pieces of trading porcelain from different eras. These maritime objects reveal the island's long history of sea trade and commercial connections with distant regions.