Get to know Wuzhishan
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- Administrative area
- County-level city · 县级市
- Part of
- Hainan
- Chinese name
- 五指山市
- Local areas
- County-level city guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 1,130.81 km²
- Population · 2010
- 104,122
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The Wuzhi range takes its name from peaks that rise and fall like five fingers. Its main peak reaches 1,867 metres, the highest point in Hainan, and is called the "roof of Hainan" (海南屋脊). The city government describes Wuzhishan as the source of Hainan's main rivers and its "water tower" (水塔). Forest covers 90.1 per cent of the land, which the city lists as the highest share in the province, and about two thirds of the city lies inside the tropical rainforest national park. Average annual rainfall is 1,887 millimetres.
History
Until 1935 the dong (峒) districts of the area were split between Yaxian (崖县), Ding'an (定安) and Lingshui (陵水). In 1935 the Guangdong government created Baoting (保亭), Baisha (白沙) and Le'an (乐安) counties and moved these districts into them. In July 1953 the Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Region moved its seat from Baoyou town (抱由镇) in Ledong to Tongshi, which remained the capital when the region became an autonomous prefecture in October 1955. The State Council created Tongshi as a county-level city on 12 June 1986, and it was renamed Wuzhishan in 2001.
What to see
The city has two 4A scenic areas, the Wuzhishan Red Canyon cultural tourism area (五指山红峡谷文化旅游区) and the Wuzhishan revolutionary base memorial park (五指山革命根据地纪念园), and two 3A areas, the Hainan Nationalities Museum (海南省民族博物馆) and the Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area (五指山水满河热带雨林风景区).
The city presents Li culture as "one mountain, one dong, ten villages": Wuzhi Mountain, the Lidong Culture Park (黎峒文化园) and ten villages that keep Li customs. Two of them, Chubao (初保村) in Maoyang town (毛阳镇) and Yongzhong (永忠村) in Nansheng town (南圣镇), are listed as featured ethnic-minority villages of China. Twenty-three items are on heritage lists, four of them national; Li textile dyeing, spinning, weaving and embroidery has moved from UNESCO's urgent-safeguarding list to its Representative List.
Food and local products
Local products named by the city include Li brocade (黎锦), Miao embroidery (苗绣), Wuzhishan big-leaf tea (五指山大叶茶), the Wuzhishan five-toed pig (五脚猪), Wuzhishan ant chicken (蚂蚁鸡), wild lingzhi mushroom, youdun grass (忧遁草), wild honey and Shanlan rice wine (山兰酒).
Highlights
- Wuzhi Mountain 五指山: Main peak 1,867 m, the highest in Hainan, named for peaks shaped like five fingers.
- Hainan Nationalities Museum 海南省民族博物馆: A 3A scenic area in the city.
- Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area 五指山水满河热带雨林风景区: A 3A scenic area in the city.
- Chubao village 初保村: Li village in Maoyang town listed as a featured ethnic-minority village of China.
- Wuzhishan five-toed pig 五脚猪: Named by the city government among its local products.
Sources for this guide
走进五指山_走进五指山_五指山市人民政府网 · Wuzhishan Municipal People's Government
历史沿革_历史沿革_五指山市人民政府网 · Wuzhishan Municipal People's Government (city gazetteer office)
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Wuzhishan
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Wuzhishan
A densely forested mountain filling the frame and rising to a single sharp rocky summit, against a blue sky with scattered cloud; a low wooded ridge and part of a structure at the bottom edge.Wuzhi Mountain五指山
Wuzhi Mountain rainforest landscape. The Xiannü Pool–Changhua River source–mountain viewing-platform route is closed for works scheduled through 31 October 2026; other visitor areas require separate access confirmation.
Read the place guide →
Hainan Nationalities Museum · 海南省民族博物馆Hainan Nationalities Museum海南省民族博物馆
Hainan Nationalities Museum in Wuzhishan provides context for the island’s Li and other ethnic communities through material culture and historical interpretation. Textiles, traditional crafts and everyday-life displays are…
Read the place guide →
Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area (五指山水满河热带雨林风景区), Wuzhishan. Photograph: "Wuzhi Shan Hainan China".Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area五指山水满河热带雨林风景区
Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area is a developed visitor attraction near Shuiman, offering a gentler way to experience riverbank forest and views toward the Wuzhi Mountain landscape. It is a distinct visitor product…
Read the place guide →Wuzhi Shan (Five Finger Mountain), the highest peak on Hainan Island, seen from the town below · 五指山（海南岛最高峰），山下小镇远眺 Source-recorded photograph date: 2008.Wuzhishan city五指山市
Wuzhishan city is a small mountain-region service centre, historically known as Tongzha, with a strong connection to Hainan’s Li communities. The Nationalities Museum and the urban river setting make useful first stops before…
Read the place guide →
AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非该地点实拍）Wuzhishan Rainforest Visitor Routes五指山热带雨林开放游览区
The rainforest visitor routes around Shuiman introduce the mountain environment associated with Wuzhishan, Hainan’s distinctive five-fingered massif.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Wuzhishan local specialties
五指山市特色美食 · 9 specialties to discover
Wuzhishan sour fish soup 五指山酸鱼汤AI illustration · AI 示意图
The liquid is bright and sour, balancing tender fish and a savory base; the exact herbal note depends on the leaf used.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Wujiao Pork 五脚猪
Wujiao Pork (五脚猪) is the meat of the Wuzhishan pig (五指山猪), a small native breed from the Wuzhishan (五指山) mountain area of central Hainan.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Wuzhishan Small Yellow Cattle Beef 五指山小黄牛
Wuzhishan Small Yellow Cattle Beef (五指山小黄牛) is beef from Hainan's small native yellow cattle as raised and cooked around Wuzhishan (五指山) in the central mountains of the island.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Wuzhishan Wild Greens 五指山野菜AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Wuzhishan Wild Greens (五指山野菜) are the wild vegetables of Wuzhishan (五指山), a tropical, rain-rich city in Hainan, eaten for generations by the Li (黎族) people and now also grown in greenhouses.
Read the dish guide →
Shanlan Upland Rice 山兰米饭AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Shanlan Upland Rice (山兰米饭) is rice cooked from Shanlan (山兰, also written 山栏), the dry-land hill rice of the Li people (黎族) of Hainan.
Read the dish guide →
Miao Three-Colour Sticky Rice 苗家三色饭
Miao Three-Colour Sticky Rice (苗家三色饭) is a festival food made in Miao (苗族) villages in Hainan: Shanlan glutinous rice (山兰糯米) coloured red, yellow and black with plant juices, steamed, mixed with coconut milk and wrapped in a palm leaf.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Bamboo Tube Rice 竹筒饭AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Bamboo Tube Rice (竹筒饭) is rice roasted inside a bamboo tube. In Wuzhishan (五指山), Hainan, it is known as Li-family bamboo tube rice (黎家竹筒饭), after the Li people (黎族).
Read the dish guide →
Mayi Chicken 蚂蚁鸡AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Mayi Chicken (蚂蚁鸡), 'ant chicken', is a small local breed of chicken raised free-range by Li (黎族) and Miao (苗族) villagers around Wuzhishan (五指山) in south-central Hainan.
Read the dish guide →More dishes from across Hainan are in the Hainan food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Search for 五指山市 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Wuzhi Mountain and Hainan Nationalities Museum are about 25 km apart in a straight line. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Hainan →More in Hainan
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Wuzhi Mountain · liuzusai刘祖赛 · CC BY 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Hainan Nationalities Museum · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Shuiman River Tropical Rainforest Scenic Area · Anna Frodesiak · Public domain. Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Photo: Wuzhishan city · Anna Frodesiak · Public domain. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.