Wuzhishan overview 五指山市

About Wuzhishan city

The Nationalities Museum and the urban river setting make useful first stops before travelling deeper into the interior. The famous five-peaked mountain is not in the city centre: Shuiman and its visitor attractions require a substantial separate road journey. Use the town for accommodation, cultural context and transport arrangements rather than assuming a summit trail begins nearby.

The city was established as the county-level city of Tongzha (通什) on 12 June 1986, combining districts and towns from Baoting, Qiongzhong and Ledong counties under the then Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture; the name Tongzha means 'fertile valley' in the Li language. The prefecture was abolished in 1987, and Tongzha came under Hainan province when the province was established in 1988. The city was renamed Wuzhishan in July 2001, and its Chongshan (冲山) township was renamed Tongshi (通什) in 2012.

The city takes its name from Wuzhi Mountain (五指山), Hainan Island's highest peak, and Hainan's largest river, the Wanquan River (万泉河), rises within its territory. The urban area sits at an elevation of 328.5 metres, the highest of any mountain city on Hainan Island, and the Nansheng River (南圣河), a tributary of the Changhua River (昌化江), winds through the city from east to west. The city has a tropical mountain climate with an annual average temperature of 22.4 degrees Celsius, and the surrounding area is described as the core of Hainan's rainforest; it covers a total area of 1129 square kilometres and has a population of about 115,000.

What to look for

• Hainan Nationalities Museum and the cultural context of the island’s interior.
• The Nansheng River’s urban setting and surrounding mountain landscape.

Location & getting there

Getting to Wuzhishan city

Reach Wuzhishan city by road from Sanya or another Hainan centre. Book a separate transfer to Shuiman if visiting rainforest attractions; there is no city-centre summit access.