As reported by Government sources, in the year 2004 Ledong Li Autonomous County (or in the native Li language Tung-Lok) had a population of 482 thousand 600 souls, of whom 176 thousand 900 people of the Li Nationality. It is also reported that out of the total population in 2003 Li, Han and otherwise, 106.717 people were involved in careers outside of the agricultural industries.
As for ethnic villages in Ledong County, there are no artificially styled ethnic minority cultural villages established only for tourist purposes such as may be found on the opposite eastern side of the Island in the more tousrity and developed Lingshui Li Autonomous County. Instead, the main ethnic destinations are Ledong Town and more in particular the area around Hongshui Village and along the Hongshui River. Local villages are mostly agricultural.
For more information, please refer to ethnic minorities in Hainan Province.
Ethnic Minorities in Ledong & County
Ledong Today :
History of Ledong:
Ledong Climate & Weather :
Ledong Basic Knowledge :
This page was last updated on: June 1, 2017
The Ledong Report
Introduction to Ledong Li Autonomous County (--)
Ledong Landmarks & Monuments
Ledong & County Maps
Location : 18°44′52″North, 109°17′31″East
Elevation : --No information available--
Surface Area: 2763.53 Km2
Population: The total population of Ledong Li Autonomous County was counted as 468, 364 in the year 1999 Census. In the 2010 census population had dropped by some 10 thousand souls to 458,876.
The China Report
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INLAND LEDONG LI COUNTY:
- Boayou Town, Changshui River, Hongshui Town and Hongshui River Li Ethnic Home Territories
- Maogang Mountain Reverence Area
- Jianfeng Ridge National Forest Park
- Xishan Ridge
COASTAL REGIONS:
- Gancheng Port (Gan′En River Mouth and Fishing Harbor)
- Lingtou Port (Fishing Harbor)
- Changyuan Bay / Jiaotou Bay in the extreme south-west
- Yinggehai Port and Yingge Salt Fields and Huangliu Town
For more specific information on the landmarks and Monuments of Ledong County by location, please click through using below button.
Public Transport in Ledong
Ledong has no railroad station and no airport. There is an Airbase near the main town of Baoyou. This is Ledong Military Airbase (). The Ledong Li Autonomous County also has a 62.8 kilometer long coastline. Although there are no main tourist ports, there are various fishing ports such as Yinggehai Port, Wanglou Port, Lingtou Port and others.
Previously all transportation for persons or goods within Ledong Li Autonomous County was mostly by road. With the road network gradually expanded since the 1990's connections on the island are much better than one might have expected. Travel conveniently in an hour between Sanya and most parts of Ledong County.
MAIN ROADS:
G98 Hainan Ring Road Expressway which traverses the coastal regions between Xinlong Town in the north and Yazhou Town and District of Sanya City Prefecture. Further G225 National Highway which also passes through the coastal zone. G225 Highway actaully passes through the Xinlong Town in the north wheras G98 highway stays to the flat rural lands outside of most towns.
S314 Provincial Highway is the main route leading from the yazhou District of Sanya inland to pass through the mountainous regions of Ledong County to pass in the direction of Baoyou Town. From Baoyou Town (Ledong Town) the G314 Provincial Highway leads away through forest mountains in the north-west direction eventually to curve around and reach Dongfang Town, the center of Dongfang County which lies on the coast and to the north of the Ledong County coastal zone.
Last mentioned but equal in importance to most travelers, the S313 Provincial Highway connects from Baoyou south-westward to pass through Qianja Town (Qianja Zhen). From there it continues towards the coast where it ends at Jiusuo Town (Jiusuo Zhen) and connects to G225 National Highway.
HAINAN WESTERN RING HIGH-SPEED RAILWAY:
In addition, since 2017 the entire western side of the Island has been unlocked and connected through the opening of the Hainan Western Ring High-Speed Railway creating spectacular new opportunities. The 354 kilometer long railway passes through 16 stations between Sanya in the south and Haikou in the north and four of the stations are situated in the Ledong County. The stations in Ledong Li Autonomous County are from south to north: (Previous Station: Yazhou District, Sanya) Ledong, Hangliu, Jianfeng and Jinyue Bay (Next Station: Dongfang).
AIRPORTS AND AIR CONNECTIONS:
The nearest civilian airport is Sanya Phoenix International Airport, which in located on the west side of Sanya City Prefecture is in a prefect location to also serve neighboring Ledong Li Autonomous County. Since the 2017 opening of the western half of the circular high-speed railway to connect all important coastal communities of the Isand, the parts of Ledong County most easily reached from Sanya Phoenix Airport are the coastal areas. Through S314 Provincial Road one may also conveniently travel from Sanya Airport directly to Baoyou Town, the administrative center of Ledong County.
Sanya Phoenix International Airport has an abundance of flight options available, either to travel to cities of mainland China (P.R.C.) or a variety of international Capitals and Cities. Please refer to the full information page dedicated to Phoenix Airport through clicking below button.
According to the sparse readily available information on the history of Ledong Li Autonomous County, among things a result of the lack of written language in the original Li inhabitants of the Island, recorded history of the county starts at some time during the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD - 1644 AD).
According to this history, in the very beginnings of the Ming Dynasty rule period, the territory of the Li in current day Ledong County were administratively made part of Yazhou Prefecture, with Yazhou City representing the area of the current city of Yazhou in Yazhou District i.e. the westernmost district of Sanya Prefecture. Ruling from the south and the sea coast, in the Ming Era this city of Yazhou is supposed to have built a new settlement at an inland location along an important river surging from the mountains of the innermost parts of the island. The river was named Le′An and holding with Chinese tradition, so was the new town. It is held that since then the name Le′An has evolved into Ledong and thus that the original settlement of Le′An is now the settlement of Baoyou i.e. the center of Ledong Li Autonomous County.
Generally, it is held that this administrative arrangement held until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in the year 1911, and the subsequent emergency of a new China in the form of the first Republic of China (1911 AD - 1927 AD).
In the early months of the year 1950, while invasion of Tibet and Korea were already in the planning, Hainan Island was invaded by Communist Forces who - helped by the local Rebel Group with socialist sympathies and a large number of ethnic Li members - took control of the Island and ended the presence of the Republic of China Government of Chaing Kai-Chek.
Subsequently, in 1952, the Hainan Island Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture was established on the island, making Ledong a county of the larger autonomous community of peoples on the Island.
In 1957 a first form of Li Ethnic script was developed with the help of experts and the Government of the Peoples Republic of China. Before this time there are essentially no written records of the Li People, other than those composed by outsiders such as Government Officials, passing merchants and also western Missionaries who started the roaming the Island in the year 1633 AD.
In 1987 Ledong County was abolished in preparation for the establishment of Hainan Island Province of the Peoples Republic of China, making true a longstanding wish of the Li People of the Island for Hainan to be recognized as a Provincial Level entity within the larger structure of the Peoples Republic of China.
To find out more information on the history of Ledong and Hainan Island, please refer to: ′History of Hainan Province′.
For more information on the history of the Li People, one may also refer to the histories of other adjacent and nearby ethnic autonomous counties of Hainan Island. For these refer to:
There is no information available on life in current Ledong on Hainan island.
Our pages on Ledong Town and County do not contain Hotel Reviews. For an overview of Hotels & Resorts to book in Ledong Li Autonomous County, there are two available options.
For a Complete Overview of available Hotels & Resorts on all of Hainan Island, please click through and refer to "Hotel Booking on Hainan Island".
For an overview of Hotels specifically in Ledong County, please refer to below button for information on the nearest available Hotels. Basic information by Hotel, includes map of the area and overview of Hotel locations within that area.
Ledong Li Autonomous County has a tropical monsoon climate with a pleasant average annual temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. With the wind driving the moist tropical air up against the mountains, temperatures and rainfall vary considerably according to location. Average rainfall in Ledong County is 1559.3 millimeters, which is quite high. In the summer season, temperatures can rise to great heights and especially the inner lands of the county suffer from heat. Taking the mountains in order to escape some of the heat may be quite exhausting due to humidity and steep inclines. The notorious season is the monsoon season which brings in its wake various tropical storms (cyclones or hurricanes) which can devastate any lands they come across. No incidents from such tropical storms have recently occurred however.
In winters temperatures are still pleasant and no such things as snow or frost occurs in Ledong County or anywhere else on Hainan Island.
For best information, please refer to main page on Hainan Island, section: "climate and weather on Hainan Island".
the Autonomous County itself includes a large part of the coastline along the south-western side of the Island.
Taken clockwise around Ledong Li Autonomous County is bordered in the north-west by Dongfang County (today administratively classified as one of the 7 County-Level Cities), in the north it is limited by a narrow strip of the Changjiang Li Autonomous County, in the north-east Ledong meets the Baisha Li Autonomous County, to the east lies Wuzhishan County, to the south-east lies the Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County and finally to the south and south to south-east lies the Sanya City Prefecture which is also the most atrractive and most visited tourist city on the tropical island paradise. To the south-west and west lie the opens sea's, particularly the region named Gulf of Tonkin. On other side far to the west lies Vietnam.
Geographically speaking Ledong Li Autonomous County roughly has two types of terrain. In the west and south-west Ledong County has a 62.5 kilometer coastline which extends between Lingtou Port and Bay in the north-west and Changyuan Bay and Jiaotou Bay on the border with Yazhou District of Sanya Prefecture in the south-east. There are very long elongated beaches although not many natural bays useful for sheltering ships. Several Rivers end at the coastline. From north to south these are the Nangang River (Nangang He), the Baisha River (Baisha He), the Dan Cun River (Dan Cun He), the Wanglou River (Wanglou He) and finally in the extreme south-west near the border with Sanya City Prefecture, the Baotao River (Baotao He).
In addition there are several fishing ports which do not lie at the mounth of a river. Among these the Lingtou Port is by far the largest and also the most important. Several ports do not even exists as such, but consist only of a village with ships pulled up on the beach. For the true traveling explorer, with or without camera, it can be a magnificent getaway.
Juding
Airport : No Airport.
Airbase: Ledong Military Airbase (PLA-NAF) is situated south of the Town of Baoyou, the center of Ledong Li Autonomous County. With massive 3100 meter runway (9300 Ft) and connected to secret underground facilities inside adjacent mountains, Ledong Airbase is of crucial importance for fighter bombers, air defense and other air military facilities in defence of Hainan Island and the nearby disputed South China Sea area(s).
A Full Google Earth Supported Map of Ledong Li Autonomous County.
Ledong Li Autonomous County is situated on the south-western side of Hainan Island, the only Island Province of the Peoples Republic of China and also its southernmost Province.
Ledong Li Autonomous County is one of the 6 autonomous counties on the Island of Hainan, and as its name suggests its autonomous status is based upon a majority of the population traditionally being part of the Li Nationality, an originally Vietnamese People who have inhabited the Island since times immemorial. In essence, the Li represent the most original of all the Islands inhabitants and by now various ethnic groups which also include imported Miao People from (mainly Guizhou Province in mainland China (PRC), the Min People, the Han People and finally also descendants of overseas muslim migrants and those stranded and shipwrecked, some having been accepted as part of the Hui Minority others not following Islamic tradition and with a more undefined status.
Ledong Li Autonomous County is the largest County on Hainan Island by size. Traditionally it also had the largest population.
The main town of Ledong Li Autonomous County is Baoyou Town. Baoyou Town is is not situated on the coastline of Hainan Island but rather is part of the more mountainous tropical interiors, however
Today′s Ledong counts 11 Towns and 9 Townships. In addition there are seven state farms which more or less operate as their own independent villages and entities.
The Towns of Lingshui County are Baoban Town, Banqiao Town, Chaoyang Xiaodao Town, Datian Town, Dazhuanpo Town, Dongfang Town, Gancheng Town, Ji Town, Sigeng Town and Xinlong Town.
Among these, Coastal Towns Banqiao Town, Gancheng Town, Xinlong Town.
Townships are: Gongai Township, Guangba Township, Jiangbian Township, Luodia Township, Sanjia Township, Tangbian Road Township, Xiaoling Village and Zhongsha Township.
A Full and complete Map of China (PRC) identifying all Language Areas big and small in all Provinces and Autonomous Regions of China.
Map includes Turkic Languages (Uygur, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Salar & Uzbek), Mongolian Language and Sub-Divisions (Mongol, Tu, Daur and Dongxian), Tungusic Peoples (Oroqen, Evenki and Xibe) and Languages, Korean, Tajik (Tadzhik), Mon-Khmer (Kawa + Puman (or Pulang)), Hui, Uygur (Uighur), Tibeto-Bhurman Languages, Tai and Miao, Yao and She' Language Area's and Borders. Main Area's and sub-divisions of Han Languages (Northern Mandarin, Eastern Mandarin, South-Western Mandarin and Cantonese) further included. This color-coded ethno-linguistic Map (of 1967 AD) identifies at a glance most ethnic minority regions in China
Map China Ethno-Linguistic / Language Distribution China
There are no maps specific to Ledong Li Autonomous County available at this Time. For most complete listing of available maps on Hainan Island, please refer to Hainan Island Maps Index via below button.
Asia Report - Map of Hainan Island Province including South China Sea Prefecture
This Google supported Satellite Map provides a clear overview of Hainan Island Province of the Peoples Republic of China, including its South China Sea Prefecture. Map of the South China Sea further includes parts of Taiwan and coastline, Gulf of Tonkin, coastline of Vietnam, Brunei, Borneo (Malaysia), and western Philippines.
Marked on the map for orientation are the names of major National Capitals, locally relevant cities, several towns and villages, names of oceans, islands in the South China Sea, as well as locations of interest such as naval bases, artificial islands, airfields, tourism locations, etc.
Browse the map and follow the links to more information, maps and photos of each location.
Geographical Relief Map of Hainan Island showing the terrain of the Island. In Ledong County peaks rise up to 1800 meters and above wheras coastal regions are flat and almost at sea level.
Behind the beaches most of its coastal area′s, consist of relatively flat lands where there is an abundance of rural towns and villages of who the inhabitants engage in agriculture, in fish farming, salt prduction or in the fishing industries. The coastal regions of Ledong County are especially known for their extensive salt fields, which are either natural bay inlets or artifically flooded fields, which through evaporation in the sunlight are used to harvest natural salts from the oceans. Much in demand on the mainland, the salts are a renowned brand in China (P.R.C.) and some of the Salt Fields now also double as a tourist attraction. Find your way to Yingge Town and the Yingge Salt Fields to have a tour and remarkable views of the varying colors of the salt ponds. Naturally, Sanya would not be the tropical resort destination it is if there were not salt baths available for healt curations.
Previously considered fairly remote and only accessible by
sea or road, since 2017 the main coastal communities on the west side of Island are also connected by means of the Hainan Western Ring High-Speed Railway. This greatly enhances access to the various counties for traveling tourist who have yet to be acquainted with the finesses of local roads and public transportation infra-structure.
The largest part of Ledong Li Autonomous County however is hilly if not mountainous and not covered by rural lands but rather by thick tropical vegetation. Only kilometers from the coastline steep green hills rise up into the interior of the county, which especially in the north and east has considerable heights As one might expect these are the area′s within the county that are the least populated but are also the most pristine. The inland is where one may find the various Li Minority Ethnic Villages, in case not a fake deal but the genuine and original home territories of the Li Families.
The main town of Ledong Li Autonomous County is Baoyou Town, which although it is the administrative center of Ledong County, factually and physically is not a central town.
Baoyou Town is situated in the deep valley of the Changhua River (Changhua He) which is found curving its way through the hinterland of the County. Situated along the Changhua River, the town of Baoyou is indeed the central settlement of the Li People, who still can claim the majority of the population of the county today. Not only Baoyou Town but in fact all villages found along the Changhua River are of considerable interest, hence in recent years they have seen an influx of tourists attempting a deeper exploration of Hainan Island beyond the resorts, beaches and obligatory sight-seeing spots.
Hongshui Village to the north of Baoyou Town lies at the location where the Hongshui River meets with the Changhua River as a tributary and an interesting route to explore is north and up the Hongshui River in order to see some of the rural lands of the Li.
Please mind you, Ledong Li Autonomous Region is too large to simply divide it in tow regions only. For traveling tourist landmarks and locations are described separately. Just remind yourself, locations along the coast are easiest to reach. In land locations are scattered and beyond the destination of Baoyou Town, traveling times and efforts go up. The main tourism destination of Ledong Li Autonomous County is the Maogong Mountain Reverence Area, a mountainous are considered sacred by the local Li People, which however lies in the extreme east and is as easily reached from Sanya City as it is from Baoyou Town. In this way one can make a combination tour, first visiting the Maogong Natural Forest Reserve and thereafter heading to Baoyou Town for a visit and possible stay. This route however excludes the entire coastal area which is the other apart of the County that has considerable charms to be explored.
As of yet, the coastal zones of Ledong Li Autonomous County have not yet been spoiled by an over development of high end luxury resorts with expensive brand names attached. In this way, the coastline of Ledong offers reprieve from the tourism boom found along the South China Sea Coast along the opposite south-west side of the island.
There are no historic landmarks found in or along the coastal zone, however the fishing ports of Yinggehai (Zhen) and Lingtou are among the most interesting places to check out.
