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99-618: Founder Tiang emigrated from Hainan Island to Bangkok in 1925. He set up his first shop in the Thon Buri district on the outskirts of Bangkok across the Chao Phraya River from the city center. He moved across the Chao Phraya River to a location near the grand Oriental Hotel (now the Mandarin Oriental ), where he opened a store with his eldest son, Samrit, in 1947. In 1956, the family opened Central Department Store,

198-432: A lingua franca to facilitate communication between speakers of mutually unintelligible varieties of Chinese and non-Sinitic languages . The name Putonghua , or 'common speech', reinforces this idea. However, due to Standard Chinese being a "public" lingua franca, other Chinese varieties and even non-Sinitic languages have shown signs of losing ground to the standard dialect. In many areas, especially in southern China, it

297-502: A branch of the Guangdong provincial government. During the mid-1980s, when Hainan Island was still part of Guangdong Province, a fourteen-month episode of marketing zeal by Hainan Special District Administrator Lei Yu put Hainan's pursuit of provincial status under a cloud. It involved the duty-free imports from Hong Kong of 90,000 Japanese-made cars and trucks at a cost of ¥  4.5 billion (US$ 1.5 billion), and exporting them – with

396-518: A claim. Additionally, experts have raised concerns about the question of compliance of global trading practices particularly for this project. Hainan, separated by the 20 km (12 mi) wide Qiongzhou Strait from the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong , is the 42nd largest island in the world. The area of Hainan Island (32,900 km (12,700 sq mi), 97% of the province) is slightly smaller than that of Taiwan Island. To

495-565: A few hours each week in Taiwan starting in the mid-1990s. With an increase in internal migration in China , the official Putonghua Proficiency Test (PSC) has become popular. Employers often require a level of Standard Chinese proficiency from applicants depending on the position, and many university graduates on the mainland take the PSC before looking for a job. The pronunciation of Standard Chinese

594-579: A form of the Japanese language dubbed kokugo ( 国語 ). Reformers in the Qing bureaucracy took inspiration and borrowed the term into Chinese, and in 1909 the Qing education ministry officially proclaimed imperial Mandarin as Guoyu ( 国语 ; 國語 ), the 'national language'. After the Republic of China was established in 1912, there was more success in promoting a common national language. A Commission on

693-564: A greater vocabulary scheme and a more archaic and "proper-sounding" pronunciation and vocabulary. Distinctive features of the Beijing dialect are more extensive use of erhua in vocabulary items that are left unadorned in descriptions of the standard such as the Xiandai Hanyu Cidian , as well as more neutral tones. An example of standard versus Beijing dialect would be the standard mén (door) and Beijing ménr . While

792-456: A hub for offshore financing and duty-free shopping, as well as using lower taxes and reduced visa requirements to help draw in foreign businesses and tourists. Moreover, all goods sold from Hainan to other parts of China would be treated as imports from 2025 onward. The provincial name derives from its major island, Hainan, in Hainanese "Hai Nam", which is named after its position south of

891-697: A lesser extent. Much of the Taiwanese Aboriginal population spoke their native Formosan languages . During the period of martial law between 1949 and 1987, the Taiwanese government revived the Mandarin Promotion Council , discouraging or in some cases forbidding the use of Hokkien and other non-standard varieties. This resulted in Standard Chinese replacing Hokkien as the country's lingua franca, and ultimately,

990-464: A political backlash in the 1990s. Starting in the 2000s during the administration of President Chen Shui-Bian , the Taiwanese government began making efforts to recognize the country's other languages. They began being taught in schools, and their use increased in media, though Standard Chinese remains the country's lingua franca. Chen often used Hokkien in his speeches; later Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui also openly spoke Hokkien. In an amendment to

1089-894: A strong presence of luxury department store collection in Europe. Central Group has substantial operations in developing Thai retail and commercial properties, and currently holds the largest market share of net leasable area in Thailand. Besides retail, Central Group has also developed offices, co-working spaces and residential projects. GFA Retail & Brands is Central Group’s most significant business with investments in Europe and Asia. Fashion: Department stores, lifestyle centers, lifestyle & fashion brands Hardline: Home décor & construction, electronics, office supplies, books & stationery Food: Supermarkets and convenience stores Central Group owns and manages visitor accommodation at all major Thai tourist destinations and around

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1188-403: A year, the temperature can be higher than 35 °C (95 °F) ) . The average annual precipitation is 1,500 to 2,000 millimeters (59 to 79 in) and can be as high as 2,400 millimeters (94 in) in central and eastern areas, and as low as 900 millimeters (35 in) in the coastal areas of the southwest. Parts of Hainan lie in the path of typhoons , and 70% of the annual precipitation

1287-487: Is 24.7 °C (76.5 °F), Sanya is 26.5 °C (79.7 °F). The coldest months are January when temperatures drop to 17 to 24 °C (63 to 75 °F); the hottest months are June and July, and the temperatures are 26 to 31 °C (79 to 88 °F). The daily average temperature in Hainan in all months is well above 10 °C (50 °F). The summer in the northern part is hotter and, (for more than 20 days in

1386-493: Is a form of Standard Chinese that is read aloud with the Cantonese reading of characters. Like other Sinitic languages , Standard Chinese is a tonal language with topic-prominent organization and subject–verb–object (SVO) word order. Compared with southern varieties, the language has fewer vowels, final consonants and tones, but more initial consonants. It is an analytic language , albeit with many compound words . In

1485-762: Is a modern standard form of Mandarin Chinese that was first codified during the republican era (1912–1949). It is designated as the official language of mainland China and a major language in the United Nations , Singapore , and Taiwan . It is largely based on the Beijing dialect . Standard Chinese is a pluricentric language with local standards in mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore that mainly differ in their lexicon . Hong Kong written Chinese , used for formal written communication in Hong Kong and Macau,

1584-527: Is an island province and the southernmost province of China . It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally means "South of the Sea". The province has a land area of 33,920 square kilometers (13,100 sq mi), of which Hainan Island is 32,900 square kilometers (12,700 sq mi) and

1683-518: Is colloquially referred to as simply Mandarin , though this term may also refer to the Mandarin dialect group as a whole, or the late imperial form used as a lingua franca . "Mandarin" is a translation of Guanhua ( 官話 ; 官话 ; 'bureaucrat speech'), which referred to the late imperial lingua franca. The term Modern Standard Mandarin is used to distinguish it from older forms. The word Guoyu ( 国语 ; 國語 ; 'national language')

1782-504: Is common, as the majority of the population continues to also speak the latter as a native language. The stereotypical "southern Chinese" accent does not distinguish between retroflex and alveolar consonants , pronouncing pinyin zh [tʂ], ch [tʂʰ], and sh [ʂ] in the same way as z [ts], c [tsʰ], and s [s] respectively. Southern-accented Standard Chinese may also interchange l and n , final n and ng , and vowels i and ü [y]. Attitudes towards southern accents, particularly

1881-468: Is commonly used for practical reasons, as linguistic diversity is so great that residents of neighboring cities may have difficulties communicating with each other without a lingua franca. The Chinese government's language policy been largely successful, with over 80% of the Chinese population able to speak Standard Chinese as of 2020. The Chinese government's current goal is to have 85% of the country's population speak Standard Chinese by 2025, and virtually

1980-449: Is defined as that of the Beijing dialect . The usual unit of analysis is the syllable, consisting of an optional initial consonant , an optional medial glide , a main vowel and an optional coda, and further distinguished by a tone . The palatal initials [tɕ] , [tɕʰ] and [ɕ] pose a classic problem of phonemic analysis. Since they occur only before high front vowels, they are in complementary distribution with three other series,

2079-423: Is derived from typhoons and the summer rainy season. Major flooding occurs due to typhoons, which can cause many problems for local residents. From January to February, the island of Hainan is often affected by thick fog, particularly in coastal areas and the northern part of the island. This is caused by cold winter air from the north coming into contact with the warmer sea, causing the moisture that evaporates from

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2178-540: Is located in the eastern and northern part of Hainan. Most of the rivers in Hainan originate in the central area of the island and flow radially in different directions. The Nandu River in the northern part of the island is 314 km (195 mi) long, and its tributary , the Xinwu River , is 109 km (68 mi) long. Other major rivers include the Wanquan River at 162 km (101 mi)-long in

2277-420: Is the official language of the mandarins and of the court; it is among them like Latin among ourselves.... Two of our fathers [Michele Ruggieri and Matteo Ricci] have been learning this mandarin language... During the 17th century, the state had set up orthoepy academies ( 正音書院 ; zhèngyīn shūyuàn ) in an attempt to conform the speech of bureaucrats to the standard. These attempts had little success: as late as

2376-500: Is the primary lingua franca of more recent Chinese immigrants , is rapidly increasing. While Standard Chinese was made China's official language in the early 20th century, local languages continue to be the main form of everyday communication in much of the country. The language policy adopted by the Chinese government promotes the use of Standard Chinese while also making allowances for the use and preservation of local varieties. From an official point of view, Standard Chinese serves as

2475-573: Is thought to have used a dialect known as yayan rather than regional dialects; during the Han dynasty , texts also referred to tōngyǔ ( 通語 ; 'common language'). The rime books that were written starting in the Northern and Southern period may have reflected standard systems of pronunciation. However, these standard dialects were mostly used by the educated elite, whose pronunciation may still have possessed great variation. For these elites,

2574-610: Is used in informal daily life and is heavily influenced in terms of both grammar and vocabulary by local languages such as Cantonese, Hokkien, and Malay. Instances of code-switching with English, Hokkien, Cantonese, Malay, or a combination thereof are also common. In Singapore, the government has heavily promoted a " Speak Mandarin Campaign " since the late 1970s, with the use of other Chinese varieties in broadcast media being prohibited and their use in any context officially discouraged until recently. This has led to some resentment amongst

2673-530: Is used in most official contexts, as well as the media and educational system, contributing to its proliferation. As a result, it is now spoken by most people in both countries, though often with some regional or personal variation in vocabulary and pronunciation. In overseas Chinese communities outside Asia where Cantonese once dominated, such as the Chinatown in Manhattan , the use of Standard Chinese, which

2772-681: The Hlai , a Kra–Dai -speaking ethnic group , are native to the island and compose 15% of the population. Their native languages include the Hlai languages . The Hlai are recognized by the Chinese government as one of the country's 56 ethnic groups . Speakers of Be , despite speaking a Kra-Dai language, are reckoned officially as ethnically Han Chinese. Hainan is also home to the Jiamao language , of disputed provenance. There are ten major cities and ten counties in Hainan Province. The capital of

2871-472: The Qiongzhou Strait . (To the north of the strait, the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong is also known as Haibei/Hai Bac or "North of the Sea".) Former names for Hainan Island include Zhuya , Qiongya , and Qiongzhou . The latter two gave rise to the provincial abbreviation 琼 ( Qióng/Kheng ). During the 17th and 18th centuries, explorers referred to the island as " Aynam ", which remains

2970-462: The Sanskrit word mantrin ('minister')—and was initially used to refer to Chinese scholar-officials . The Portuguese then began referring to Guanhua as "the language of the mandarins". The Chinese have different languages in different provinces, to such an extent that they cannot understand each other.... [They] also have another language which is like a universal and common language; this

3069-545: The crab-eating mongoose ( Herpestes urva ) and the leopard cat ( Felis bengalensis ), which are considered a species of conservation concern. Other mammals include Siberian chipmunks ( Tamias sibiricus ), squirrels, masked palm civets and the yellow-bellied weasel . There are 362 known bird species. Seabirds such as gulls are not generally seen. Egrets and Black-winged kites are common in agricultural areas. The Hainan partridge , white-eared night heron , Hainan leaf warbler , and yellow-billed nuthatch are endemic to

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3168-473: The 19th century, the emperor had difficulty understanding some of his ministers in court, who did not always follow a standard pronunciation. Before the 19th century, the lingua franca was based on the Nanjing dialect , but later the Beijing dialect became increasingly influential, despite the mix of officials and commoners speaking various dialects in the capital, Beijing . By some accounts, as late as 1900

3267-956: The Chinese government has not stated its intent to replace regional varieties with Standard Chinese. However, regulations enacted by local governments to implement the national law−such as the Guangdong National Language Regulations —have included coercive measures to control the public's use of both spoken dialects and traditional characters in writing. Some Chinese speakers who are older or from rural areas cannot speak Standard Chinese fluently or at all—though most are able to understand it. Meanwhile, those from urban areas—as well as younger speakers, who have received their education primarily in Standard Chinese—are almost all fluent in it, with some being unable to speak their local dialect. The Chinese government has disseminated public service announcements promoting

3366-587: The Chinese language was unified in Literary Chinese , a form that was primarily written, as opposed to spoken. The term Guanhua ( 官話 ; 官话 ; 'official speech') was used during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties to refer to the lingua franca spoken within the imperial courts. The term "Mandarin" is borrowed directly from the Portuguese word mandarim , in turn derived from

3465-597: The Enforcement Rules of the Passport Act ( 護照條例施行細則 ) passed on 9 August 2019, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that romanized spellings of names in Hoklo , Hakka and Aboriginal languages may be used in Taiwanese passports. Previously, only Mandarin names could be romanized. Mandarin is one of the four official languages of Singapore, along with English, Malay , and Tamil . Historically, it

3564-652: The Hainan white pine ( Pinus fenzeliana ), Tenasserim pine ( Pinus latteri ) and several species of orchid tree ( Bauhinia ). 4,200 known species of plants are native to the island, including several endemic species, such as those within the genera Wenchengia and Metapetrocosmea . Additionally, the Cathayanthe and Chunia genera are found only on Hainan and in northern Vietnam. Notable botanical species include: Even with over ten million human inhabitants, Hainan contains several protected areas and wildlife preserves. The most ubiquitous smaller species on

3663-521: The Leizhou peninsula and Hainan island to settle down their roots by seeking greener pastures on new land to establish themselves. This influx displaced the indigenous Li people, who were among the Baiyue tribes in southern China, driving them out towards the mountainous regions of the southern portion of the island. Hainan was placed under the administration of Guangdong by the ruling Ming dynasty. Hainan

3762-563: The New Central New Economy strategy is to create convenience for both merchants and consumers with financial services and Fintech, with the ultimate goal of a cashless society in Thailand. Financial Services & Fintech categories: Credit  : The1 credit card, sales finance, personal loans Payment  : gift cards, e-payments, e-wallets Insurance brokerage  : motor, health, personal accident, property & casualty, group life Hainan Hainan

3861-455: The Standard Chinese spoken in Taiwan is nearly identical to that of mainland China, the colloquial form has been heavily influenced by other local languages, especially Taiwanese Hokkien. Notable differences include: the merger of retroflex sounds (zh, ch, sh, r) with the alveolar series (z, c, s), frequent mergers of the "neutral tone" with a word's original tone, and absence of erhua . Code-switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien

3960-545: The Taiwanese government introduced two laws explicitly recognizing the indigenous Formosan languages and Hakka as "Languages of the nation" ( 國家語言 ) alongside Standard Chinese. Since then, there have been efforts to redefine Guoyu as encompassing all "languages of the nation", rather than exclusively referring to Standard Chinese. Among Chinese people, Hanyu ( 汉语 ; 漢語 ; 'Han language') refers to spoken varieties of Chinese . Zhongwen ( 中文 ; 'written Chinese') refers to written Chinese. Among foreigners,

4059-464: The Unification of Pronunciation was convened with delegates from the entire country. A Dictionary of National Pronunciation ( 國音字典 ; 国音字典 ) was published in 1919, defining a hybrid pronunciation that did not match any existing speech. Meanwhile, despite the lack of a workable standardized pronunciation, colloquial literature in written vernacular Chinese continued to develop. Gradually,

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4158-533: The United Kingdom and Macau's handover from Portugal, their governments use Putonghua to communicate with the PRC's Central People's Government . There has been significant effort to promote use of Putonghua in Hong Kong since the handover, including the training of police and teachers. Standard Chinese is the official language of Taiwan . Standard Chinese started being widely spoken in Taiwan following

4257-420: The air on the mainland. Throughout 2012, Hainan had the highest air quality in the country for 351 days. The provincial government's environmental protection campaign has taken action against a number of industrial plants. During 2012, several outdated manufacturing facilities had their business licenses revoked, and 175 cases related to illegal sewage discharge were handled. Total sulfur dioxide emissions for

4356-636: The biggest department store in Thailand at that time, in Wang Burapa district, Phra Nakhon , Bangkok . The company's property development arm, Central Pattana, was founded in 1980, and opened its first shopping centre, CentralPlaza Ladprao in Chatuchak District , Bangkok , in 1983. Besides expansion through physical presence in the Bangkok retail space, Central Group has in recent years built an online presence among ASEAN e-tailers and

4455-558: The citizenry was originally borrowed from Japan in the early 20th century. In 1902, the Japanese Diet had formed the National Language Research Council to standardize a form of the Japanese language dubbed kokugo ( 国語 ). Reformers in the Qing bureaucracy took inspiration and borrowed the term into Chinese, and in 1909 the Qing education ministry officially proclaimed imperial Mandarin to be

4554-425: The coda of the base syllable in a rhotacizing process called erhua . Each full syllable is pronounced with a phonemically distinctive pitch contour. There are four tonal categories, marked in pinyin with diacritics, as in the words mā ( 媽 ; 妈 ; 'mother'), má ( 麻 ; 'hemp'), mǎ ( 馬 ; 马 ; 'horse') and mà ( 罵 ; 骂 ; 'curse'). The tonal categories also have secondary characteristics. For example,

4653-416: The construction of the island's other infrastructure (e.g. water works, power stations, telecommunications) and had taken a very liberal interpretation of the economic and trade regulations for Hainan and thirteen coastal cities; the regulations did not mention on prohibiting the re-selling of second-hand goods. Some of the proceeds, from unsold units, were later retrieved by the central government to re-finance

4752-406: The context of linguistics , the dialect has been labeled Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin , and in common speech simply Mandarin , more specifically qualified as Standard Mandarin , Modern Standard Mandarin , or Standard Mandarin Chinese . Among linguists, Standard Chinese has been referred to as Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin . It

4851-431: The dental sibilants, retroflexes and velars, which never occur in this position. The [ɹ̩] final, which occurs only after dental sibilant and retroflex initials, is a syllabic approximant , prolonging the initial. The rhotacized vowel [ɚ] forms a complete syllable. A reduced form of this syllable occurs as a sub-syllabic suffix, spelled -r in pinyin and often with a diminutive connotation. The suffix modifies

4950-506: The early Communist leader Qu Qiubai in 1931. His concern echoed within the Communist Party, which adopted the term Putonghua in 1955. Since 1949, usage of the word Guoyu was phased out in the PRC, only surviving in established compound nouns, e.g. ' Mandopop ' ( 国语流行音乐 ; Guóyǔ liúxíng yīnyuè ), or 'Chinese cinema' ( 国语电影 ; Guóyǔ diànyǐng ). In Taiwan, Guoyu is the colloquial term for Standard Chinese. In 2017 and 2018,

5049-569: The east, Changhua River in the west, and the Sanya and Taiyang Rivers in the south. Evaporation during the dry season around the coastal areas greatly reduces the flow of the rivers. There are very few natural lakes in Hainan. However, there are numerous reservoirs , the largest of which is the Songtao Reservoir in the central-north area. Several small islands exist around the coast of Hainan Island: Due to their close proximity to

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5148-573: The end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, with the relocation of the Kuomintang (KMT) to the island along with an influx of refugees from the mainland. The Standard Chinese used in Taiwan differs very little from that of mainland China, with differences largely being in technical vocabulary introduced after 1949. Prior to 1949, the varieties most commonly spoken by Taiwan's Han population were Taiwanese Hokkien , as well as Hakka to

5247-494: The endangered Chinese white dolphin . Declared sanctuary for the species extends along the coasts. These dolphins may appear among clearer waters such as vicinity to Sanya . Dugongs still occur in small number, mostly on Gulf of Tonkin side. Notable species include: Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ( simplified Chinese : 现代标准汉语 ; traditional Chinese : 現代標準漢語 ; pinyin : Xiàndài biāozhǔn hànyǔ ; lit. 'modern standard Han speech')

5346-494: The entire country by 2035. Throughout the country, Standard Chinese has heavily influenced local languages through diglossia , replacing them entirely in some cases, especially among younger people in urban areas. The Chinese government is keen to promote Putonghua as the national lingua franca: under the National Common Language and Writing Law , the government is required to promoted its use. Officially,

5445-449: The help of local naval units – to the mainland, making 150% profits. By comparison, only 10,000 vehicles were imported into Hainan since 1950. In addition, it involved further consignments of 2.9 million TV sets, 252,000 videocassette recorders & 122,000 motorcycles. The money was taken from the 1983 central government funds destined for the construction of the island's transportation infrastructure (roads, railways, airports, harbors) over

5544-481: The indigenous Hlai people fought a vigorous guerrilla campaign against the Japanese, who were only able to occupy some Hainan territories; but in retaliation the Japanese launched numerous massacres against Hlai villages. Feng Baiju led the Hainan Independent Column of fighters throughout the 1930s and 1940s. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Kuomintang reestablished control. Hainan

5643-443: The island as well, including the economically significant black pepper ( Piper nigrum ). At least 25-30 species belonging to the order Zingiberales grow on Hainan, including numerous types of ginger , galangal , canna , turmeric ( Curcuma sp.) and prayer-plants ( Marantaceae ), among others. Coconuts ( Cocos sp.) are a fairly common sight along the coastline. Trees found on Hainan include at least 18 species of Ficus ,

5742-467: The island between 7000–27,000 years ago. Hainan Island was recorded by Chinese officials in 110 BC, when the Western Han dynasty established a military garrison there following the arrival of General Lu Bode . The process of sinicization in Hainan was driven by the conjunction of Han territorial expansion and the arrival of Han Chinese military and administrative personnel who settled on

5841-747: The island include such animals as frogs , toads , geckos , skinks , and butterflies ; as with many adjacent tropical regions, the Arthropoda and invertebrates are well-represented here, with mosquitoes naturally being very common at certain times of the year. The swarms of biting, flying insects actually play a key role in island food chains and ecosystems , not only being consumed by many other species (such as bats and birds ) but serving as pollinators for many types of flowering plants . Hainan's lakes and waterways are populated with various freshwater fishes, such as carp and catfish , whose fry readily consume both mosquito eggs and larvae (laid on

5940-586: The island. Secretive, and sometimes less commonly seen, are the snakes , such as the Asian palm pit viper , the red bamboo snake , and cobras. In the seas surrounding Hainan, sea turtles and whale sharks are regular visitors. Hainan island has rich bio-diversity of cetaceans and is the site of studying these in Chinese waters. Many whales such as North Pacific right whales , western gray whales , humpback whales , and blue whales (all of these are almost extinct in Chinese waters) were historically seen in

6039-419: The island. Over the course of many centuries, dynastic Chinese ruling authorities exiled individuals condemned by the imperial courts as criminals or political dissidents were frequently banished to Hainan island and northern Vietnam, regions that were both integral parts governed typically under the jurisdiction of Guangdong province during different Chinese dynasties, where they were subjected to harsh labor in

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6138-455: The island. The South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests cover the lowlands, and extend onto the adjacent mainland. The Hainan Island monsoon rainforests covers the interior of the island, and includes montane rain forests with a more seasonal climate and more deciduous trees. The majority of Hainan's land area is covered in forest, with 61.5% total coverage. At the end of 2012, nearly 210,000 hectares (518,921 acres) of forest-cover

6237-459: The main island, the flora, fauna, and the climate are very similar. A number of small islands, which are located hundreds of kilometers to the south, are claimed and administered by Sansha as part of Hainan Province. Sovereignty of these islands is however disputed. These islands include: Compared to most of mainland China, the air quality of Hainan is significantly better since it is not affected by factory pollution, which has adversely affected

6336-581: The medium of instruction with the standard shared with Singaporean Chinese. Together influenced by the Singaporean Speak Mandarin Campaign and Chinese culture revival movement in the 1980s, Malaysian Chinese started their own promotion of Mandarin too, and similar to Singapore, but to a lesser extent, experienced language shift from other Chinese variants to Mandarin. Today, Mandarin functions as lingua franca among Malaysian Chinese, while Hokkien and Cantonese are still retained in

6435-571: The members of the National Language Commission came to settle upon the Beijing dialect, which became the major source of standard national pronunciation due to its prestigious status. In 1932, the commission published the Vocabulary of National Pronunciation for Everyday Use ( 國音常用字彙 ; 国音常用字汇 ), with little fanfare or official announcement. This dictionary was similar to the previous published one except that it normalized

6534-547: The mid-1960s. Gradually, the term has been re-appropriated to refer specifically to Standard Chinese. The term is mostly used in Singapore , Malaysia , Indonesia , and the Philippines . The Chinese language has had considerable dialectal variation throughout its history, including prestige dialects and linguae francae used throughout the territory controlled by the dynastic states of China. For example, Confucius

6633-627: The name used in Taiwan . The forms of Standard Chinese used in China and Taiwan have diverged somewhat since the end of the Civil War, especially in newer vocabulary, and a little in pronunciation. In 1956, the PRC officially defined Standard Chinese as "the standard form of Modern Chinese with the Beijing phonological system as its norm of pronunciation, and Northern dialects as its base dialect, and looking to exemplary modern works in written vernacular Chinese for its grammatical norms." According to

6732-403: The neutral tone. It is common for Standard Chinese to be spoken with the speaker's regional accent, depending on factors such as age, level of education, and the need and frequency to speak in official or formal situations. Due to evolution and standardization, Mandarin, although based on the Beijing dialect, is no longer synonymous with it. Part of this was due to the standardization to reflect

6831-399: The new national language. The term Putonghua ( 普通话 ; 普通話 ; 'common tongue') dates back to 1906 in writings by Zhu Wenxiong to differentiate the standard vernacular Mandarin from Literary Chinese and other varieties of Chinese . Since 2000, the Chinese government has used the term "Countrywide common spoken and written language" ( 国家通用语言文字 ), while also making provisions for

6930-505: The next ten years. On 1 October 1984, it became the Hainan Administrative Region ( 海南行政区 ), with its own People's Government, and finally as a province separate from Guangdong four years later. In 1988, when the island was made a separate province, it was designated a Special Economic Zone in an effort to increase investment. The central government funds were deemed insufficient by the Hainan authorities for

7029-428: The northern part and central part of Peninsular Malaysia respectively. In some regions controlled by insurgent groups in northern Myanmar, Mandarin serves as the lingua franca. In both mainland China and Taiwan, Standard Chinese is taught by immersion starting in elementary school. After the second grade, the entire educational system is in Standard Chinese, except for local language classes that have been taught for

7128-508: The official definition, Standard Chinese uses: Proficiency in the new standard was initially limited, even among Mandarin speakers, but increased over the following decades. A 2007 survey conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Education indicated that 53.06% of the population were able to effectively communicate using Standard Chinese. By 2020, this figure had risen to over 80%. In both mainland China and Taiwan, Standard Chinese

7227-491: The older generations, as Singapore's migrant Chinese community is made up almost entirely of people of south Chinese descent. Lee Kuan Yew , the initiator of the campaign, admitted that to most Chinese Singaporeans, Mandarin was a "stepmother tongue" rather than a true mother language. Nevertheless, he saw the need for a unified language among the Chinese community not biased in favor of any existing group. In Malaysia, Mandarin has been adopted by local Chinese-language schools as

7326-491: The position of the Nanjing dialect was considered by some to be above that of Beijing; the postal romanization standards established in 1906 included spellings that reflected elements of Nanjing pronunciation. The sense of Guoyu as a specific language variety promoted for general use by the citizenry was originally borrowed from Japan; in 1902 the Japanese Diet had formed the National Language Research Council to standardize

7425-479: The primary spoken language, alongside a local form of Standard Chinese ( 書面語 ; syu1 min6 jyu5 ; 'written language') used in schools, local government, and formal writing. Written Cantonese may also be used in informal settings such as advertisements, magazines, popular literature, and comics. Mixture of formal and informal written Chinese occurs to various degrees. After the Hong Kong's handover from

7524-707: The pronunciation of its name in the local Hainanese dialect. According to some scholars, Hainan was originally attached to the Northeastern part of what is now Vietnam ; however, the island was formed after it physically broke away from Vietnam due to a volcanic eruption and drifted southeast near China after the Mesozoic , millions of years ago. The Baiyue people are among the earliest Kra-Dai residents to arrive on Hainan island. They are believed to have settled there at least two to six thousand years ago, and carry genetic markers from ancient people who reached

7623-509: The pronunciations for all characters into the pronunciation of the Beijing dialect. Elements from other dialects continue to exist in the standard language, but as exceptions rather than the rule. Following the end of the Chinese Civil War , the People's Republic of China (PRC) continued standardisation efforts on the mainland, and in 1955 officially began using Putonghua ( 普通话 ; 普通話 ; 'common speech') instead of Guoyu , which remains

7722-528: The province is Haikou , on the northern coast of Hainan Island, while Sanya is a well-known tourist destination on the southern coast. The other major cities are Wenchang , Sansha , Qionghai , Wanning , Wuzhishan , Dongfang and Danzhou . According to China's territorial claims , several disputed territories in the South China Sea , including the Spratly Islands ( Nansha ) and Paracel Islands ( Xisha ), are administered under Sansha city of

7821-525: The province were 34,000 tons in 2012, a 3 percent year-on-year reduction. In 2011, smog emissions were reduced 6.3 percent to 15,000 tons. Protected areas include the Yinggeling -Limushan and Wuzhishan -Diaoluoshan nature reserves. The climate of Hainan is mostly tropical. The island's two largest cities, Haikou and Sanya , both possess a tropical Köppen climate . The annual average temperature ranges from 23 to 28 °C (73 to 82 °F), Haikou

7920-536: The province. While the Paracels are fully under China's control, many of the Spratly Islands are controlled by other countries, such as Vietnam and the Philippines . In 2020, a large-scale plan was announced by the Chinese government to transform the entire island province into a free trade port , with the aim of turning it into the largest free-trade port in the world by 2035. The plan involves building

8019-603: The rest is over 200 islands scattered across three archipelagos : Zhongsha , Xisha and Nansha . It was part of Guangdong from 1950 to 1988, after which it was made a province of its own and was designated as a special economic zone by Deng Xiaoping , as part of the Chinese economic reform program. The Han Chinese population, who compose a majority of the population at 82%, speak a wide variety of languages including Standard Chinese , Hainam Min , Yue Chinese , Cantonese , Hakka Chinese , etc. Indigenous peoples such as

8118-695: The sea to be condensed into fog. The fog remains from day to night, and is evenly distributed. Visibility may be reduced to 50 meters (160 ft) for days at a time. During this period, residents normally keep windows shut. The moisture in the air is so extreme that the walls in homes weep, and floors often accumulate a layer of water. Hainan has over 1,500 km (580 sq mi) of tropical forest, in which can be found over 4,600 types of plants and more than 570 species of animals. The nature observation database iNaturalist.org currently lists 6,687 species of plants, animals and fungi as having been observed on Hainan Island (in 2024). In modern times, however,

8217-558: The small island's natural balance has been threatened, largely due to the introduction of exotic species , as well as human impacts from tourism , deforestation , and the use of herbicides , pesticides and other such pollutants . A report from the Department of Land, Environment and Resources of Hainan Province states that 200 species are near extinction, with six plant species, such as Maytenus hainanensis and Sciaphila tenella , having been declared extinct. Two ecoregions cover

8316-444: The special district. In June 2020, China announced a master plan for Hainan's free trade port system. Announced by state-owned media Xinhua News Agency, Hainan will "basically establish a free trade port system by 2025 and become more mature by 2035." South China Morning Post described such an initiative as an effort of PRC to "replace Hong Kong as the trading entrepôt" while Cheng Shi of ICBC International has refused to accept such

8415-480: The term Hanyu is most commonly used in textbooks and Standard Chinese education, such as in the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) test. Until the mid-1960s, Huayu ( 华语 ; 華語 ) referred to all the language varieties used among the Chinese nation . For example, Cantonese , Mandarin , and Hokkien films produced in Hong Kong were imported into Malaysia and collectively known as " Huayu cinema" until

8514-447: The third tone is long and murmured , whereas the fourth tone is relatively short. Statistically, vowels and tones are of similar importance in the language. There are also weak syllables, including grammatical particles such as the interrogative ma ( 嗎 ; 吗 ) and certain syllables in polysyllabic words. These syllables are short, with their pitch determined by the preceding syllable. Such syllables are commonly described as being in

8613-490: The tropical climate as a form of punishment. One of the most famous exiled individuals was Su Shi , a well-known intellectual, poet, and politician of the Song era, who offended many of his colleagues and superiors in the royal court. Shi wrote extensively about his exiled experiences on the island during the 11th century AD. After the 11th century AD, large numbers of Han Chinese people from Fujian and Guangdong began migrating to

8712-437: The use and protection of ethnic minority languages. The term is derived from the title of a 2000 law which defines Putonghua as the "Countrywide Common Spoken and Written Language". Use of the term Putonghua ('common tongue') deliberately avoids calling the dialect a 'national language', in order to mitigate the impression of coercing minority groups to adopt the language of the majority. Such concerns were first raised by

8811-559: The use of Putonghua on television and the radio, as well as on public buses. The standardization campaign has been challenged by local dialectical and ethnic populations, who fear the loss of their cultural identity and native dialect. In the summer of 2010, reports of a planned increase in the use of the Putonghua on local television in Guangdong led to demonstrations on the streets by thousands of Cantonese -speaking citizens. While

8910-450: The use of Standard Chinese is encouraged as the common working language in predominantly Han areas on the mainland, the PRC has been more sensitive to the status of non-Sinitic minority languages, and has generally not discouraged their social use outside of education. In Hong Kong and Macau , which are special administrative regions of the PRC, there is diglossia between Cantonese ( 口語 ; hau2 jyu5 ; 'spoken language') as

9009-594: The water's surface) for sustenance. About 100 mammalian species are found on Hainan, with the Hainan black crested gibbon ( Nomascus hainanus ), the Hainan hare ( Lepus hainanus ), the Hainan gymnure , or moonrat ( Neohylomys hainanensis ), and the Hainan flying squirrel ( Hylopetes electilis ) all being endemic to the island. Larger native mammals include the Asiatic black or "moon" bear ( Ursus thibetanus ), sambar ( Rusa unicolor ), Eurasian otter ( L. lutra ),

9108-575: The west of Hainan Island is the Gulf of Tonkin . Wuzhi Mountain is the highest mountain on the island at 1,840 m (6,040 ft). Hainan Island measures 288 km (179 mi) long and 180 km (110 mi) wide. The northern half of Hainan is covered with the ancient Hainan Volcanic Field . Beneath the topsoil is volcanic rock while the topsoil itself contains small pieces of this vesicular rock. Wetland covers 320,000 hectares, 78,000 hectares of which were created artificially. Most of this

9207-521: The winter and spring to mate and calve. These gentle giants of the sea had been hunted heavily and were wiped out by Japanese whalers (established whaling stations on various sites on Chinese and Korean coasts including Hainan and Daya Bay ). A few Bryde's whales and minke whales may still occur in the adjacent waters along with on Leizhou Peninsula and the Gulf of Tonkin . Smaller species of whale and dolphins , such as short-finned pilot whales and pantropical spotted dolphins , but most notably

9306-943: The world under own banners as well as international brands. Hotels cover every segment from luxury to economy. Central’s own brands comprise Centara Reserve, Centara Grand, Centara Boutique Collection, Centara, Centra by Centara and Cosi, while internationally-branded hotels include Park Hyatt Bangkok and Hilton Pattaya. In Japan, Central Group is a co-investor in StayFactory Hotel Group, whose brands include Hotel Hillarys, Hotel Relief, and Hotel Stork. In Switzerland, Central Group has also comprised Central Hotel Zurich company and Globus supermarket. Central Group has also pioneered restaurant chains in Thailand, and operates well-known local, regional, and international food brands such as Mister Donut, KFC, Auntie Anne’s, Pepper Lunch, Chabuton, The Terrace, Yoshinoya, Ootoya, Tenya, Katsuya and Fezt. One of Central Group's aspirations towards

9405-672: Was historically part of Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces and as such was the Qiongya Circuit ( 瓊崖道 ) under the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China . In 1921, it was planned to become a special administrative region ( 瓊崖特別行政區 ); in 1944, it became Hainan Special Administrative Region with 16 counties , including the South China Sea Islands . During the 1920s and 30s, Hainan was a hotbed of banditry, many opposition politicians were hanged, therefore opposition politicians went into hiding. The Communists and

9504-541: Was initially used during the late Qing dynasty to refer to the Manchu language . The 1655 Memoir of Qing Dynasty , Volume: Emperor Nurhaci ( 清太祖實錄 ) says: "(In 1631) as Manchu ministers do not comprehend the Han language, each ministry shall create a new position to be filled up by Han official who can comprehend the national language." However, the sense of Guoyu as a specific language variety promoted for general use by

9603-551: Was one of the last areas to eventually come under the administration of the People's Republic, having been under the control of ROC forces until March 1950. The People's Republic attacked Hainan on 10 April 1950 and attained complete control on 1 May. On 1 May 1950, under the People's Republic of China, the Hainan Special Administrative Region became an Administrative Region Office ( 海南行政区公署 ),

9702-795: Was reported–an increase of 34,133 hectares (84,340 acres) from the previous year. A further 1,187 hectares (2,930 acres) of grasses and trees have been planted along the province's highways. There are around 53 genera , belonging to 29 families , of wild fruits , herbs and other significant crops growing on Hainan—both native and introduced—including several types of banana ( Musa sp.), as well as cashew ( Anacardium occidentale ), mango ( Mangifera indica ), fiber agave ( Agave sisalana ), pineapple ( Ananas comosus ), bitter melon ( Momordica charantia ), ivy gourd ( Coccinia grandis ), giant taro ( Alocasia macrorrhizos ), Asian taro ( A. odora ), Malabar spinach ( Basella alba ) and papaya ( Carica papaya ). Four species of pepper grow on

9801-598: Was seldom used by the Chinese Singaporean community , which primarily spoke the Southern Chinese languages of Hokkien , Teochew , Cantonese, or Hakka . Standard Singaporean Mandarin is nearly identical to the standards of China and Taiwan, with minor vocabulary differences. It is the Mandarin variant used in education, media, and official settings. Meanwhile, a colloquial form called Singdarin

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