South China’s Hainan Province has issued a plan for developing the province as an International Design Island, according to the provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

The plan focuses on cultural tourism design, architectural & environmental design, industrial design, and digital creative design, taking advantage of the island’s excellent ecological environment, diverse forms of culture, and preferential free trade port policies.

Aerial view of the Wormhole Library, one of the architectural landmarks of Haikou, in South China's Hainan Province. XINHUA

The development plan also specifies the province’s goals for total design industry output of over RMB 100 billion (about USD 15 billion) as well as attracting 400 design enterprises employing over 50,000 professional designers by 2035.

More than three of the island’s cities are to become prominent in the global design industry, and Haikou and Sanya are to be developed into key pilot zones.

Since China released the master plan for the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port in June 2020, which proposes the development of Hainan as an International Design Island, the province has been opening up in the area of modern services and developing the design sector.