On March 24, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2026 opened in grand fashion in Qionghai City, located in eastern Hainan Province.

This year’s annual conference marks not only the 25th anniversary of the BFA, but also the first time the conference has been held since the launch of special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port.

Over the past quarter century, the BFA has charted a course of openness in step with the times, while also chronicling the significant development of the conference’s host city, Qionghai.

Qionghai is accelerating development as a key eastern Hainan city and a distinctive core area of the Hainan Free Trade Port, sending a strong signal to the world about China’s high-standard institutional opening-up and high-quality development.

The ‘Forum Effect’ Drives Citywide Transformation

Back in 2001, Boao was a town largely made up of rice paddies and low-rise houses. Today, the Boao International Conference Center stands prominently by the sea, the Boao high-speed railway station handles passengers around the clock, and the Boao International Airport connects the area with both domestic and international destinations. Major infrastructure projects such as Yingbin Avenue and the Boao Corridor have been completed, forming the backbone of this ‘diplomatic town’.

Driverless shuttle buses in Bo’ao Lecheng.

As the annual conference has grown in scale and influence, infrastructure development has spread from Bo’ao Town to cover the entire Qionghai City area. A three-dimensional transport network connecting travelers by sea, land, and air has taken shape, with road density ranking among the highest in Hainan. Roads have been linked together, urban lighting and landscaping features have been upgraded, and pocket parks now dot the city. Major public facilities such as the Qionghai Culture and Sports Center and the Wanquanhe River Sports Park are now open, laying a solid foundation for the city’s sustainable development.

Qionghai has cultivated a distinctive ‘five-color city’ identity:

As a Golden City, Qionghai is centered around the BFA, setting up supporting high-end convention and exhibition resources. Nearly 300 conferences are regularly held here. So far, the city has attracted 108 regularly held events and hosted more than 2,000 major conferences and exhibitions.

Expats are Seeking Treatment in Lecheng.

As a Silver City, Qionghai is home to the Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone, China’s only ‘special medical zone. So far, more than 540 international innovative medications and medical devices have been approved for use in China for the first time in Lecheng, benefiting over 200,000 patients. Thanks to the platform of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference, Lecheng has hosted the Boao International Conference on Real-World Studies of Medical Products for four times, helping Boao evolve from a single conference destination into a hub for both conferences and healthcare.

As a Red City, Qionghai is the birthplace of the Red Detachment of Women. The city has several ‘red’, or revolutionary, sites such as the Red Detachment of Women Memorial Park offer high-quality ‘red heritage’ tour routes, and promotes the innovative artistic expression of revolutionary culture. In November, 2025, the National Ballet of China staged the classic ballet The Red Detachment of Women at the newly completed Qionghai Grand Theatre.

As a Blue City, Qionghai’s fishermen in Tanmen Town are both ‘moving on shore’ and ‘venturing farther offshore’, organically combining traditional fishing-port culture with modern marine industries. Thanks to rapidly developing seafood cold-chain processing and livestream e-commerce platforms, Tanmen seafood is now sold across the country. The Tanmen Sea Harvest Season event, which has been held for 11 consecutive years, attracts nearly 50,000 visitors annually. Cultural and creative products such as the Treasures of the South China Sea jewelry series, developed by the China (Hainan) Museum of the South China Sea, have won multiple national gold awards.

As a Green City, Qionghai has advanced the development of ecological civilization demonstration villages and shared farms. Forum participants are invited to visit beautiful parts of the surrounding countryside and take part in ‘field dialogues’, offering immersive experiences of the ecological beauty and revitalization energy of the Chinese countryside.

College student volunteers teach kids paper-cutting at a care center in Longjiang Town, Qionghai City.

Zero-Carbon Practices Support Ecological Civilization Development

The sound ecological environment offers the first look at how the BFA showcases China’s philosophy of green development on a global stage.

On Dongyu Island in Bo’ao Town, the Boao Zero-Carbon Pilot Zone, which began operation in March 2024, has moved from ‘near-zero carbon’ to full ‘zero-carbon’ operation.

At the Boao International Conference Center, rooftop photovoltaic panels, photovoltaic louvers on exterior walls, and power-generating glass provide a steady supply of green electricity. Together with an advanced ‘PV-storage-direct-flexible’ system, these facilities enable buildings on the island to achieve basic energy self-sufficiency.

All personal vehicles, boats, and lawn machinery are now 100% electric-powered, forming a comprehensive green mobility system.

The pilot zone generates about 30 million kwh of green electricity annually. After the zone’s own requirements of about 21 million kwh are met, surplus electricity is fed into the power grid. Carbon dioxide emissions have dropped from 11,300 tonnes in the baseline year to net zero.

The pilot zone has also taken the lead in exploring rules and technical standards for green development. The Technical Standards for the Boao Zero-Carbon Pilot Zone form replicable and scalable practices, providing a ‘China solution’ for achieving regional zero-carbon development worldwide.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–25), Qionghai has maintained excellent ecological quality. The proportion of days with good or excellent air quality has remained above 98 percent. Water quality compliance rates for surface water, centralized drinking water sources, and nearshore waters have all reached 100 percent. The urban sewage collection rate has risen from 15 percent to 82.8 percent, while the rural sewage treatment rate has increased from 12 percent to 90.43 percent.

A Stronger Business Environment Fuels Industrial Vitality

A sound ecological environment is vital for attracting investment, while a first-class business environment offers businesses reassurance.

Riding the momentum of special customs operations across the Hainan Free Trade Port, Qionghai has targeted leading industries such as healthcare, removed approval bottlenecks and service blockages, and injected fresh impetus into industrial development.

On Sept 12, 2025, Yiling Group submitted a land-use application for an integrated advanced medical equipment R&D and industrialization center project. By Oct 30, 2025, the project had secured the land. The whole process, from the filing of the application to land acquisition, took just 48 days, with streamlined administration leading to faster project implementation.

The continuously improving business environment has further strengthened investor confidence. In 2025, Qionghai signed 50 investment projects with a total value of about 10.9 billion yuan, up 103 percent year-on-year. Of these, 19 projects each involved investment of more than 100 million yuan, an increase of 46 percent.

At present, Qionghai is setting up a one trillion yuan industrial cluster featuring the integrated development of medical services, conferences, and tourism. The city is consolidating two major pillars — tropical high-efficiency agriculture and airport- and port-related industries — while fostering emerging industries such as smart connected vehicles. For the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30) Qionghai has initially mapped out 146 major projects with a total planned investment of about 118.4 billion yuan.

Thriving on openness, Qionghai is making solid contributions to the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port and to the broader chapter of Chinese modernization in Hainan.