Until 2001 this city was called Tongshi, whose second character had a local pronunciation the dictionary did not recognise, which troubled its post, so it took the name of the mountain beside it, the highest on Hainan at 1,867 metres.
直到二零零一年,这座城市还叫通什,”什”字在当地的读音”zá”不见于字典,给邮政往来添了麻烦,于是它改用身旁那座山的名字,那是海南最高的山,海拔一千八百六十七米。
The summit is not entirely its own, since the highest peak sits on the line with Qiongzhong county, but the rain that falls on it feeds rivers that run to every side of the island, and one of them goes to Boao.
山顶并不完全属于它,最高峰在与琼中县的交界线上,但落在山上的雨水汇成流向全岛四面的河,其中一条一直流到博鳌。
A Name Nobody Could Read
没人读得出的名字
The city government’s own account of the renaming is practical. The character in Tongshi was pronounced “zá” locally, a reading the Modern Chinese Dictionary does not list, and that caused trouble for post and trade, according to Chinese Wikipedia. Renaming the city for Wuzhi Mountain, a symbol of Hainan, would reflect its geography and raise its profile, the same source reports. The change was made in July 2001, according to the city government.
市政府自己对改名的解释很实际。据中文维基百科介绍,通什的”什”字在当地读”zá”,《现代汉语词典》并未收录这个读音,给邮政通信和商务往来带来不便。据同一来源介绍,改名五指山市,既能反映地理特征,也有利于扩大知名度。据市政府介绍,改名在二零零一年七月完成。
Tongshi had been the capital of Hainan’s Li and Miao autonomous prefecture, and the State Council made it a county-level city in June 1986, according to Baidu Baike. The prefecture was abolished in December 1987 under the central decision to turn Hainan into a province and special economic zone, according to the same source; the province was formally established in April 1988.
据百度百科介绍,通什曾是海南黎族苗族自治州的首府,一九八六年六月经国务院批准设市。据同一来源介绍,一九八七年十二月,根据中央关于海南建省办经济特区的决定,自治州被撤销;海南省于一九八八年四月正式成立。
The Roof and the Rivers
屋脊与河流
Wuzhi Mountain is named for peaks that rise like five fingers, and the highest, the second finger, reaches 1,867.1 metres, according to Baidu Baike. It stands on the boundary between Wuzhishan city and Qiongzhong, according to the same source, and the city government calls the area the “water tower” of the island and the source of its three great rivers, according to the city government.
据百度百科介绍,五指山因峰峦起伏形似五指而得名,最高的二指海拔一千八百六十七点一米。据同一来源介绍,它位于五指山市与琼中县的交界处;据市政府介绍,五指山市被称为海南的”水塔”和”三江源”。
The Wanquan River rises on the mountain and runs east to the sea, according to Chinese Wikipedia, and the Changhua River also starts here, according to Baidu Baike. Annual rainfall in the city averages 1,887 millimetres, according to the city government.
据中文维基百科介绍,万泉河发源于五指山并向东流入南海;据百度百科介绍,昌化江也发源于这里。据市政府介绍,全市年平均降水量一千八百八十七毫米。
Brocade and Tea
黎锦与茶
Wuzhishan is mostly a Li city. Of its 104,724 registered residents in 2025, 69,492 were Li and 6,024 Miao, so minorities made up 73.2 percent, according to the 2025 communiqué. The Li have no written script, and their brocade is called their “living history”, according to Xinhua.
五指山是一座以黎族为主的城市。据二零二五年统计公报,二零二五年全市户籍人口十万四千七百二十四人,其中黎族六万九千四百九十二人、苗族六千零二十四人,少数民族占百分之七十三点二。据新华网介绍,黎族没有本民族的文字,黎锦被称为他们的”活史书”。
The craft nearly vanished. About 50,000 Li women knew the skills in the 1950s, fewer than 1,000 did by 2009 and most of those were over 70, according to China National Radio. UNESCO listed it as needing urgent safeguarding in 2009 and moved it to its representative list on 5 December 2024, by which time more than 20,000 people practised it, according to China National Radio and People’s Daily. Liu Xianglan, who won first prize in a weaving contest for Wuzhishan in 2006, now teaches pupils at Tongshi Central School, according to Xinhua, and the 2025 communiqué says Li brocade appeared twice at Paris Fashion Week.
这项手艺几近消失。据央广网介绍,二十世纪五十年代约有五万名黎族妇女掌握技艺,到二零零九年不足一千人,且多为七十岁以上的老人。据央广网和人民网介绍,联合国教科文组织二零零九年把它列入急需保护名录,二零二四年十二月五日转入代表作名录,此时传承人已超过两万。据新华网介绍,刘香兰二零零六年代表五指山在织锦比赛中获一等奖,如今在通什中心学校教学生织黎锦;据二零二五年统计公报,黎锦两次登上巴黎时装周。
In 2025 GDP reached ¥5.19 billion, up 4.7 percent, with the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors at 23.4, 12.0 and 64.6 percent, and the resident population was 114,800, with births and deaths both at 7.01 per thousand, so the natural growth rate was zero, according to the communiqué. The city grew 9,070 tonnes of areca nut and 97.38 tonnes of dried tea, and its large-leaf red tea has won national geographical-indication status, according to the same source.
据统计公报,二零二五年五指山市生产总值五十一点九一亿元,增长百分之四点七,三次产业占比为百分之二十三点四、十二点零和六十四点六,常住人口十一点四八万人,出生率和死亡率均为千分之七点零一,自然增长率为零。据同一来源介绍,全年产槟榔九千零七十吨、干毛茶九十七点三八吨,五指山大叶红茶已获国家地理标志认证。
The road out is shorter than it was. The Shanhai Expressway, opened on 26 March 2021, cut the trip from Wuzhishan to Baoting from nearly two hours to 30 minutes, and Baoting to Sanya takes another 30, according to Chinese Wikipedia. To Haikou it is about 214 kilometres and roughly four hours by road, according to a driving-route site.
出山的路比从前短了。据中文维基百科介绍,二零二一年三月二十六日通车的山海高速,把五指山到保亭的车程从近两小时缩短到三十分钟,保亭到三亚还要三十分钟。据自驾路线网站介绍,到海口约二百一十四公里,开车约四小时。
According to Chinese Wikipedia, the Nansheng River, an upper tributary of the Changhua River, winds from east to west through the whole city, which stands 328.5 metres above sea level, the highest mountain town on the island.
据中文维基百科介绍,昌化江上游支流南圣河自东向西流贯全城,这座城市海拔三百二十八点五米,是海南岛海拔最高的山城。
