Duty-free shopping soars in south China's Hainan after launch of island-wide special customs operations

Duty-free shopping in south China's Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) reached 3.89 billion yuan (around 557 million U.S. dollars) as of Jan. 10 after the official launch of island-wide special customs operations in the tropical island province on Dec. 18, 2025, China's General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday.

Officials described the special customs system as offering "freer access at the first line," referring to freer trade between Hainan and areas outside China's customs borders, and "regulated access at the second line," which involves applying standard customs controls for goods moving from Hainan to other parts of the Chinese mainland.

The share of zero-tariff products in the Hainan FTP has been raised from 21 to 74 percent, expanding the list of related items from 1,900 to over 6,600.

Zero-tariff goods processed in Hainan can be sold to the mainland duty-free if their local processing generated an added value of 30 percent or more.

From Dec. 18, 2025 to Jan. 10 this year, Hainan's imports of zero-tariff goods through the "first line" reached 460 million yuan, with about 62.13 million yuan of tariff exempted, while duty-free goods processed in Hainan worth 56.82 million yuan were sold to the mainland, with tariff exemption reaching more than 2.3 million yuan.

"Duty-free shopping has been rising in Hainan, where categories of duty-free goods have been expanded from 45 to 47, with the additions of electronic products such as digital photography equipment and micro drones," said Wang Jun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs, at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on China's 2025 foreign trade in Beijing.

"From the launch of island-wide special customs operations to Jan. 10, around 585,000 people carried out duty-free shopping involving 3.89 billion yuan in Hainan, up 32.4 percent and 49.6 percent year on year respectively. So during the period, an average of 24,000 people bought duty-free goods in Hainan every day, with the daily average consumption reaching 160 million yuan," he said.

Duty-free shopping soars in south China's Hainan after launch of island-wide special customs operations

A wildfire that engulfed part of a forest in Shantou City of south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday has been extinguished after 17 hours of concerted efforts by multiple departments including emergency response, firefighting and public security units.

Villagers living at the foot of Xianglu Mountain were the first to notice the fire erupting on its slopes.

"It looked far away and I thought it was just someone burning garbage," recalled one villager.

Upon discovering the fire, local authorities immediately organized personnel to combat the flames, with mobilization of over 200 rescuers from surrounding areas to assist in the firefighting efforts.

"We were divided into two to three groups, with one conducting regular firefighting and another using water pumps to extinguish the fire," said one rescuer.

Given the rapid spread of the fire, local officials also called in aerial support with helicopters to aid in extinguishing the blaze. Furthermore, many personnel organized by local grassroots departments were actively involved in the firefighting efforts.

By 06:00 on Monday, the wildfire was finally extinguished without causing any casualties. The dry climate in winter increases the risk of forest fire in the region. However, the cause of the forest fire is still under investigation.

Wildfire extinguished in south China's Guangdong after 17 hours of efforts