One month after China's southern island province of Hainan launched its island-wide customs closure, officials report strong growth in trade, duty-free shopping, tourism, and investment in the island as the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), the world's largest FTP by area.
On Dec 18, 2025, the entire island, covering more than 30,000 square kilometers, was designated a special customs zone.
Under this two-tiered special customs system, goods and people can move more freely between Hainan and areas beyond China's customs borders, referred to as "the first line," while standard customs controls apply between Hainan and the Chinese mainland, "the second line." Within the island, the circulation of goods and services faces fewer restrictions.
A "second line" port in the provincial capital city of Haikou has expanded to handle the increasing trade volume boosted by the island-wide special customs operations, with local authorities saying that since Dec 18, 2025, about 2,500 to 2,600 trucks have been transporting goods at the port every day.
Smart inspection systems now allow vehicles to clear customs in under two minutes, according to Haikou Customs.
"The number of vehicles, goods and people under customs supervision has increased significantly at the 'first line' ports. All the facilitation measures introduced by customs have already been implemented, and the efficiency of clearance at the 'first line' ports has improved compared with before. At the same time, we have streamlined declaration requirements for goods leaving the island through the 'second-line' ports. Compared with traditional customs declarations, we have reduced declaration items by more than 60 percent, which has greatly cut down the time and content required for enterprises to file declarations," said He Bin, director at Haikou Customs' free trade and special zones department.
Hainan also saw a surge of offshore duty-free shopping in the past month.
From Dec 18 to early January, the number of offshore duty-free shoppers reached 585,000, with total spending amounting to 3.89 billion yuan, up 32.4 percent and 49.6 percent year-on-year, respectively. The figures indicate that the island received an average of 24,000 duty-free shoppers daily, with an average daily spend of 160 million yuan (about 22.96 million U.S. dollars).
The number of duty-free product categories in Hainan has been expanded from 45 to 47, adding products such as musical instruments, pet supplies, digital cameras and drones.
Meanwhile, foreign travelers departing directly from Hainan are newly eligible for duty-free purchases, a change from previous rules.
"Customer traffic has increased compared with before. There are 15 major product categories in total, and some new ones have been added, such as musical instruments and pet supplies. It's very convenient. You can buy and take the items right away. For cosmetics and fragrances, customers can immediately pick up five items on the spot, and after finishing one purchase, they can start another. It's very easy," said Gu Huan, a sales assistant.
In the past month, Hainan's ports have processed 180,000 foreign passenger entries and exits, up 46.5 percent year-on-year. Visa-free entries by foreigners reached 80,000, up 64 percent from the same period last year. Tourism remains the primary purpose for foreign visitors entering Hainan, with the majority coming from Russia, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The customs closure has spurred investment.
Statistics show that from the launch of the island-wide special customs operations to early January, Hainan registered 4,709 new foreign trade enterprises in a 24-day period, equaling the total for an entire quarter in 2024. In the past month, the province has added approximately 22,000 new business entities.
Authorities say infrastructure upgrades are underway to support faster growth and a more complete industrial chain.
Hainan's free trade port sees business, consumption growth after launch of special customs operations
