For a peek into future, observe province now

Editor's note: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Hainan becoming a province and a special economic zone. In this series, we'll look at the island's achievements in social, economic and cultural development, especially in the sectors of ecological environmental protection, science and technology, agriculture and tourism, as well as its opening-up to the outside world.

It took businessman Yang Chunguo only three hours to complete a corporation registration, from the first step of handing in an application to the final step of opening an official bank account, at Hainan Ecological Software Park in Chengmai, about 60 kilometers from Haikou, the capital of tropical Hainan province.

"It was an unbelievable change from the former monthlong procedure that wore away people's patience," said Yang, vice-president of an agricultural company that is operating at the park, where about 70 percent of the examination procedures have been canceled thanks to a new practice of integrated planning.

A project can skip certain procedures, such as project approval and environmental assessment, if it fits the park's general development plan. With one-stop services, integrated planning has been convenient for enterprises in the park, an internet industry cluster which has attracted 2,500 companies from around the world, including Microsoft Corp, Baidu Inc and Huawei Technologies Co, since it was launched in 2009, according to the park's management.

Hainan, the country's youngest province and only provincial special economic zone that welcomes its 30th anniversary this month, created a model of scientific planning and development with Chinese socialist characteristics beginning in 2015 through piloting "integrated comprehensive planning" to promote reform of institutional mechanisms.

Designated by the central government as a provincial demonstration base for the reform, Hainan is promoting new development concepts that highlight creativeness, good coordination, green growth, opening-up and sharing of resources, which has effectively stimulated its economic vitality and put the province on track for fast growth.

The Comprehensive Plan of Hainan (2015-30), a blueprint for overall development and ecological environmental protection that won approval from the State Council, China's Cabinet, late last year, will guide the island province to develop as a whole entity, said officials with the Hainan Provincial Planning Commission－which is the country's only such provincial organ to fully engage in preparing, managing and supervising overall geographical planning. It was launched in June 2017.

The comprehensive plan coordinates Hainan's six such plans－the plan for main government functional areas, the plan for ecological system protection control lines, the plan for urban and town development boundaries, the general plan for land utilization, the plan for forest protection and utilization and the plan for ocean functional areas.