Dongfang, Hainan

Dongfang 东方市
County-level city
Map showing entire Qionghai area within Hainan province
Coordinates: 19°06′N 108°39′E / 19.100°N 108.650°ECoordinates: 19°06′N 108°39′E / 19.100°N 108.650°E
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Hainan
Township-level divisions	8 towns 2 townships
Municipal seat	Basuo
Area
• Total	2,256 km^2 (871 sq mi)
Elevation	11 m (35 ft)
Population
• Total	435,000
• Density	190/km^2 (500/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	572600
Area code(s)	0898
Licence plates	琼D
Website	dongfang.hainan.gov.cn

Dōngfāng (simplified Chinese: 东方; traditional Chinese: 東方; literally: "the East") is one of the seven county-level cities of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Dongfang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. Within this area is the main city, Dongfang City. It is located on the western coast of Hainan Island facing Vietnam across the Gulf of Tonkin, and in 2004 had a population of 435,000.

As all county-level units, Dongfang is administratively divided into township-level units (see the list). The main urban area of Dongfang (i.e., what used to be called "the county seat", when Dongfang was a county) is the town of Basuo.

The former county of Ganen (postal: Kumyan, Kanem or Kamyan) is now part of the city.

Geography and climate

Dongfang has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen Aw).^[1] Monsoonal influences are strong, and the two seasons are the wet season and the dry season (November to April), when very little rainfall occurs. Rainfall is heaviest and most frequent from August to October, when typhoons may strike, and averages an annual total of 961 mm (37.8 in), far lower than much of the island. January through March features the highest relative humidity levels of the year, while May through August is very sunny, consistently averaging above 60% of possible sunshine. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 46% in February to 67% in May, the city receives 2,558 hours of sunshine annually, a level not seen in the southern half of China outside of Tibet. The average low temperature remains above 26.0 °C (78.8 °F) from June to August.

Climate data for Dongfang (1971−2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	23.3 (73.9)	23.7 (74.7)	26.3 (79.3)	29.9 (85.8)	31.9 (89.4)	32.3 (90.1)	32.2 (90)	31.8 (89.2)	31.2 (88.2)	29.5 (85.1)	27.1 (80.8)	24.3 (75.7)	28.6 (83.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	19.0 (66.2)	19.8 (67.6)	22.4 (72.3)	26.2 (79.2)	28.7 (83.7)	29.4 (84.9)	29.3 (84.7)	28.8 (83.8)	27.6 (81.7)	25.8 (78.4)	23.0 (73.4)	20.0 (68)	25.00 (77)
Average low °C (°F)	15.9 (60.6)	17.1 (62.8)	19.6 (67.3)	23.2 (73.8)	25.7 (78.3)	26.8 (80.2)	26.6 (79.9)	26.0 (78.8)	24.7 (76.5)	23.0 (73.4)	19.9 (67.8)	16.9 (62.4)	22.1 (71.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	7.6 (0.299)	14.2 (0.559)	17.4 (0.685)	30.0 (1.181)	88.3 (3.476)	146.8 (5.78)	140.2 (5.52)	176.2 (6.937)	170.9 (6.728)	129.3 (5.091)	26.5 (1.043)	13.9 (0.547)	961.3 (37.846)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.1 mm)	3.6	4.9	5.0	5.5	7.2	7.5	7.8	11.5	13.3	11.5	4.6	3.3	85.7
Average relative humidity (%)	81	83	82	79	77	77	77	80	82	81	77	77	79.4
Mean monthly sunshine hours	179.2	147.6	185.3	213.9	270.6	244.2	263.5	236.1	217.2	211.2	202.2	187.0	2,558
Percent possible sunshine	52	46	50	57	67	62	65	60	59	58	60	55	57.6
Source: China Meteorological Administration

Administrative divisions

Dongfang administers eight towns and two townships:^[2]

Towns:

• Basuo (八所镇)
• Donghe (东河镇)
• Datian (大田镇)
• Gancheng (感城镇)
• Banqiao (板桥镇)
• Sanjia (三家镇)
• Sigeng (四更镇)
• Xinlong (新龙镇)

Townships:

• Tian'an Township (天安乡)
• Jiangbian Township (江边乡)

References

1. Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007). Updated Asian Map of the Köppen climate classification system. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633-1644.
2. 2011年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码：东方市 (in Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 2013-02-18.

External links