Hainan, the second largest island off China's mainland, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as one of the country's 34 provincial level administrative regions and the largest special economic zone (SEZ).

Covering 35,400 square km, Hainan was once considered a piece of self-enclosed, underdeveloped land. For many years, even after the founding of New China in 1949, agriculture remained the predominant industry that sustained sluggish local economic growth, and the living standard of local residents was well below that of most other regions. In the wake of the island being granted its current status in 1988, profound changes have taken place. Since then, the province has seen its economy multiply 15 folds, totaling 122.96 billion yuan ($17.8 billion) last year. A diverse array of industries has taken root almost from scratch, including manufacturing, petrochemicals, steel, information technology and services. The income of local citizens, meanwhile, has improved significantly, growing at an annual rate of 12.3 percent to match that of the medium-range income regions with an average disposable income of 10,997 yuan ($1,753) in 2007, up from 982 yuan ($140) back in 1987.

Apart from the material wealth and prosperity, the past two decades also saw Hainan increasingly embrace the outside world with its closer economic integration and the intense development of local logistics and infrastructures. This not only has further fueled local economic takeoff, but also brought in advanced experience, institutions and innovative thinking from the outside that may be put to use to broaden the vision of the local people, emancipate their minds, and help maintain more rationalized and healthier macro-development on the island.

In one way, the success stories of Hainan can be attributed to the wise decision of the Central Government to make the island a SEZ at the provincial level in 1988. But in essence, Hainan owes its rapid rise to a major policy shift made 10 years earlier, when the ruling Communist Party of China decided at one of its landmark sessions to adopt reforms and opening-up programs nationwide. As part of the overall reforms package, SEZs were set up in the subsequent years along the coastal regions as the piloting ground for reforming and opening up, based on which preferential and flexible policies were implemented to attract investment, technology and stimulate growth. Many of these SEZs, like Hainan itself, have displayed long-lasting vigor and vitality boosting local development, powering the national economy, and pushing China's modernization drives. They also have set up solid examples to show how well the market economy system works in socialist China.

People at 20 are probably at their most vigorous. They have yet to reach their full height, strength and maturity, and more opportunities may lie before them. So it is for Hainan also entering its prime since its birth 20 years ago.