Hainan Island's geography is unique in two ways: 1) It is detached from the mainland of China and faces The People's Republic of China of which it is a part of across the sea; 2) Hainan Island is populated by more than 30 ethnic minorities that include the Han, Li, Miao, Hui, Tibetan, Yi, Zhuang, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Thai, Wa, She, Shui, Jin, Tu,Mongol, Buyi, Korean, Tujia, Hani, Lisu, Gaoshan,Xibe, Mamba, Naxi, Mulam, Kazakhstan, and Oroqen. Dozens of languages are spoken on the island, thus presenting acommunication challenge between residents of different cities, counties, prefectures, towns, as well as villages. The language issue was the primary reason that the China Division had waited until 1932 -- a full thirty-year after the entry of the Three-angels'Messages into China Mainland -- before sending its first two ministers,Hu Decun (胡德纯)and Cao Rongji(曹荣基)tobegin working in Haikouand establishingthe Hainan Mission, a constituent of the South China Union Conference. The Hainan Mission leasedits office space and a hall of worship from a local clan association that was located at YongLeStreet (now Liberation Road) in Haikou City. There were more than 10 founding believers in Haikou. At the same time, an Adventist primary school with about 30 students was established and administered by Zhong Huibo (钟惠波). Starting1935, the Hainan Mission had been sendingits students, namely, Hu Wenbing (胡文炳), Hu Wenxin (胡文馨), Xu Hongshen (许鸿深), and Lin Guohua (林 国华)to the "San Yu Research Instituteof Southern China (华南三育研究社)" to study theology. When Japan invaded Haikou in 1939, the HaikouAdventist Church and itsaffiliatedprimary school had to halt their operation. Subsequently, Pastors Hu Decun and Cao Rongji had to leave Haikou forDanzhouCityand began work there. In Danzhou, they purchased a large retail shop building to serve as themeeting hall and there were 20-30 followers attending the weekly service. After the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the China Division sent Pastor Xu Zhuopeng (徐卓鹏)to revivethe Adventist work at Haikou. In 1946, the property at No. 127 Zhendong Street, Haikou City was purchased and the Hainan Mission office was established there. Prior to Pastor Xu Zhuopeng's arrival in Haikou in1945, the early work of Pastors Hu Decun and Cao Rongji had resulted in several local Adventist assemblies and churches being organized under supervision of the Hainan Mission: Haikou Church, Hepu Church (of Guangxi Province), Danzhou Church, Maihou Church, Jiaji Church, Wanning Church, with a combined total district membership of 142 believers.
In 1949, the Haikou Church had established its affiliated "Community Welfare Medical Clinic", later renamed as the "Haikou Welfare Maternity Hospital", with Liang Zhongmin (梁中民)as the director and Lin Ruiluan (林瑞鸾)as associate midwife.
In the early years after the communist Liberation of China (1949), Hainan Mission counted only 120 believers. The membership continued to decline in subsequent years and with no new converts added to the fold, the mission teachers and ministers had to seek alternate employments outside of the church organization and the Hainan Mission went into disarray and paralysis.
In 1961, the Hainan Adventist mission, churches, and believers throughout the cities and counties of Hainan Island had merged with their corresponding city and county Sunday church gatherings.
During the 1978 Reform and Opening Upof China, freedom of religious belief was restored to Hainanprovince. Unfortunately, the absence of an Adventist organizational identity coupled with the non-presence of an official SDA church pastor to take charge of the Adventist interest in Hainan, the Danzhou Adventist Church was assigned by the government's religious affairs department to thecity'sChristian "Two Sessions (两会)" organization. At about the same time,the Haikou City Adventist Church building was sold by the "Two Sessions (两会)" organization to the Catholic Church at a steeply discounted price of 30,000 Chinese Yuan. This Adventist churchstands as the Catholic "Sacred Heart Church"in Haikoutoday.
The Hainan Mission Organization
President: Xu Zhuopeng (徐卓鹏)
Executive Committee: Xu Zhuopeng(徐卓鹏), Lin Guohua (林国华), Shen Lijian (冼履坚), ChenLibin (陈礼彬), Wang Deshan (王德山).
Treasurer: Hu Wenyan (胡文彦)
Director - Literature Ministry Department: Deng Daoren (邓道仁)
Director - Family Ministry Department: Lin Guohua (林国华)
Director - Sabbath School Department: Wang Deshan (王德山)
Note: Based on the author's knowledge WangDeshan (王德山)is over90 years of ageand is living in Macao, and Hu Wenyan (胡文彦)could be living in Hong Kong.
Historical information about the early HainanMission can only be found in the history of religion in governmentarchives; other sources contain little or no mention of early Adventist work in Hainan province at all.
The year 2002 was the centennial and the 70th anniversary of The Three Angels' Messages reaching into Chinaand theHainan Island,respectively. In October of that year,strongly encouraged by PastorsZheng Shaorong (郑邵荣), Jiao Hongzhi (焦洪志),and Liang Jinxiong (梁勁]雄) Elder Zhao Chunhua (赵春华)of Haikou had raised 20,000 Yuanby himself for church expansion and planting workin Haikouand beyond. Starting with the Haikou Seventh-day AdventistChurch, a total of 13 local churches and assemblies had been organized. They were:Sanya City, Wenchang City, QionghaiCity, DanzhouCity, Xiqing Farm, Bayi Farm, Qiongzhong County, Hongmao Town, Xinwei Farm, Zongjian Farmin Tunchang County, Leshan Village in Wanning City, and Lingao County.
An Update of the Hainan Mission Church Expansion and Planting Work
The congregation in Haikou City Adventist Church had obtained from the mayor and the public religious affairs department approval and transfer right of a 5-acre reserve land grant to build a church.
Hongmao Town in Qiongzhong Countyhad purchased a 365-square-meter building as their church meeting place in 2008.
Wanning City is preparing to purchase a building in the city to be used as a church.
In the Hainan Island satellite launching base-- a new satellite town in the planning stage-- within Wenchang City, fellow believer Xu Wenye (许文晔)is ready to dedicate half an acre of land out of his 5-acre homestead to build the church.
The gospel work in Sanya City has been active for exactly two years to date, and the 30 plus believers are meeting in a family home that is small and congested. They need a larger meeting place urgently.
The Hainan Island province has a baptized Seventh-day Adventist membership of 146 believers of which six are transferred members from other mainland Chinese provincial churches.
In addition, there are 42 active Adventists in the Lord's service at Haikou City. They maintain membership affiliation with their mainland home churches.
Therefore, the total number of active and good standing Adventists in the Hainan Island province now stands as 188 baptized Seventh-day Adventist believers.
Translated by Swee-Gin Leong