MILITARY GEOGRAPHY OF HAINAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500080115-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 29, 1999
• Sequence Number: 115
• Publication Date: June 11, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Rel
OEC 1951 31-4'?
U.S. Officials Only
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close to the water.
DATE DISTR. // June
NO. OF PAGES 4
NO. OF ENCLS.
SUPP. TO
REPORT NO.
The area around Hoihox is low and sen y, and back away from the coact It becomea
rolling. The interior' of the island ks mountainous. I have never t'cyeled along
the West coast of the Iisland but 1 usurers tend that !,here the :mountains are very
I do not know the official elevation cf Hoihow, but it must be right at sea level.
Oi. compound x In Hoihow wan ve close to the waterfront, and during very
high tides the water would 3ometines loge up to the hospital steps. Out along
the coast outside of ioihow there is tl bluff 40 or 60 feet high. The highest
points in this whole district are twc volcanic craters v:iiu> i= cc llled the saddle
mountains. They are tjeveral mile:, -,otthvest of Hoihow. I do not, know the
elevations of the cra tern .
~-. Along the cc .L: in the Hoiho..r area th' earth is sandy. Us on the bluff and back
up from ti:= bluff thu earth i:. red a---c somewhat clayey. As you get away from the
coast the: ,....I outcrcnpingr, ''_* rock la?ra) and eventually it gets quite rocky.
Around HcihD-.r the earth in net mach after rains as the water drains off fairly
well. Them. o e =ice Yield:: around. Hoihow where the water is retained, but even
at that the earth do,- not uen marsay
The three -_ve:_s of any imoortancc- on Eairum are the Golden, Kachek and Sanghoe
Rivers. The mouth of the Golden P.ivez is near Hoihow. There are other small rivers
and streams on the island, but none of them are as long or as wide as the three
major ones. The rive-.; have cut chanreie into the surface of the land and it is
sometimes difficult tcI6ee them from a distance. During the rain' season, however,
the water ucu/aily spreads out over tl~e banks of the rivers and can easily be
seen. This is particularly true of the Golden River. Some of the smaller streams
get very low during the d---y season, b ~~{t there is always water in the three larger
Jf rive: boat traffic on the Golden River, and the
rivers. There is quite a lot
Kachek River has been need for floating legs down out of the mountains.
U.S. Officipls Only
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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Most of the area along the coast in the Hoihow region .s cultivated. Rice,
(two rice rope per year) millet, and sugar cane are the main crops. Up from the
coas?~, around Limko, sugar cane and indigo are grown. Some cotton is also grown,
but there is very little. Up away from the coast there is grazing land, some of
which 1s vacant. Some of the land on the upland plains could be used for dry
farming, in fact, when we saw quite a few Pieces of heavy farming equipment in
Hoihow see 00-B ] we thought
perhaps was to be used for dry farming in this area. Much of the land in
the upland plains shove evidences of having been farmed at one time as it is
terraced, but it has now gone tack to grass. It has not been under cultivation
v. In the lava rock area nearly all the f'-elds are surrounded by stone walls.
Where there arm no walls rnny of the fields are surrounded by cactus and Pendanus
(wild pineapple). Pandanus has sharp edges and lots of thorns and it Takes a
good hedge. It-could make an impenetrable hedge. Rice fields are not enclosed --
the fields are separated by paths. During the winter many of the riot fields are
practially dry and it would be possible to walk through them.
9. There are no actual irrigation canals that I know of on Hainan but there are a
number of drainage ditches here and there.
10. The copulation of Hainan has been estimated at about two million, and I do not
know the population of Hoihow, but there are many people in that area.. There has
been quite an influx of people into Hainan since the Communists took over. Many
northern soldiers have caw in -- - estimated that 300 thousand soldiery had
acme into Hainan, but I do not know on what he based this. I have seen as many
as one thousand troops ma=ch by at a time in Hoihov. In addi-oa to the soldiers
who have come in many Chinese have returned to Hainan from the south seas. I
could not estimate the number of civilians who have retuned,
11. I have never been into the mount+icou,' interior of Hainan, but I have been in the
"foothill" areas. I cannot f+,ve any elevations, but. the elopes in the foothills
are generally gentle, and they are rounded for the moat part. Some of the mountains
i have seen from Nodoa, in northwertern Hainan, are sharp. Seine are covered with
forests and some with grass. Some of the foothills a'e w:ld land. I doubt whether
there are any nattls running wild in the hills as they do in the US. As far as
I know there are no roads through the hills, but I believe there are trails.
People in this area live in villages and not on individual farms. Most of the
villages are snail. The aboriginal Miao people live on the mountain rides,
probably in villages, and the Lni tribes live in the valleys.
12. I have no details on the elevat=ans or decrees of slope, etc, of the mountains on
Hainan. Most of the mountains are tree covered. Oc the eautern side of the island
where the Mien trlbts ore fcund tome of the eountalnv are covered with tall grass
(~,~;.LAs;?..hi ph or higher) which i. .:zci e t r.e1vel.y in making thatched roofs.
13. I have not hears vret`:rr thy: Ccm`n.in_e.s have done any logging in the mountains,
but before they cane in :mall-scale logging operations were carried on. The logs
warm cn , in Qt- wo tntalas and floated down the rivers to the coast. Mort of the
wool In ha '_'cr=tsts of ?tinan i.. ia:dvn,,d.
14. I know ?_. ,nov the r.:l :n?ra on, halnar,_ I urde_?stand that on the mountains
the t? mper4.ure oe:s down ,hr: freeoIng 1 )(Ant occasionally during the winter,
but. on the p!. -,s Inc temperature rar+.y pcee bel'v 400. In Ke.ch-k the temperature
went down t:; - one !ay 19Lt2bu?, t.bat was extreme.
15. As 1_'ar as I know the tt?s.naporat on roul?e: in the mountains consist of trails only,
and I doubt whether there are any tunnels.
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16. The main vegetation in the: Hoihow area is cultivated cope - rice pfiWarl-ly.
17. The trees on Hainan do not have a chance to grow very tall because they are cut
down for firewood. (Fuel is a tremendous problem for the Hainanese people). Most
of the trees are green the greater part of the year, and very few of them lose their
leaves. Wherever there in a village on Hainan there are trees, partioularly around
temples and schools. The trees around these public places are less likely to be
cut dcwn for firewood, but other trees are frequently cut down for this purpose.
There are scrub bamboo thickets along the edged of fields or villages, or or
elevations in the middle of fields, eta. These trcer grown in clumps. The
Hainanese rarely cut u?;.een bamboo, but they wait until the bamboo dies and then
cut it. The first branches of the trees on Hainan are usually fairly high, but
they vx.ry. The oru.y conifers I sew on the island were some pine trees toward the
interior. Their branches were quite high (the lower one had presumably been cut
for firewood).
18. The grass on Raina?i is high only in the mountains. In the urlande it is ankle-high
or knee-high.
19. There may be areas of jungle growth ir. the mountains which are so dense that th.?e
would be difficult to get through, and I )elleve it r wild be difficult fa, anyone
to get through patches of scrub bamboo and wild pineapple in the lower areas. These
trees (scrub bamboo and wild pineapple) grow along river banks, on road banks, along
ridges, etc.
20. It would be difficult for anyone to hive in the mountain vegetation but it vould
probably to possible to hide for short periods of time in hedges of wild pineapple
and scrub bamboc in the lover areas. it would be difficult to get through t=em,
and if one stayed. in them for very long they wot__d be found out by dogs, hogs, and
other animals.
21. The main rivers on Hainan are quite deep, but a typical depth for the smaller rivers
and tributarles would be about eight or ten feat. I doubt whether many Of the
tributaries are much more :hap 30 feet wide. It is necessary to have either bridges
or ferries to cross most of the rivers and at-ears. Most of the bridges are wooden.
VL_? ab,eame are fairly rapid, but they ere not so swift that one could not wade
through them (when they are low). Up in the contains where the streams are shallow
it would t?/ possible to wade across.
ab:eams. There are small islands or sand bars which appear in many of the streams
when they arc low, but they disappear during high or periods. During the dry
season the water goes down very erarhedly. It gets so low during this period that
it might be possible to f,-rd u ee.c of th.: streams. ur. in moot cases this wcuild not
be necessary since thbiri d; :e br.tdge[ , ,..-,se them.
.i s_ . o... yp I
a
month. 'there ie a misty drizzle ~n January and February which often lasts for several
days at a time. A considerable amount of moisture falls during these months -- more
than one realize;,. In Ap:.i1 and May there `frequently is no rainfall at all. During
these months the grazes gets brown and there . dust Lr. t'..e air.
but th- re are :.twere in Juno which increase in is. * -_.r.sity until September or c when there are reel downpours. The rains are uc,.a.ly over by the end of October.
siona' hoops in November but as a rule November is a very pleasant
T'^
25. hainan har+ a subtropicn_ climate. I do not know what the total rainfall is per year,
otr~
centamt a.e-?'. _r. i:vc:h a way that it IS harmful when It cis in contact with the
human body.
e e em'' as a .ra. 1 one v_ie righ': a! the source of the stream it would probably
be safe to :rink the water', hewevrr. As far as I know the water in the streams is not
23.' I know of r.o. lakes on Hainan blind. There ar^ wall ponds here and there, but to
my knowIC .n .., _re r.re no lakes.
24 The w, te:- i- the at!-mama is probably not safe to d,ink, because :last of the streams
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26. The sky over Hainan is usually clear, except during January and February. I
have known times when the sun has not been seen for six weeks duriug these months,
but this is unusual.
27. Except for the -Tinter months the wins in the Hoihow area are south, southeasterly
or southwesterly, more or less constantly. During the winter there are cold north
and northwest winds. The air around Hoihow is too moist to have much dust, and
there is rarely so much that the whole atmosphere is hazy.
28. There is never any snow in the Hoihow area, nor anywhere on Hainan that I know of.
Duri- the winter there is often a misty rain, but there is hardly ever a general
fog. When the fog does come it is sort of a ground fog and it is difficult to
see through it. It usually burns off by afteri:jor_ in the Hoihow area. Visibility
in the misty rain is fair.
29. Tie average temperature in the Hoihow area is about 50?F during the winter. It does
go down to 400 or 450 for a day or two, but it rarely gets lower. In the summer it
S:~esto about 100? occasionally, but the average summer temperature in 80? to 85?.
There is usually a breeze, however, sc the heat is not unbearable. The. rivers and
streams do not freeze during the winter. Things get frosted occasionally, but
nothing ever actually freezes.
30. I have ne"er heard of a landslide on Hainan, and there are no active volcanoes
there. There are no real earthquakes, although there are occasional tremors.
During the 23 years I spent on Hainan I remember only three tremors, and they were
at different seasons of the year.
31. I know of no military action which has taken place on Hainan since the Communists
took over.
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