Which park for which business
Use this as a shortlist, not a final answer. Your licence scope, customers and staffing plan decide the rest.
You trade physical goods or bring goods into China
Start with Yangpu or the Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Yangpu piloted Hainan's "first line open, second line controlled" customs model and the 30% value-added tariff rule before both were extended island-wide.[6][7] Read our import and export guide to the 30% rule.
You run software, games, data or digital services
Compare Hainan Resort Software Community and Haikou Fullsing. The Resort Software Community runs Hainan's first fast-track channel for outbound direct investment (ODI) filings, which can take as little as six working days.[7] Fullsing focuses on digital trade and cross-border data.[6]
You are in healthcare, pharma or medical devices
Boao Lecheng offers simplified approval for urgently needed imported drugs and devices, allows medical institutions to run clinical trials, and hosts China's real-world clinical data pilot.[6] For manufacturing, the Haikou National Hi-Tech Zone has dedicated pharma parks and links with Lecheng.[6]
You want a regional headquarters, holding company or finance vehicle
Compare Haikou Jiangdong New Area and Sanya CBD. Both list the headquarters economy as a lead industry. Jiangdong offers headquarters-recognition rewards, and Sanya CBD explicitly targets international accounting, law and consulting firms.[6]
You work in deep-sea tech, seed breeding or aerospace
Sanya Yazhou Bay covers deep-sea technology and seed breeding. Wenchang covers commercial space; the NDRC reports more than 700 aerospace companies there.[7] See our guides to Yazhou Bay office space and aerospace company registration.
You run education or training
Lingshui Li'an is built around Sino-foreign university cooperation and education services.[6]
You manufacture heavy, marine or building products
Compare Dongfang Lingang (petrochemicals, offshore wind equipment) and Lingao Golden Port (prefabricated buildings, yachts, grain and oil). Lingao offers an agency service covering 56 approval steps on the company's behalf.[6]
You only need a consulting or trading company with no goods and a small team
The park choice matters less than a compliant address and real operations. Read the registered-address section below first.
What customs closure changed in December 2025
Hainan launched island-wide special customs operations on 18 December 2025.[7] For foreign companies, the main changes are:
- More zero-tariff goods. About 6,600 tariff lines (74% of all lines) now qualify, up from about 1,900 (21%). Eligibility also expanded from independent legal entities to a wider range of enterprises and institutions.[7]
- The 30% value-added rule covers the whole island. Goods processed in Hainan that add 30% or more in value can enter the mainland free of import duty. Companies on the customs dishonest-entity list are excluded. Two refinements apply: value added by upstream and downstream companies can be combined, and Hainan-made inputs are not counted as imported material cost.[7]
- First line and second line. The "first line" is Hainan's border with the rest of the world, with 8 open ports. The "second line" is the link with mainland China, with 10 second-line ports such as Haikou Xinhai Port and Nangang.[7]
If your company sells services only, customs closure has limited direct effect on you. Your main issues are tax eligibility and substantive operations. Related: customs closure, zero tariffs and EF accounts and customs closure data.
The 15% tax rate: industry and substance, not location
The reduced 15% corporate income tax rate applies from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2027 to encouraged-industry companies registered in the Hainan Free Trade Port that operate substantively there.[2] To qualify:
- Income from the business listed in the encouraged-industry catalogue must make up at least 60% of total revenue.
- The company must actually manage and control its operations, staff, accounts and assets in Hainan.[2]
Registering in a key park does not by itself give you the 15% rate, and some park profiles mention it only as an island-wide policy.[6] We can assess whether your business is likely to qualify and support the application. Whether you qualify depends on your facts and the tax authority's review.
Try the free Hainan 15% tax self-check, then read the 15% rate in detail and what substantive operation means in practice.
Registered address: what changed in 2025–2026
Many older guides say Hainan parks provide a free registered address. Check before you rely on that.
- Provincial rules (effective 1 November 2025). Addresses are registered against a standard address database under a self-declaration system. You are responsible for the address being real, lawful and usable. Parks may designate shared-office zones where several companies register at one address, but those zones must contain real workstations and offices.[3]
- Address trusteeship (effective 1 December 2025). Companies in certain lines of business can register at an address held by a licensed law firm, accounting firm, tax firm or business-secretary company. Those lines include online sales, trade brokerage, software and IT services, R&D, design, consulting and business agency. If the trustee cannot reach the company, the company can be placed on the abnormal-operations list.[4]
- A park example. In August 2026 the Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone announced it would no longer provide registered addresses free of charge. Companies now lease a workstation or office through the park's property managers and upload the lease during registration.[5]
In practice you will use one of three options: a leased office, a workstation in a park's designated shared-office zone, or a trustee address if your business scope allows it. Which one fits also affects how you show substantive operations for the 15% rate.
What we see in Sanya. In the Sanya registrations we handle, both routes are available: an address in a designated shared-office zone, or a leased office used as the registered address. Which one suits you depends on your business scope and how you plan to show substantive operations.
Cost and timeline
Our indicative company-setup packages are listed on our pricing page. Ongoing bookkeeping and tax filing typically costs RMB 500–1,200 per month, depending on transaction volume and taxpayer status. Rent, workstation fees, deposits and government charges depend on the park and are quoted separately. For a fuller breakdown, see Hainan company registration cost.
Typical timeline in our Sanya cases, once documents are complete:
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Business registration (business licence, including name check, document preparation and filing) | About 1 week (the licence itself can be issued in as little as 1–3 working days after formal acceptance) |
| Tax registration and corporate bank account | About 1 more week |
| From starting registration to normal operations (issuing invoices, receiving and making payments, signing contracts) | About 20 days |
These are typical durations from our own cases, not official deadlines. Foreign-shareholder document legalisation, bank review and your industry can lengthen them.