This Day, That Year

Item from May 13, 1990, in China Daily: Macun Electric Power Plant's second generating unit is under installation in Hainan province. Formerly a sleepy island off the southern tip of China, Hainan is becoming a mecca for foreign investors.

A provincial official said this is the result of the preferential economic policies given to the island by the central government, by the island's rich natural resources and by potential markets ... Hainan plans to catch up with the standard of the average national economic development stage in three to five years by further opening to the outside world while improving its investment conditions.

The State Council has earmarked Hainan province to become an international tourist destination by 2020.