For a peek into future, observe province now

Editor's note: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Hainan becoming a province and a special economic zone. In this series, we'll look at the island's achievements in social, economic and cultural development, especially in the sectors of ecological environmental protection, science and technology, agriculture and tourism, as well as its opening-up to the outside world.

It took businessman Yang Chunguo only three hours to complete a corporation registration, from the first step of handing in an application to the final step of opening an official bank account, at Hainan Ecological Software Park in Chengmai, about 60 kilometers from Haikou, the capital of tropical Hainan province.

"It was an unbelievable change from the former monthlong procedure that wore away people's patience," said Yang, vice-president of an agricultural company that is operating at the park, where about 70 percent of the examination procedures have been canceled thanks to a new practice of integrated planning.