According to a gazetteer published in 1943, the island at that time still preserved a pristine natural appearance. It had a forest cover of 50 percent and over 4,000 species of plants, including one-fifth of all China's medicinal varieties.
據「海南島志」記載，到一九四三年，島上還保存著鬱鬱蔥蔥的原始自然之貌，森林覆蓋率達百分之五十；植物種類有四千多種，尤多藥用植物，佔全國藥用樹種的五分之一。