The official geopark profile describes a 108-square-kilometre area south of Haikou, with around forty volcanoes. Cones and craters give the terrain its visible structure, while lava and pyroclastic rock preserve different materials produced by volcanic activity. These are not interchangeable scenic labels: each points to a process and a kind of evidence in the ground. The park’s value lies in interpreting this landscape as geology, not simply as a green backdrop. A careful visit begins by asking what shape is being viewed, what material is exposed and how the park explains the formation.
From the journal
Reading Lava on Haikou’s Edge
The geopark interprets cones, craters, lava and tunnels as evidence of volcanic processes in northern Hainan.
In the same city · Haikou ↗A landscape made of volcanic forms
The hidden route of lava
Lava tunnels extend the story from surface to interior. The park profile includes tunnels among its notable geological features, which gives visitors a way to imagine molten material moving and cooling below ground. The tunnel is a record of movement: a channel can remain after surrounding lava solidifies and drains away. The park lists lava tunnels alongside cones, craters, lava and pyroclastic rock, carrying the geological story from exposed surface forms into the subsurface landscape.
Interpretation alongside terrain
A geological park needs more than a viewpoint. The Haikou profile notes a science museum, creating an interpretive counterpart to the outdoor terrain. The science museum offers an indoor counterpart to the terrain. A cone or rock surface outdoors can be read alongside an explanation of the volcanic processes that shaped northern Hainan.
Let the evidence set the scale
Cones, craters, lava, pyroclastic rock and tunnels give the geopark a clear geological vocabulary. Follow those forms across the terrain, and northern Hainan’s volcanic history comes into view without the need for a superlative.