An aerial view of the Wuzhi Mountain, one of Hainan's landmarks. [Photo provided to en.hainan.gov.cn]

Hainan Island features a dome-shaped topography, with low-lying areas along the coast and elevated terrain in the center. The central highlands, dominated by the Wuzhi Mountain and Yinggeling Mountain, serve as the island's uplift core. The land gradually descends outward in a concentric, terraced structure composed of mountains, hills, plateaus and plains, forming a clearly layered landscape.

Mountains and hills are the dominant landforms on Hainan Island, covering approximately 38.7 percent of its total area. The mountainous regions are mainly located in the south-central part of the island, interspersed with hilly basins. Hills are primarily found in inland areas as well as in the northwest and southwest. Surrounding the mountainous and hilly regions are plateaus and terraces of varying widths, which together account for 49.5 percent of the island's total area. Coastal plains, encircling the island, make up about 11.2 percent of the land.

The island's coastline features a variety of formations, including marine erosion and accumulation coasts formed on volcanic basalt platforms, small bays shaped by drowned valleys and depositional landforms like marine terraces surrounded by sandy ridges. The coastal ecology is characterized by tropical mangrove forests and coral reef coastlines.