Wenchang

Wenchang (postal: Mencheong; Chinese: 文昌) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of government of Wenchang is officially known as "Wencheng Town" (文城镇), which is also colloquially referred to as Wenchang City.

History

Wenchang is the source of most overseas Hainanese migrants, with the majority of Singapore's Hainanese population having ancestral roots in Wenchang. Wenchang Hainanese is considered to be the most prestige accent of the Hainanese language and is used by the provincial broadcasting media.

Tianmeidong, a village located in Wenchang, received international attention in 2007 when they changed their name to Tianweiban; officials were unsure how to type the final character of the new name on computers, causing various difficulties for villagers.

It was promoted from a county to a city on November 7, 1995, and had a population of 86,551 in 1999 (estimated 2006: 115,000).