Located in the southernmost part of China, Hainan Tropical Ocean University (HTOU) is the only state-owned comprehensive university jointly constructed by Hainan Provincial People’s Government, China National Offshore Oil Corporation and State Oceanic Administration of P. R. C. and Sanya Municipal People’s Government. It is granted as one of the ten “Educational Aid Centers” by Ministry of Education, China, “China-ASEAN Education and Training Center” by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, China, “Regional Research Center of Shanghai Cooperation Organization University” and “China International Youth Center (Hainan)”. HTOU enjoys the priority to establish Postgraduate Education Institution for MTA (Master of Tourism Administration) with the approval of the State Council Academic Degree Committee in the program of “Talent Cultivation Program for National Special Needs”. It serves as a cradle of talents cultivation for south central Hainan and functions as a center for knowledge innovation, social service and culture inheritance. 

Its predecessors were Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Region Normal School established in 1954 by Guangdong Province and Hainan Li and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Teachers’ College established in 1958. After several merges, splits, adjustments and name changes, in 1993, it developed into Qiongzhou College (for post-secondary education), a merger of Hainan Tongza Normal Post-secondary College and Hainan Tongza College of Education. After years of construction and development, it was upgraded and renamed into Qiongzhou University (for undergraduate education) in 2006.