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How did Hainan Island become separated from southern China geologically?
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Hainan
Beach on Wuzhizhou Island, far southern Hainan province, China.
Hainan Island was geologically connected to the southern Chinese mainland until a rift formed the Hainan Strait. This separation occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, a period spanning approximately 23 to 2.6 million years ago.1