HAIKOU /China/, December 25. /TASS/. A school and an office building in the Jiangdong New Area of Haikou city (the administrative center of Hainan province) have received awards at the Dezeen Awards China architectural prize organized by the online architecture magazine Dezeen, the event's official website said.

The Dezeen Awards architecture prize is held annually. The Dezeen Awards China was held in 2023, with only China-based architecture firms, design and interior design studios eligible to participate. The award includes seven nominations in architecture, six in interior decoration, and four in design.

The seven architecture categories include Civil Architecture Project of the Year, Residential Project of the Year, Cultural Project of the Year, as well as Office Project of the Year, Heritage Project of the Year, Mixed Use Architecture Project of the Year and Hospitality Project of the Year. The winners in each category were automatically nominated for the title of Architectural Project of the Year.

According to the organizers, the Civil Architecture Project of the Year was awared to Haikou Jiangdong Huandao Experimental School. The educational institution was also recognized by the judges as the best architectural project of the year. The school was designed by Beijing-based architecture firm Trace Architecture Office (TAO). As the judges noted, Haikou Jiangdong Huandao Experimental School is different from the traditional architecture of educational institutions in China.

In turn, the Hainan Energy Trading Building located in Jiangdong Area won the Office Project of the Year category.

New Jiangdong Area

In June 2018, the Hainan administration announced the establishment of the new Jiangdong New Area Development Zone near Meilan International Airport in Haikou City. Its area exceeds 298 square kilometers.

In June 2020, Jiangdong was listed as one of the 11 key innovation economic development zones of the Hainan Free Trade Port, hosting the province's most important strategic projects. Among the objectives of this innovation site are the development of advanced services in civil aviation, financial services, tourism, science and technology, urbanized agriculture facilities and e-commerce.

On June 1, 2020, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council of the People's Republic of China published a program for the formation of a free trade port in Hainan. The document provides for the creation of a special customs zone on this tropical island. The PRC authorities plan to complete the construction of a free port on the territory of the province in 2025, when the system of free trade and investment should be built on the island. By 2035, Hainan plans to ensure freedom of trade and investment, cross-border capital movement, entry and exit of people, and cargo transportation.