The number of centenarians in China's southern most island province of Hainan has reached at least 319,including 213 females, recent statistics show.
The figure does not include the centenarians in three counties populated by ethnic minorities, where some elderly persons are not sure of their birthdays.
Of the 319 centenarians, 83 were born in the 19th century. One woman, born in 1884, who died recently, is the oldest person on record in Hainan Province.
Most of these elderly people have mild dispositions and live in poor but harmonious families.
(People's Daily August 27, 2002)
