| Summary: | Hainan Island, located at the southeast edge of the Eurasian Plate, is affected by the motion of multiple plates, with its northeast edge mainly dilatating and its western margin presently compressing. By analyzing the GPS rates during 1999 – 2007 in Hainan and its adjacent region, we determined horizontal movement rates of 3. 0–21. 1 mm/a at the west of 104°E, evidently affected by the Indian Plate extrusion. Their directions are SE-SN-SW from east to west and are separated by the main fault. The principal strains have the same characteristics. The stations east of 104°E move mainly in the SEE direction. The eastward rates are 2. 1–8. 5 mm/a and northward rates are 0. 4–2. 7 mm/a. The GPS rates during 2009–2013 show that stations at the edge of the island move SEE relative to the Eurasian Plate, with rates relative to the mean benchmark, indicating that there are small relative movements between stations, whereas QION station, located in the middle, moves in the NW direction at a greater rate. Vertical differential movement is apparent in the northeast zone of the island. Upwelling of mantle plume material possibly influences the local stress. Three-dimensional GPS rates indicate that, at present, inherited crustal movement is dominant in Hainan.
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