China's southern province of Hainan will start building a scenic highway around the island in the first half of 2019 to boost tourism, according to the provincial transport department.

Linking 12 cities and counties in Hainan, the main line of the highway will stretch 1,040 kilometers and will be built with consideration for plants and cultural landscapes protection. The highway will provide tourists with ocean views on about one-fifth of the dual-lane highway, along which a total of 46 tourism stations to be built, according to the construction plan.

The highway is also to be constructed with a series of high-tech means, such as 5G technology, GPS positioning and big data, to realize the aim of building a modern and "smart" road with intelligent management and real-time monitoring.

The construction of the highway will help Hainan build a sightseeing belt around the island to further boost local tourism development, according to the plan.

Overseas tourists' arrival to Hainan Province has reached about 1.1 million in the first 11 months of the year, up 12.6 percent year-on-year, reaching a historical peak, according to the provincial tourism department. The province aims to attract two million overseas tourists by 2020, according to a three-year action plan.