Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is a part of Qinghai Province, with its capital in Gonghe County. It is one of the eight prefecture-level administrative regions of Qinghai Province. It borders Haidong City and Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the east, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the west, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the south, and Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture across Qinghai Lake in the north. It is a typical plateau continental climate. With a total area of 44,500 square kilometers, the prefecture has jurisdiction over 5 counties. According to the seventh National Census, the permanent population of Hainan Prefecture was 446,996 as of 0900 GMT on November 1, 2020.

Within the territory of the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, the mountains are fluctuating, the rivers are rolling, the forests are dense and the tourist resources are relatively rich. The main scenic spots and natural landscapes include: Qinghai Lake, Riyue Mountain, Daotang River, Longyangxia Hydropower Station, Heyin Town, sacred Mountain ancient temple Saizong Temple, Fuyi Ancient City, Tongde Hebei Forest Farm and Zhihai Snow Mountain, etc. Within the territory of the 109 national road line, 214 line, provincial road Xijiu line as the backbone, state, county local roads as the context of the "four horizontal", "three vertical" road network.
In 2019, the GDP of the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture reached 17.466 billion yuan, an increase of 7.1 percent over the previous year.