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Sanya is the southernmost city in Hainan province, China. It has an area of 1919.6 square km and a population of 536,000 (2006). After Haikou, it is the second most populous city of the island. Sanya is revered for its tropical climate and is a popular tourist destination.
It has beaches and modern hotels and is being touted as a "Chinese Hawaii".
You meet European tourists there and see a lot of Russian on shop signs; Sanya is a popular escape from Russian winters. There are also many Chinese tourists. During the Chinese New Year in February it is quite busy and expensive. Fireworks are heard around the clock during that time.
There are four main areas in Sanya. Sanya Bay, Sanya city, Dadonghai, and Yalong Bay. Sanya Bay is a 30 km plus stretch of beach with many resorts, seafood restaurants, and some budget hotels. Sanya city is the downtown area. Dadonghai, east of the city, has a lot of budget hotels and restaurants, as well as a nice boardwalk on the beach. Yalong Bay is full of beautiful but pricey resorts.
Tourism
In the last few years Sanya developed to become a get away from Hong Kong and a relaxing place for extending a holiday with a long trip back home. The first international Resort hotel was opened and managed by Swiss hotelier N.C. Solari in 1999, in the beautiful location of Yalong Bay.
Nowadays, several international hotel chains have established in what is becoming a world-known destination, especially since the famous beauty pageant Miss World took place there.
It all started with another resort this time in Sanya Bay, the Palm Beach Resort & Spa who welcomed the first Miss China beauty pageant in modern times. The relation created, brought the organizer Miss Julia Morley to decide for Sanya to welcome the international pageant the following year.
Attractions
* Cape Tian-Ya-Hai-Jiao: The end of sea and sky
* Lu Hui Tou Deer turns it's head a large stone statue above sanya harbour telling the story of a hunter pursuing a deer to an isolated headland in the sea. when the deer couldn't escape it turned to look at the hunter and became a beautiful woman, the hunter couldn't kill her and instead fell in love with her. Luhuitou is a place for lovers many people leave a padlock on a chain at the top of the mountain in the hope that their love will last as the lock remains there.
* Yalong, Dadonghai (big east sea), Sanya, Haitang, and Yazhou are the five major bays in Sanya.
* Wuzhizhou Island
* The Tiger and Croccodile centre
Transportation
The city is served by Sanya Phoenix International Airport which is called Sanya Fenghuang International Airport. Buses from other parts of the island serve Sanya's bus terminal, 1 or 2 yuan per journey around the city and plenty of taxis also serve residents and tourists alike. 20-40 Yuan
Trivia
The city will be the first Chinese city (excluding Special Administrative Regions) to receive the Olympic torch after its departure from Beijing, in the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing. In addition, the city has hosted the:
* Miss World contest in 2003, 2004 2005 and 2007
* Mister World 2007 contest
* World's Strongest Man contest in 2006.
Get in
By plane
Sanya has an airport with flights to nearby Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Zhuhai or Hong Kong. Fares vary hugely, depending on season and the particular tour; you can often save quite a bit by flying to Haikou instead.
By bus
You can get to Sanya by bus from Haikou, about 70-80 RMB and 3.5 hours.
By Train
Since April 04 2007 you can take the train T201 from Beijing to Sanya. 588 rmb (hard sleep), 35h journey. Leave beijing West Station at 6.10pm and reach Sanya 5.06am one and half days later.
The new train station is far from downtown, approximately as far as the airport.
Get around
Many people stay in beach areas with more-or-less everything within walking distance.
Taxis are cheap and plentiful.
You can hire a van with English-speaking guide for longer trips, out to isolated beaches or hill villages.
You can also rent a Scooter. There are several places to do this. I think the cost is around 100-200 RMB a day during Chinese new year (probably cheaper every other time of the year). From downtown Sanya, it's just a quick zip to Yalong bay.
See
Nanshan:
A very touristy part of Sanya all the way to the West. The park there holds many buddhist temples, gardens, hiking routes, and a massive buddha in the ocean. A trolley type car services the large park taking tourists from one spot to the next. Very popular with Chinese tourists, few Westerners. It is about one hour from Sanya's main downtown area.
Monkey Island:
Just an hour East of Sanya's downtown area is Monkey Island. It is home to a large population of endangered Macaque monkeys as well as some Chinese fisherman. Be prepared to see these small primates running freely throughout the park. There are many shows throughout the day, including a comedy hour with the Macaques. You can either take a boat ride or ride a gondola to the island.
Monkey Island is actually a peninsula in Xincun, part of Lingshui. To get there from Sanya, take a taxi, charter a bus, or take a bus to Xincun (slow) and walk or take a motorcycle taxi to the cable car entrance, or take a bus to Lingshui, then another bus to Xincun, which will drop you off much closer to the cable car than the bus from Sanya to Xincun does. From the Lingshui-Xincun bus stop in Xincun, a motorcycle taxi to the cable car will cost 2 yuan. Upon arrival at the cable car entrace, you may be harassed by little old ladies telling you to take a boat to Monkey Island, but according to Monkey Island staff, you pay the full admission price (about 120 yuan) whether you take the cable car or not, so if what they say is true, you will actually save money by not taking a boat.
Do
* Yalong Bay hosts one of the best beaches in Sanya. Here, the clear blue water glistens and palm trees fill the beach front. Its no wonder Sanya is known as the "Hawaii of China."
Surfing- Hainan has pretty consistent surf most of the year. In the summer, the south winds bring waves to Sanya's south-facing beaches. In the fall through winter, the peak surf season, Hainan's east coast is the place to go. Hainan doesn't offer world class waves, but it offers fairly consistent tropical surf, which is almost completely empty.
EAST YALONG BAY
In the east of Yalong Bay, you can find the Yalong Bay Central Square - a mini "theme-park" (I use that term loosely). It contains a Shell Museum, a Totem pole, and a food court that serves different meat/fish kabobs. The admission is 33 kuai, more tha it's worth. The Shell Museum contains several nice shells, most of which you can eventually see in the ocean, or in the souvenir shops. Don't bother viewing this Museum unless you're planning to buy some nice beach gifts for your friends and family, as the gift shop at the end of the museum contains very creative, well-crafted accessories (such as belts and purses) made from shells and coconuts.
The Yalong Bay Central Square also serves as an entrance to the Yalong Bay Beach. But don't be fooled into paying the entrance fee just to enter the beach, as you can travel a bit further west into the hotel resort area and enter for free!
WEST YALONG BAY
Here you can enter the beautiful pristine beach for free.
You can have a bit of adventure by doing any one of the following activities offered by Hte Hainan Yalong Bay Underwater World: - parasailing - deep-sea fishing - boating - scuba diving
Although a bit pricey, the Holiday Inn serves a great resort hotel to relax in, especially to give yourself a break from all that suntanning. They have an outside seating area for lunch/dinner, and a straw hut bar, which definitely give you the feel of Hawaii. Although their food items are pricey (50 kuai), it is well worth the 'qian' since a hefty portion is served.
TRAVEL TO YALONG BAY
Taxi From Sanya's city center, you can expect to pay ~20 kuai (meter off) and 50 kuai (meter on), so it's best to try to negotiate the price, meter off. With a bit of Chinese, you'll find yourself with the good deal, or else they might discover you for the tourist that you are and charge you an extra 10 kuai. But don't worry about it, its still better than 50 kuai!
Bus You can also catch a bus from Dadonghai. From the East Bus Station near Dadonghai, you can hop on the green or white #102 bus. If you see a double decker blue bus, that also goes to Yalong Bay for 5 kuai.
Buy
The area produces pearls in abundance and they are sold everywhere. Prices are highly negotiable; overcharging tourists is common. Tour guides get a fat (often 50%!) commission for bringing tourists to pearl shops; try to go without one and beat the price down.
Eat
There are plenty of good restaurants, including many Sichuan places and some Cantonese.
Tropical fruits are cheap and common.
* Rainbow Bar & Grill, 99 Yu Ya Road, Dadonghai; telephone: (86) 898 88215700. Western restaurant and sports bar with a wide selection of western favorites such as soups, salads, pasta, tex-mex, sandwiches, burgers and much more. With every meal you purchase, you receive a drink coupon for buy one get one free. Very friendly environment with countless big screen tv's showing all major sporting events around the globe. Also has typical bar games: pool, darts, foozball, etc. Meals range from 20-50RMB.
* Mediterranea, [2]. Good and inexpensive. The shisha lounge and relaxed atmosphere make this a perfect escape from Chinese tourists after a long day at the beach. Owned and run by a Mandarin speaking Sicilian chef.
Drink
There are local pineapple-based beers. Odd, but worth a try.
The usual Chinese lagers are available everywhere too, of course.
The most popular local brew is Anchor (actually Singaporean but produced in Hainan). Ask for the 'red label' or 'old' brew, which is the original.
Get out
You can hire a van with English-speaking guide for trips out of town, for example out to isolated beaches or hill villages.
For smaller groups, consider hiring a taxi by the day.
