Sanya
Discover Sanya
Sanya (三亚 Sānyà in Mandarin; Ta-ah in Hainanese) is on the southernmost point of China, at the tip of Hainan island. Billed as "China's Hawaii", Sanya has 20-km stretches of beach and palm trees. As the only tropical city across the coastline, it is definitely booming and packed with a lot of water sports such as snorkeling and jet-skiing, rainforest hiking, and innumerable hotels ranging from zero to five stars -- and the tourists that frequent said places and activities. With sunshine all year around, temperatures hover around 25 °C even in January and 30 °C in the summer time. Its islands and beaches are beautiful and the water in Yalong Bay and Dadonghai/Xiaodonghai is clean enough to have a good swim, but you may also want to head to Wuzhizhou Island or further north to visit unspoiled and natural scenery.
What to Experience in Sanya
Taste of Sanya...
There are plenty of good Chinese regional-food restaurants, including many Sichuan, Cantonese, and DongBei places. There are also a few foreign / Western food restaurants, especially Dolphin and Young Bar, and of course the ubiquitous McDonald's (DaDongHai and Jiefang Lu), Starbucks (in Summer Mall) and KFC (105 Jiefang Lu; Duojialian; 63 Guoxing Dadao; Renmin Lu). Seafood is of course also a mainstay in the cuisine of Sanya, and DaDongHai is filled with overpriced seafood restaurants. Inspect the tanks for freshness before eating and beware of the different charges that are often handled by different people at the restaurant (fishery, cooking fee, and sitting fee can be separate). Shellfish go for ¥10-25 per jin (half kilo). Hainan grows a great variety of tropical fruits. Mango, apple, pineapples, durian, jackfruit, mangosteen, lycee are very popular and their breeds are colorfully diverse. Hainan is famous throughout China for its coconuts and they are worth trying, especially the red coconuts (红椰 hóng yē). Away from the beach, expect to pay about ¥8-10 for a coconut. Prices increase as you get closer and you may end up paying about ¥15 for a coconut on the beach. Note that fruit price is fluctuating and cheating on its weight is common. Visit any big and well-established chained supermarkets in the downtown of Sanya along Jiefang Road to check the current market price.
Culture & Religion
Culture
Sanya has a long and rich cultural history. During the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shi Huang established Xiang County in Sanya, earning the city the nickname "Deer City." With its stunning scenery, Sanya is also known as the "Hawaii of the East" and boasts a distinctive local culture infused with maritime charm. According to local legend, Sanya women express their affection for men by playfully twisting their ears—the greater the force, the deeper the affection. If the man reciprocates her feelings, he responds in kind by twisting her ear as well. Also, Li minority women (who live in the north of Sanya, some small communities around Sanya, and in the center of Hainan) have a custom of having "singing ceremonies", where the girls of a village will get together to sing, and the boys of the village will have to sing back to them if they want to be chosen as husbands.
A Rich Past
Explore the historical roots that shaped Sanya into what it is today.
Long before it was opened to the outside world, Sanya served as a place of exile for deposed prime ministers, officials, and scholars. From the Han to the Ming dynasties, as many as 15 prominent figures were exiled to Hainan, with 10 of them residing in Shuinan Village, Yacheng Town, Sanya. To this day, descendants of these exiled officials and scholars still live in the village. Sanya boasts abundant intangible cultural heritage resources that are widely distributed. Among them, the Li ethnic group’s "Chopping Wood Dance" and Yacheng folk songs are notable, with many being included in the records of national-level intangible cultural heritage protection projects. In 1950, the Battle of Hainan Island took place. The People's Liberation Army of China ultimately defeated the Nationalist forces of the Republic of China and captured Hainan Island. The event is officially described by mainland China as the liberation of Hainan Island. With the increasing diversity of tourism products, Sanya has been actively fostering new trends and highlights in tourism consumption. Significant efforts have been made to enhance service quality and the level of internationalization, further expanding the international tourism market. Sanya aims to become a global tourism consumption destination with diverse industries, renowned brands, a comfortable environment, and distinctive features, taking the lead in innovating the construction of an international tourism consumption center....
Climate
Sanya is located at a low latitude and has a tropical wet and dry climate. It is warm throughout the year, with strong monsoon influences, and is therefore classified as a tropical monsoon climate under the Zhou Shuzhen climate classification system. Sanya experiences a relatively long rainy season and a distinct dry season. The rainy season lasts from May to October, while the dry season runs from November to April of the following year. The average annual temperature is 25.7°C (78.3°F). June is the hottest month, with an average temperature of 28.7°C (83.7°F), while January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 21.4°C (70.5°F). Unlike most other regions in China, the hottest month in Sanya is June, with an average temperature of 28.8°C (83.8°F). The city is considered the sunniest city of Hainan Island, and enjoys an average annual sunshine duration of 2,534 hours and an average annual rainfall of 1,347.5 mm.
Essential Information
Getting There
Multiple OptionsThe 3½-hour bus ride from the East Bus Station in Haikou will cost about ¥50. Buses between Haikou and Sanya generally depart about once every hour, though there is a two-hour gap between the 2nd last bus and the last bus; the last bus from Sanya to Haikou departs around 18:00. Sanya can be reached directly by train from Beijing (35 hours), Shanghai (36 hours) and Guangzhou (15 hours). The whole train is loaded on to a ferry for the journey from mainland China to the Island, then continues its journey around the west coast as far as Sanya. As trains leaving the island originate in Sanya, tickets from this smaller town are easier to obtain than if leaving from Haikou. High-speed trains connect all major cities and towns on the eastern and western coasts. It takes 1½-2 hours from Haikou, travels up to 250 km/h. Maps of Sanya also show a station near Nanshan Temple called Nanshan North Railway Station (南山北站). This station, however, is no longer in use....
Getting Around & Staying
Getting Around
Many people stay in beach areas with more-or-less everything within walking distance. Sanya has over sixty bus routes, operating from around 06:00 to 23:00. The ticket prices follow a distance-based fare system, ranging from ¥2 to 20. In addition, there are many privately-operated shuttle buses. Darting in, around, and between Sanya city and Dadong Hai is best done by the city bus lines 2 (fastest) or 4 (adds some stops around Sanya River) for ¥2. The buses run along Sanya city's Jiefang Road (解放路), which is the street McDonald's is on, and hit Dadong Bay at Luling Road (鹿岭路), just one stop past the Deer Turns Head Square (鹿回头广场) For trips farther out of town, you can buy bus tickets at Sanya city's bus station or just hail buses on the road that runs along Sanya's beach. Tickets to most destinations will be ¥1-30. You could also hire a van with (or without) an English speaking guide from hotels or people with white and blue displays on the streets of Sanya City or Dadong Bay.
Where to Stay
As a general rule, accommodation prices in Sanya are very expensive, particularly during the winter months due to the huge influx of wealthy tourists from northern China. In Sanya city and Dadonghai there are many small, clean moderately priced inns and hotels (¥50-100, even in high season, for 1-3 beds). Some may be located in alley ways just off Sanya's beach street, sometimes several floors up without an elevator (but the view is worth it!). Sanya exists solely for tourism which is accompanied by annoyances including pickpocketeting and overcharging. Before arrival, travelers should be wary of getting the right address and most up to date telephone number for their hostels/hotels. Some hostels are located in a new district whose roads have just been laid out. Not many people, including the police, know where specific locations are in new districts. When you get lost, always ask drivers to call the staff.
Money & Budget
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. Coconut powders and teas are also popular Chinese buys, but for Westerners looking for something less commercially produced... the cone-shaped hats that women wear here with pictures inscribed are only ¥5 at The First Market (第一市场 dìyī shìchǎng) in Sanya city. Lines 2 and 4 have a stop there. Don't head into the department store; instead, stick to the side of it and walk down the road filled with small shops and street vendors.
Language & Talk
Hainanese is the local language spoken in Sanya. The dialect of Hainanese differs somewhat from the standard Hainanese spoken in Wenchang, making it a little tricky to understand even if you are fluent in standard Hainanese. That said, most locals are able to understand standard Hainanese too. As with elsewhere in China, Mandarin is the main language taught in schools, and spoken by virtually all non-elderly locals. Sanya is also home to many migrants from other parts of China who speak Mandarin but not Hainanese. This is particularly true in the winter, when many wealthy Chinese from the northern provinces move here to escape the bitter cold in their respective hometowns (the Dongbei's "Chinese snowbirds").
Safety Information
Safety Overview
Sanya exists solely for tourism which is accompanied by annoyances including pickpocketeting and overcharging. Before arrival, travelers should be wary of getting the right address and most up to date telephone number for their hostels/hotels. Some hostels are located in a new district whose roads have just been laid out. Not many people, including the police, know where specific locations are in new districts. When you get lost, always ask drivers to call the staff. Para-sailing, diving, snorkeling and boating are popular but operators may not be trained or certified. If you go for diving, always check air tank pressures before. Some Wikitravelers have reported that they received half-empty scuba tanks and found it difficult to inhale smoothly. Sanya has a lot of local tour packages. Some tours to outlying islands may look cheap, but once you arrive on the spot, operators may charge you extra money for using their equipment.
Glimpses of Sanya
Yalong Bay,view on Hilton Resort
green palm trees near seashore
sanya bay, view on luhuitou park
a couple of boats that are in the water
a group of tall buildings sitting on top of a body of water
city skyline at night
a large body of water with a city in the background
monument of Deity on island
A large white statue sitting on top of a lush green hillside
Boats on the beach of Houhai village.
Yalong Bay,view on Hilton Resort
green palm trees near seashore
sanya bay, view on luhuitou park