Sanya, gateway to escape the cold in winter
2011-12-27China travel Guide
Hawaii, Maldives, Saipan, and other famous seashore resorts are the dreaming places for the travelers who love blue sea, bright sunshine, delicious seafood. Actually, in China, we also have a world-famous beachfront tropical city, its name is Sanya. Sanya locates in the southernmost tip of Hainan Island China, then it boasts "The best city China in terms of residential environment", "China's most favorable tourist destination", "Hawaii in the Orient ".
In December, it is already the chilly cold winter in China, even in south of China, the temperature is about 5 degree centigrade daily. Since I had a week holiday, I really wanted to escape from the cold and find a refuge. For Chinese people, if we do not want to go out of China to enjoy the tropical coast city, Sanya is the only and best choice, the average temperature of Sanya all year round is 25.4 degree centigrade. Then I was not hesitated to book the air tickets to there. By the way, since Sanya is the tourist destination famous around China and the world, the transportation to there is very convenient. Most cities in China have direct flights to Sanya, like Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Guilin, Kunming, Urumqi, etc, even there are lots of direct flights from Russian cities. So, no matter where you are, you can just catch a flight to Sanya.
This was not my first time to the coast city, but I was still shocked by the white beach, clear seawater in Sanya. Sanya lies between 18°09'34"-18°37'27" north latitude and 108°56'30"-109°48'28" east longitude, faces the South China Sea; has a coastline of about 179.25 km., more than 19 fleets and 10 islands, then you can enjoy tropical sunshine, beaches, seawater, coconut palms and rainforest very much. Traveling in the seashore, no need to hurry up, just relax and enjoy a lazy holiday. In Sanya, there are three famous beaches, Yalong Bay, Dadonghai Bay and Sanya Bay, the most famous is Yalong Bay, and very crowded and noisy, high-price hotels accordingly. As I prefer peaceful and relaxing holiday, I decided to stay Dadonghai Bay and Sanya Bay separately to feel different beaches. Sanya Bay is the longest beach, Dadonghai Bay is close to the downtown, more facilities. You can choose the suitable beach based on your interest.
In Sanya, except visiting the famous beaches, you also need to visit the small islands. The two distinctive ones are Xidaimao Island (West Island) and Wuzhizhou Island. I visited Xidaimao Island(West Island) which is on the same way with Tianya Haijiao (The Edge of the Sky and The End of the Sea). You can take the public bus to West Island, the entrance fee is RMB148 per person including the extra round-way jet boat tickets. In my personal opinion, the seawater and scenery on West Island are much better then the bays. Walking on soft white sandbeach stretching, watching rich protected coral reefs, you just feel you lost yourself in paradise. If you like to take extreme sports, you can try scuba diving, surfing, gliding, sailing and canoeing on the island. If your time is enough, I highly suggest you can stay on West Island one day. Take a break in the shade of the coconut trees, enjoy the tropical breeze, and savor the freshest of seafood at one of the island's restaurants. This is the life!
After West Island, continue to go ahead with public bus in 15 minutes, you can arrive in the most famous scenic spot in Sanya - Tianya Haijiao (The Edge of the Sky and The End of the Sea). It is a very big tourism zone, if you want to walk the whole park, it will take more than half day. Many Chinese young lovers believe this place very much, also that is why Sanya is the best choice for honeymoon trip's destination. The two highlights in the park are the two stone pillars, they are engraved the Chinese characters separately, the stone with"Nantianyizhu" (means the pillar of southern heaven) is even the banknote picture of Chinese 2 Yuan. note (1986 edition).
Along Sanya Bay, the Dongtian Park, Nanshan Culture Tourism Zone are also worthy to visit if your time permits, and the public bus is available to the spots. But in my opinion, it is no need to hurry up and be busy at sightseeing daily, just select one or two most interesting ones, then lie on the beach and relax. In the seashore city, there is another must thing to do, tasting the fresh and various seafood. In Sanya, it is a hard thing to decide the right restaurant, in my experience, I suggest you can go to the local mark and buy the seafood on your own, you can not only bargain with the peddlery, but you can be close to the local real life. After you buy the seafood well, you can ask some restaurant's chef to cook it for you, the cooking fee is reasonable, depending on the quantity of seafood.
During my stay in Sanya, I can not help falling in love the small coastal city. Although it might be crowed in winter, it is the best refuge from the clod in China. I wish more and more foreigners travel to Sanya, and it will be introduced to the world as it deserves the high reputation. In the future, your China tour can be mixed with tropical seashore city break, you can learn different faces of China, Sanya is waiting for your visit all the way.
--- By Sandy (Visit Our China)
Thanks for sharing, I would like to visit Sanya for next winter and feel this Chinese tropical city.