- Sanya parks
- Religious buildings
- Monkey island
- Sanya landmarks
- Children's rest in Sanya
- Note to shopaholics
- Delicious points on the map
The beaches of the Chinese resort stretch on the island of Hainan, the climate of which allows sunbathing and swimming throughout the year. Sanya is popular with Russian travelers, especially with residents of the Far East region, due to the variety of opportunities for recreation and treatment. The cost of tours to Hainan allows you to go to Chinese beaches without significant damage to the family budget, and the perfectly streamlined infrastructure annually attracts more and more fans of comfortable rest in tropical latitudes to the island. You will not find ancient architectural sights on the island, but the question of where to go in Sanya is not for its guests. Landscape and natural parks, museums and markets, shows and attractions for children - in the resort capital of Hainan there is an interesting activity for every guest.
Sanya parks
There are no parks and gardens like the Europeans are used to in Sanya, but you can admire the natural landscapes in one of the nature reserves. The territories of the local parks are large, representing beaches, valleys, sections of forest or groves with natural objects turned by the imagination of the Chinese into real attractions:
- The name of the Tianya-Haijao Park means "the farthest point of the sky and the sea." For short, Europeans call it the End of the World. The spacious beach is covered with boulders, each of which has its own history and romantic name. If you go to the End of the World Park, being in Sanya in the middle of autumn, you can become a participant in the Lantern Festival. In the ethno-village of the park, they tell about the customs of small nationalities.
- In the Turned Deer, guests will find a high hill in the form of a beautiful animal and a legend explaining the name of the park. From the hill in Luhuitou, you can admire the magnificent views of Sanya if you go for a walk at sunset. The slopes of the hill are covered with flowering bushes, from a distance resembling a red waterfall. The top of the hill is decorated with a deer sculpture.
Three dozen kilometers from Sanya, in the Yanoda forest, you will find another green tourist area, equipped for a comfortable stay for the guests of the resort. Wooden paths are laid between age-old trees and picturesque rocks in Yanoda, and lotuses bloom in the park's lake.
Religious buildings
After the formation of the PRC, the pace of construction of religious objects in the country decreased significantly, but some churches in the Celestial Empire appeared during the triumph of socialism. The list of the largest is headed by the Nanshan Temple on the hill of the same name in the vicinity of Sanya. If this is your first time at the resort, it is worth going to the Temple of the South Mountain, even if you are a convinced atheist.
The park is called a symbol of Chinese socio-cultural diversity. In addition to the temple itself and the sculptures of Guanyin Buddha, the complex contains magnificent landscape masterpieces.
Interesting information about the Temple of the South Mountain:
- The complex was built in the 80s. last century and together with the adjacent territories covers an area of more than 40 hectares.
- The Guanyin statue of the South Sea rises 108 meters into the sky and ranks fourth in the world among sculptures in terms of size. Guanyin is installed on a bulk island, and its three faces are facing the mainland and the sea.
- In 2005, 108 monks from Buddhist communities from all over the world came to consecrate the Guanyin statue in Sanyu.
- On the territory of the complex, there are copies of buildings of the Tang dynasty, which ruled the country in the 7th-10th centuries.
- The most valuable sculpture in the temple is Guanyin, plated with pure gold. The "height" of the deity is 3.6 m. The decoration of the sculpture took 100 kg of silver and gold, as well as about 120 carats of diamonds.
You can visit the Temple of the South Mountain daily from 8 am to 6 pm. To get there - express "Hainan-West".
Monkey island
The Nanwan Reserve was established to protect the macaques that live in Hainan and the small islets adjacent to it. One of them became home to two thousand monkeys, who welcome guests as they disembark from the cable car or ferry. The reserve was opened in 1965 and, in addition to the four-armed inhabitants, is famous among tourists for fishing. Visitors to the island prefer to try their fishing luck on rented rafts. Monkey Island restaurants specialize in seafood dishes.
If the main goal of your trip is acquaintance with macaques, take a guide and learn everything about the inhabitants of the island. The guides tell a lot of interesting information about primates, show the most beautiful corners of Nanwan and help the visitors of the reserve to communicate with its inhabitants fully and safely.
Twice a day, at 10.20 and 12.00, an interesting show begins on the island, in which the four-armed inhabitants of the park participate.
Sanya landmarks
The oldest attraction of the Chinese resort, guidebooks call the Taoist Park Heavenly Grottoes. You will find it 50 km from the city center at the foot of the South Mountain. Historians claim that the park was founded at the end of the 12th century, when the country was ruled by the Song dynasty.
The name of the park contains the doctrine of the Taoist religion. According to believers, there are several large and small grottoes and caves that serve as a haven for the gods. It was on Sanya in the XII century. some of the grottoes were found, called the Small and Big Dongtian. In addition to the divine houses, you will find the South Mountain of Longevity, the Temple of the Dragon King, Sea Wonders and the Wall of Records in the park. The Museum of Natural History has an exposition with unique exhibits. The stands display the remains of dinosaurs, fossils of the western Lionith and other rarities, allowing you to imagine what our planet was like more than 140 million years ago.
The easiest way to get to the Heavenly Grotto Park is to take free shuttles from the Summer Department Store and Pearl Square. The bus schedule is available from the administrators of most Sanya hotels
The Betel-Nat ethnic park of small peoples is very popular among Europeans vacationing on the beaches of Hainan. The name of the park comes from the plant, the leaves of which are usually chewed to refresh the brain. The tradition, which goes away in ancient times, is still popular among the small peoples of Miao and Li, who have lived in the vicinity of Sanya for centuries. The main attractions of the ethnic village are huts with museum exhibits that tell about the customs of the Miao and Li peoples. Aboriginal people perform ritual dances for guests and demonstrate household and hunting skills.
In the ethnopark, you can buy authentic souvenirs made by local residents
Children's rest in Sanya
The variety of the hotel fund in Sanya does not guarantee the ideal conditions for children's holidays. If you are flying to the resort with children, be sure to ask if the selected hotel has a playground and how things are with the dishes for kids on the hotel restaurant menu. The Chinese also do not offer too much variety in response to the question of where to go in Sanya with a child, but there are a couple of places of interest for young tourists on the island.
First, the Monkey Island, already known to you. Little travelers will keep the impression of visiting it for a long time. Secondly, the Butterfly Park, where hundreds of outlandish creatures of extraordinary beauty flutter in a narrow rocky gorge overgrown with lush tropical vines. And finally, the Hainan Oceanarium. You should definitely go and look at the inhabitants of the South China Sea, because in addition to fish and corals, smart dolphins and artistic seals are waiting for you. A show with their participation takes place in the aquarium every day, and its oldest inhabitant, the sea turtle, recently celebrated its 600th anniversary.
Note to shopaholics
Like everywhere else in the Middle Kingdom, tourists in Sanya offer a variety of shopping opportunities. If you want to shop for souvenirs, go to the shops on Jiefanglu Road in the city center, where there are dozens of shops and malls. Here, in the northern part of the street, a market is noisy, where literally everything is sold - from seafood to jewelry. It is called "The First", and with the onset of dusk, a night bazaar opens near the building, where visitors are offered pearls, silk, medicinal tea and jewelry and jade souvenirs.
Pearls can also be bought in a museum dedicated to the most beautiful natural stone, but prices are not very democratic there. That is why markets and shopping malls are more popular with jewelry aficionados. It should be borne in mind that when buying, it is better to get a certificate for the product. So you will protect yourself from counterfeiting and will not encounter problems at customs when leaving the country.
Delicious points on the map
The influx of tourists, including Russians, makes Hainan restaurateurs pay special attention to the variety of dishes offered to guests. The resort has a variety of restaurants worth visiting for both Chinese cuisine and other Southeast Asian culinary traditions. Hundreds of establishments of different price categories are open in Sanya, and some even have a menu in Russian.
If you're on holiday in the Yaluwan area, look out for seafood at Crystal and order crab with traditional Thai curry at a Thai restaurant.
At Dadonghai Beach, seafood is best served by a Dongjiaoyelin chef, while Chinese dishes are best served by a Shiweiguan chef. For food familiar to Europeans, it is customary to go to Casa Mia Italian Restaurant.
Sanya City has a wide variety of food choices. If you are missing potatoes and meat, go to Yipinguo. Chinese dumplings are especially flavorful at Yuqinghua Dumplings, while hummus, lamb and other Arabic delicacies are served at Siluhuayu.
