Dadonghai
Beach (Dadonghai) is one of Sanya's cleanest beaches, situated
about 3 km from the centre of the city and just off the main
road.
The beach's close proximity to the city
means that it can get very busy here but this remains a pleasant and
convenient spot to kick off your shoes, soak up the rays and swim in
the sea. Like most of the beaches around Sanya, this is a truly
tropical beach with 3 km of white sand curving round a crescent shaped
bay, warm blue seas and palm trees.
Facilities here are good too. Water
sports are popular and there are numerous small restaurants and bars
serving up tasty snacks and drinks. It is particularly pleasant here
in the evenings, when the sun sets and the crowds disperse.
How to get there: There are
numerous buses from the bus station in Sanya running to the beach.
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Tianya
Haijiao or the 'End of the Earth and the Corner of the Sea' is located
at the foot of Xiama Hill in the town of Tianya, 24 km west of Sanya.
This spot is hugely popular with Chinese tourists who flock here to be
photographed in front of the huge rock which is featured on the back
of the RMB 2 note.
In fact, there are numerous rocks here of
different size and shape, distributed along the silvery beach. The
Chinese characters for 'Tianya Haijiao' (end of the world) and 'Nantian
Yizhu' (the huge rock that emerges from the sea, making a 'corner' ),
are engraved on three of the biggest rocks that sit along the coast.
This area is known as the 'End of the World' because this was the
place where Song dynasty officials were exiled to for criticizing
their government. For them, this untraversed wilderness must have made
them really feel like the 'end of the world'.
Of course, there is a romantic legend
accompanying the area. Two passionate lovers from rival Li clans are
said to have pledged their love for one another here, promising that
they would be together wherever they traveled. Constantly pursued by
troops from both clans, they were forced to leap from this spot into
the sea. The Chinese believe that two of the huge rocks that stand
facing one another represent the two lovers. Today, Chinese couples
still invoke this tale in their declarations of love, promising that
they too, would go to the 'end of the world' for one another.
This is a very busy spot, and in fact,
there is not much to hold you here for more than an hour or so. There
is a Pearl Farm nearby, which is fairly interesting and a good
place to purchase Hainan's famous seawater pearls.
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Luhuitou
Peninsula is located 5 km north of Sanya, perched on the edge of the
South China Sea. The name for this popular spot translates as 'a deer
turning its head', due to the legend that accompanies the
district.
The story goes that a young Li hunter,
who had tramped across hill and dale in pursuit of a lame deer,
arrived at the seaside cliffs in Wuzhishan (Mt. Five Fingers),
whereupon the deer he had been in hot pursuit of turned into a
beautiful young girl whom the hunter went on to marry and have a huge
family.
So big in fact, that they made up an
entire village on this peninsula which they named 'Luhuitou Village'
or the 'deer that turned its head' village. A sculpture depicting this
mythical tale stands on the top of the hill, from where, there are
great views over the surrounding countryside.
At the foot of the hill, are numerous
hotels, holiday resorts, palm plantations and pearl farms. There are
some very pleasant walks around these parts, although the beach at
Luhuitou is not so impressive.
How to get there: Take the ferry
from the wharf in Sanya. Taxi and minibuses are also available.
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Sightseeing
Index
