Dadonghai, the area in the center of Sanya, is surround- ed by mountains on three sides and has a coastline of 2.9 kilometers. It represents a tropical landscape with the clear blue sea and blue sky, white sand beach, green coconut trees and mountains. Stroll or jog on the beach, enjoy sea bathing and sunbathing, or simply observe the waves under the daylight at 18th parallel north, and all for free. If you feel thirsty, you can indulge yourself in the soft sea breeze under the coconut tree and drink fresh coconut water to heal your body and mind.

Luhuitou Park is famous for its sculpture of the deer on the top of the mountain. If you climb there, you can have a fantastic view to the East and West Islands, Phoenix Island and Sanya Bay, as well as the Sanya Hongzhou International Yacht Club Terminal Port where numerous yachts set sail for the South China Sea. The Luhuitou Park has been built into a romantic park and called “The Mountain of Love in the South China Sea”. You can walk in the gentle and soft sea breeze and enjoy the beautiful scenery of “The Deer City” (“Lucheng”, another name of Sanya).

Take the bus No. 55 (Luhuitou Park—Nanshan Temple Scenic Area Tourist Line) to get directly to the Tianya Haijiao Scenic Area — an iconic scenic spot in Sanya. It has won a world-renowned reputation with its charming tropical seashore landscape, time-honored and unique history and culture, and colorful ethnic customs. The site earned its name from the Chinese characters “Tianya” (the edge of the sky) and “Haijiao” (the rim of the sea) carved on two giant rocks at the seashore. There are five famous rocks in the attraction, namely, the rock of Tian- ya, the rock of Haijiao, Southern Heaven Rock, the Love Rock and the Rock of Blessings. Entertainment facilities such as sea-bathing areas, fishing spots and yachts are also available.

Take the bus No. 25 or No. 30 or a taxi from Sanya downdown to Dongtian Scenic Area. It is the southernmost attraction themed around Taoism in China. It has been reputed as "the best scenic spot of Hainan Island over the past 800 years" for its unique mixture of coastal scenery, mountains, rocks and caves. Sanya Dongtian Park has received countless celebrities through the years, including the famous monk Jianzhen of Tang Dynasty, Huang Daopo, an ancestor and innovator of China’s textile technology in the late Song Dynasty and the early Yuan Dynasty, and Bai Yuchan, the founding father of Southern Taoism in Song Dynasty. Nowadays the scenic spot has become a top-notch tropical beachside wedding shooting location based in China.

Sanya has rich and diverse cultural resources. There is Taoist culture on one side and Buddhist culture on the other side of the same mountain. After visiting Dongtian Park you can travel towards the Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone locat- ed next to it. Here stands the world's highest Guanyin statue, the 108-meter Nanshan Guanyin Statue, majestic and magnifi- cent. According to the Buddhist classics, the merciful Guanyin Bodhisattva made 12 wishes to save people from suffering, among which the second was that people could live here in Nanshan forever. The famous Chinese proverb “good fortune is as boundless as the East China Sea and life is as long as South Mountain (“Nanshan” literally means south mountain) also points to the close relationship between Nanshan and the Chinese culture of happiness and longevity.

Wuzhizhou Island at Haitang Bay is one of the most popular islands in Sanya. On the southeast cliff of this island, there is a giant stone that looks like a stone buddha in someone’s eyes, or a sea turtle facing the ocean in others. It is called the Sunrising Rock. You can climb on the stone in a sunny morning and look far into the distance. You will see the sun breaking the horizon and the magnificent South China Sea stretching miles and miles on end. Morning, Sanya! Lucid waters surround the island, with a visibil- ity of up 27 meters. It is a natural fishing ground and home to China’s largest preserved coral growth, with a coral coverage rate of 72.45%, thus earning its reputation as “The Maldives of China” and “The Best Diving Resort in China”. Visitors can treat themselves to the exotic luxury suites and a wide range of ocean-related activities.

On the last day of your journey, it is time to go shopping. Welcome to Sanya International Duty-Free Shopping Complex at Haitang Bay! In this 120,000-square-kilometer building that looks like a begonia flower, you can bring high-quality goods home at a reasonable price. From CPB and La Mer to Salvatore Ferragamo and Burberry, from Omega and Rado to Apple and B&O, from Swarovski and Rayban to Lego and Panasonic, you can find anything you want. There are perfumes and cosmetics, watches, bags and accessories, electronic products, and food and beverages. There will be too many to choose from. It’s a delight to go shopping while visiting Sanya, as the duty-free products there are 15-35% cheaper than those in the domestic tax market. Duty-free malls deliver goods according to the time the passenger leaves the island. Passengers can pick up the goods in the designated areas of the airport, railway stations, and ports with the shopping voucher.

Want to experience something fun? Take your family to the Atlantis Waterpark for a joyful and exciting day! Located in the Atlantis Complex, the waterpark offers something for all ages and is a must-visit for every tourist in Sanya. You can start with “Shark Safari,” where you board a raft and ride along until you reach a corridor made of transparent glass. The corridor is surrounded by sharks, and you can enjoy the thrill of walking among them. After the warm-up, you can head towards the Princess Tower for the “Eye of the Storm,” where you start your slide towards the light at the end of the tunnel. As your heart gradually beats faster, the raft will suddenly take you down into a tunnel that goes up at a 45-degree angle at the speed of 13 m/s, and then rush towards the 6-stories-high eye of the storm, exposing you to the feeling of weightlessness. As you think the raft is about to capsize, gravity again pulls you down and to the other side. Nobody goes through the “Eye” without screaming. The most thrilling excitement comes from the “Leap of Poseidon.” You slide down the water slide that’s almost vertical without any protection, and before you know it, you’re already safe in the arms of the lifeguards. Until then will you be overwhelmed by the fear and the thrill. In the Lost Chambers Aquarium you can have access to 30 exhibits, with 86,000 sea life friends of over 280 species. This is a place where you can get closer to our marine friends. You can feed fish in glass-bottom boats at the Ambassador Lagoon, or get close up and personal with the sharks and rays as you dive in.

Get on a speed boat at Xiaoqi Port at Sanya Bay, in 15 minutes you will arrive at a place of idyllic and pure beauty—West Island. West Island is short for West Daimao Island, where the water is clear with beautiful corals growing in the nearby sea. On this island, the local people who live off fishing have been here for more than 500 years. Strolling in the old fishing village, you can appreciate the houses built out of corals and taste the palatable local seafood. Wandering through the village and the island and feeling its history, suddenly you will realize that this is the paradise lost.

How can you visit Sanya without eating seafood here? At the bustling Huochetou Seafood Square, you can pick fish, shellfish, shrimps and crabs fresh out of the sea. The shop owners will prepare them in ways that can best preserve their delicate flavor. When the dishes are served, you can eat them with dipping sauces including minced garlic, peanut oil, tomato sauce, mixed sauce, and chopped peanuts, and indulge yourself with the great food in the cool evening breeze.

Yanoda is the only tropical rainforest in China located at 18 degrees North latitude, and the quintessence of the top five tropical rainforests on Hainan Island. It is rated as a diamond rainforest scenic spot in China. Yanoda is a pictophonetic word that means “one, two, three” in the local dialect. The scenic spot has given the name new connota- tions that Yah means innovation, No means commitment, and Da means practice. At the same time, Yanoda is construed as welcome and hello, expressing friendship and good wishes. In the tourism zone, the dense tropical rain- forest obscures the sky and the sun, and the flowing springs and waterfalls cascade down. Walking in the rainforest, you feel ripples of coolness through and around you. Here, six wonders such as hundred-year-old vines, thousand-year- old ferns, huge Ganoderma lucidum, and Antiaris toxicaria dubbed as “cold-blooded killer” coexist and thrive in a marvelous manner.

After the sun goes down, it is time to visit Haichang Fantasy Town. It is an immersive ocean-themed complex that integrates cultural tourism, leisure vacation, entertainment experience and new business practices. It is also a gourmet paradise that allows visitors to treat themselves to high-quali- ty cuisines. Located on the national coast of Haitang Bay, the Fantasy Town is home to the “Eye of Sanya” ocean Ferris wheel, Tijuana-style underwater restaurant, and Adventure Island Family Entertainment Center. If you want to tour the nightlife of Sanya, Haichang is the place to be.

Wuzhizhou Island is the first choice of stay for many tourists in Hainan. There are well-pro- tected coral reefs on the seabed. It is one of the few islands in the world without reefs or big pebbles, and is a well-known diving base in China. You can experience and learn diving in Wuzhizhou Island. In addition, there are also a variety of marine entertainment activities, including motorboats, rainbow parachutes and wakesurfing.

As the diving in the morning consumed a lot of energy, you need to rest and enjoy a perfect lunch. There are many restaurants to choose from in Houhai Village or Haitang Bay. After that you can take a nap in your comfortable room in the Houhai guest house. This is the lifestyle of the islanders, enjoy dynamic sports and then refill your energy while eating, drinking and sleeping. In Houhai, you can also learn how to control an unpowered sailboat. The hull provides buoyancy and uses the wind to move the boat forward. When the wind is not strong, you can control the direction. Relax on the boat and take pictures, or even anchor the boat, jump into the sea to swim and enjoy free diving when you feel like it. Unpowered sailboats can go to sea at multiple times a day. It is recommended to depart at sunset as it is much cool- er, and the soft light of the breathtaking sunset is suitable for taking photos.

Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park is located in the Yalong Bay National Tourism Holiday Resort and covers an area of 1506 hectares. It is the first coastal forest park featuring eco-tourism built in the mountains in Hainan Province. Tropical evergreen plants and trop- ical semi-deciduous plants form the vegetation of the park. The park is endowed with a variety of resources in the respect of biology, geography, astronomy, hydrology and culture. With the natural landscape in the park, you can enjoy multiple activities including hiking, field activi- ties, sightseeing, wellness-related activities, popular science education, folk customs and culture experience, hot spring spas and sunbathing in the tropical forest. Some parts of the scenic area became the filming locations for the movie “If You Are the One II”.

If you are self-driving in Sanya, Taiyangwan (Sunny Bay) Road is a must-visit. It is a new self-driving internet-famous place, attracting many young people to rent roadsters to get there. With a total length of only 6 kilometers, Sunny Bay Road is known as “the most beautiful sea-view road in Yalong Bay”. This road is surrounded by the vastness of the sea on one side and the beauty of the mountains with magnificent mangroves on the other. Driving along a road like this makes people exclaim: “This is what I call a real vacation and an amazing self-driving experi- ence!” Such a spectacular view with the azure sea and the seaside road inspires travelers to capture great masterpieces. There is the only viewing platform in the middle of the road section, where you have an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yalong Bay on the left and Sunny Bay on the right at the same time.

The new luxury tourism products repre- sented by yachts and sailboats have become the mainstream products of Sanya. Take a trip with your family and friends on fully equipped yachts and sailboats for sightseeing and fishing on the sea, enjoy the scenery and delicious food at the same time! When the night comes, you can take a Sanya Bay yacht night tour and admire the gorgeous night scenery of Sanya from the sea. The sea bus, with Luhuitou public wharf as the transportation hub, connects well-known scenic spots such as West Island, Nanshan Temple, Tianya Haijiao Scenic Area, etc. You can use the sea bus not only as a means of transportation, but also for sightseeing. High- speed cruise ships usually serve as sea buses in Sanya. Due to the Wi-Fi full coverage in the cabin, travelers can share pictures in real time with relatives and friends.

After lunch it would be great to go to Tianya Town. The outer walls are painted in blue and white, so many people call it “The Little Santorini of Sanya”, and some tourists will probably compare it with small towns in Europe. The bougainvillea blooming on the corner of the streets, colorful wooden boats slanted across the beach. The locals greet visitors warmly with a smile on their lips. In the shadow of the coconut tree, the grandma is mending the fish net, and the dark-skinned young man on a small fishing boat is about to reap the gifts of the sea.

Luhuitou Scenic Area offers a panoramic view of the mountains, sea, sky, and bays of Sanya. There is an ancient beautiful love legend about this place. A long time ago, there was a young man called Ahei from Li ethnic group who went hunting in the mountain, where he saw a beautiful sika deer being chased by a spotted leopard. Ahei shot the spotted leopard with an arrow and then chased the sika deer for nine days and nights. He climbed over numerous mountains till the coral cliff on the south side of Sanya Bay. The deer faced the expansive sea and had no way to escape. At this time, Ahei was about to shoot the deer with an arrow, but suddenly the deer looked back at Ahei affectionately and turned into a beautiful young girl. Later, Ahei and the girl fell in love and became a couple. From then on, the mountain was called "Luhuitou Mountain". “Luhuitou” in Chinese means “the deer looks back”. Visit this place with your beloved one to immerse in the romantic atmosphere, take his or her hand and stroll in the green corridor, sit in the sea viewing pavilion and enjoy the tranquility, have a close contact with the deer, and drink coffee in the “Dear Deer Café”.

Located in a small private bay on the southwest side of Dadonghai, Jiqing Square is quiet and peaceful. You will be surprised to find yourself on a typical London street surrounded by European-style build- ings with the white church in the middle. Let the diverse Sanya witness your love!

The Phoenix Hill offers a panoramic view of Sanya's four bays and eight scenic spots. You can stand on the 360° panoramic sightsee- ing hanging corridors and observe how the sea melts into the sky. The “Love Forever” Square as well as the Crystal Temple are very suitable for dating and marriage proposals.

It is also a good choice to take a walk in the Coconut Dream Corridor and watch the sunset. The Coconut Dream Corridor is a famous coastal scenic corridor built around Sanya Bay and is known as the “First Avenue in Asia”. It stretches for 20 kilo- meters and is suitable for strolling, taking pictures and resting. The gentle slopes and beautiful curves of the white sand beach, clear water of the sea and rows of coconut trees help to create a romantic atmosphere and an unforgettable experience.

Wuzhizhou Island definitely is a must-visit national 5A-level scenic spot, suitable for dating and honeymoon. The natural landscape of Wuzhizhou Island with the azure sea and blue sky, clear water and white sand will impress the most demand- ing tourists.