Sanya

Sanya is a city in southern Hainan Province of China. It has a population of 1,031,396 as of 2021. After Haikou, the capital, it is the second most populous city of the island. Sanya is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination. It is also the focus city for China's Utsul Muslims. It is the site for training of the Chinese national beach volleyball team.

Attractions
Cape Tian-Ya-Hai-Jiao (The end of the seas and skies)
The Deer Turns (Luhuitou Park)
Yalong Bay, Dadonghai (big east sea), Sanya, Haitang, and Yazhou are the five major bays in Sanya.
Wuzhizhou Island
Dadonghai Beach
Daxiao Dongtian (Fairy Caves)
The Tiger and Crocodile Center
Nanshan Temple
Guanyin Statue of Hainan
Li and Miao Minorities Village
Xinglong Tropic Arboretum
Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone

In the last years Sanya developed to become a getaway from Hong Kong and a relaxing place for extending a holiday without a long trip back home. The first international Resort hotel was opened and managed by Swiss hotelier N.C. Solari in 1999, in Yalong Bay.

Presently, international hotel chains have established in what is becoming a world-known destination, especially following the Miss World beauty pageant in Crowne Plaza, a hotel along Yalong Bay. The resort in Sanya Bay, the Palm Beach Resort and Spa welcomed the first Miss China beauty pageant in modern times. The organizer Julia Morley was decided by Sanya to welcome the international pageant the following year.

In 2009 legendary hotel group Mandarin Oriental opened their first property in mainland China in the Dadong Hai area of Sanya. Sanya attracts many Russian tourists as can be seen by many Russian signs throughout the city. There is a butterfly museum and a shell aquarium.

History
The ancient name of Sanya is Yazhou (literally means cliff state). Its history can be dated back to Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC, more than 2,200 years ago). Since then, it is always within the territory of the following dynasties of China. Being the tropical Ultima Thule of China, it is so remote from the capital of China. Therefore it is always called Tianyahaijiao, which means the end of the sky and ocean in Chinese. Some Prime ministers in various dynasties were here in exile and an enlightened monk named Jiangzhen accidentally sailed here and used this place as one of his harbors for his long Buddhism-missionary journey to Japan.