Sanya

Sanya 三亚
Prefecture-level city
三亚市
West part of Sanya
Location Sanya City jurisdiction in Hainan
Sanya Location of the city centre in Hainan
Coordinates: 18°15′12″N 109°30′13″E / 18.25333°N 109.50361°E / 18.25333; 109.50361Coordinates: 18°15′12″N 109°30′13″E / 18.25333°N 109.50361°E / 18.25333; 109.50361
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Hainan
Government
• CPC Municipal Secretary	Jiang Sixian
Area
• Total	1,919.58 km2 (741.15 sq mi)
Population (2010 Census)
• Total	685,408
• Density	360/km2 (920/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	572100
Area code(s)	0898
Licence plate prefixes	琼
Website	sanya.gov.cn

Sanya (simplified Chinese: 三亚; traditional Chinese: 三亞; pinyin: Sānyà) is one of the three prefecture-level cities of Hainan and the southernmost city on the Chinese island. According to the 2010 Census, the population of Sanya is of 685,408 inhabitants,^[1] living in an area of 1,919.58 square kilometres (741.15 sq mi). The city is renowned for its tropical climate and has emerged as a popular tourist destination, also serving as the training site of the Chinese national beach volleyball team. Sanya is home to small concentrations of Utsul people.

History

Known in ancient times as Yazhou (Chinese Postal Map Romanisation: Ngaichiu; 崖州), literally "cliff state or prefecture", Sanya's history dates to the Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC). Due to its remoteness from the political centers during the imperial period of mainland China, Sanya was sometimes called Tianya Haijiao (天涯海角), meaning "the end of the sky and ocean" or "the end of the earth". As a result, the city served as a place of exile for officials who found themselves out of favor with the country's rulers. During the Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist monk Jianzhen accidentally landed here, using Sanya as a staging post on his missionary journey to Japan.^[2]

In 1912, Yazhou became Yaxian (崖县)Chinese Postal Map Romanisation: Aihsien or Ngaihsien). Japan then occupied the area during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1941–1945) and renamed Sanya as Samah. The city then became a naval port for the Second Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the main embarkation point for the Japanese Invasion of Malaya and Thailand.^[3]

In April 1950, the People's Liberation Army took over Yaxian County and established a People's Government. In October 1954, the administration of the CPC Yaxian Committee relocated from Yacheng to Sanya then in 1958, administration of Yaxian relocated from Yacheng to Sanya and Yaxian merged with Baoting, Lingshui, Niulou, and Xinglong, Wanning, to become a large county. In 1959 and 1961 these areas were separated to establish Baoting and Lingshui while Yaxian County remained in its current prefecture. Approved by the State Council of China, Yaxian was upgraded to Sanya City on September 26, 1987 and on December 30, Sanya City was officially established.^[4]

In 2007 the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee announced that the city of Sanya would become the first leg of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games torch relay in mainland China.^[5]

Geography and

Sanya city map

Sanya lies at the southern tip of Hainan Island at Sanya Bay, and, after Sansha (also administered by Hainan Province), is the second-southernmost prefecture-level city nationally. Located at 18° 15' N latitude, it is about as far north of the Equator as the Island of Hawaii is. Though the administrative area (Sanya City) has a rough topography, the city itself is generally flat, lying on a parcel of land between low-level mountains to the north and the South China Sea.

Climate

The area has a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen Aw),^[6] featuring very warm weather all year around. Monsoonal influences are strong, with a relatively lengthy wet season and a pronounced dry season. The coolest month is January, at 21.6 °C (70.9 °F), while the hottest, unlike much of the rest of China, is June, at 28.8 °C (83.8 °F); the annual mean is 25.8 °C (78.4 °F). Water temperatures remain above 20 °C (68 °F) year-round.^[7]

Subdivisions

Sanya is a prefecture-level city, but its subdivisions are more similar to that of a sub-prefecture-level city or a county-level city. It has direct jurisdiction over 2 township-level districts (乡级管理区 xiangji guanli-qu), six towns (镇 zhen) and four state-run farms:

Tourism

In recent years Sanya has become a popular tourist destination.^[8] The first international resort hotel was opened and managed by Swiss hotelier Nicolas C. Solari in 1999, in Yalong Bay.^[9] Numerous international hotel chains are now established in the area. In 2009 hotel group Mandarin Oriental opened their first property in mainland China in the Dadong Hai area of Sanya.

Because of unique geographical and political circumstances to Sanya, many niche markets have been cultivated in real estate, food and beverage management, Chinese language and cultural exchange, agro-tourism, and wilderness adventures.

Due to increased development, new venues for resorts have been developed. Formerly popular sites such as Dadong Hai and Yalong Bay have now been somewhat supplanted by the new Haitang Bay and Xiangshui Bay, where the natural environment remains largely unspoiled.^[10]*Haitang Bay (simplified Chinese: 海棠湾; traditional Chinese: 海棠灣; pinyin: Hǎitáng Wān) - is a new development in Sanya tourism scene.^[11] The government has invested heavily in this area, as can be observed by the infrastructure.^[12] The new Highway puts Haitang Bay to only 35 minutes from the Phoenix International Sanya airport, and Haitang Bay is home of the modern 301 Liberation Army hospital. The largest duty free shopping mall complex is due to open in 2013-14. The selection of accommodation is on the upper luxury, with brands such as Conrad, Luxury brand and some flagship properties such as the beautiful Haitang Bay Gloria Sanya.^[13] Haitang Bay is been dubbed the new "Chinese Riviera".^[14]

Russian and English signs can be seen throughout the city. Restaurants in Sanya are also infamous for over-charging tourists (whether foreign or Chinese).^[15] However, due to the recent exposure of this practice posted on the micro-blogging site Sina Weibo, Hainan government officials and Sanya city officials have vowed to crack down on this practice.^[16] The Sanya Industrial and Commercial Bureau has also began to implement an open and transparent real-time information system of the city’s seafood restaurants during the May Day holiday this year for public supervision in order to stop any future price gouging by restaurants.^[17]

Main sights

The Guanyin Statue of Hainan

• The Guanyin Statue of Hainan, a 108 metres (354 ft) Buddhist statue, completed in May 2005 and one of the tallest statues in the world^[18] and the adjoining Nanshan Temple.
• Yalong Bay, a 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) major tourist beach located east of Sanya City.
• Tianya Haijiao (The ends of the earth and the corners of the sea)
• Deer Turning Head Park (Luhuitou Park 鹿回头公园) - A park containing a large stone statue above Sanya harbour telling the story of a hunter pursuing a deer to an isolated headland near the sea. When the deer could not escape, it turned to look at the hunter and became a beautiful woman. The hunter could not kill the deer and instead fell in love with her. People leave a padlock on a chain at the top of the mountain in the hope that their love will last as long as the lock remains.
• Dadonghai, Sanya, Haitang, and Yazhou, Xiangshuiwan Bay are the five major bays in Sanya, Xiangshuiwan Bay remains the most beautiful and natural near the famous Nuilin Mountain.^[19]
• Butterfly Valley (蝴蝶谷; pinyin: Húdié Gǔ)^[20] and a shell aquarium.^[21]

Other attractions include:

• Phoenix Island, an artificial archipelago resort currently under construction in Sanya Bay.
• Wuzhizhou Island
• West Island (西岛).
• Daxiao Dongtian (大小洞天), also known as the Fairy Caves.
• The Tiger and Crocodile centre.
• Nanshan Temple.
• Luobi Cave, an ancient karst cave 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Sanya.
• Lingshui/Xiangshui Li'an Ocean Harbor Theme Park is projected for 2013.^[22] It will be the largest water park in Asia^[23][24]

Transportation

The city is served by Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Buses from other parts of the island serve Sanya's bus terminal. Taxis are available throughout the city.

The No. 8 bus connects the airport to Dadonghai Beach and Yalong Bay.

Construction of the Hainan East Ring Intercity Rail began in 2007. The railway now links Sanya and Haikou and runs along the east coast of Hainan. There are 15 stations in between, either in operation or still under construction. Trains are designed to travel at 250 km/h (160 mph). Travel time from Sanya to Haikou is approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes. On December 30, 2010, an announcement was made that another high-speed railway will be built along the west coast of Hainan connecting with the Hainan East Ring Intercity Rail in Sanya and Haikou.

Events

The city hosted the:

• 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 Start to Auckland
• 2011 BRICS summit
• Elite Model Look in 2008 and 2009
• Miss World contest in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2010
• Mister World contest in 2007
• World's Strongest Man contest in 2006 and 2013
• 2012 Sanya Int’l Beach Musical Festival^[25][26]

Notes of interest

Sanya was the first Chinese city (excluding Special Administrative Regions) to receive the Olympic torch after its departure from Beijing, during the 2008 Olympic torch relay.

Image gallery

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sanya.

• Article about Guanyin statue, with pictures (note: the article confuses "Buddha" and "Guanyin")
• News,travel,business and cultural guide to Sanya and Hainan

v t e Prefecture and county level divisions of Hainan Haikou (capital) Prefecture level Prefecture-level cities Haikou Longhua District Meilan District Qiongshan District Xiuying District Sansha (no intermediate County-level divisions, see Administration of Sansha) Sanya (no intermediate County-level divisions, see Administration of Sanya) County level Counties Chengmai Ding'an Lingao Tunchang County-level cities Wenchang Qionghai Wanning Wuzhishan Dongfang Danzhou Autonomous counties Baisha Baoting Changjiang Ledong Lingshui Qiongzhong Economic development zone Yangpu Economic Development Zone See also: Politics of Hainan