Sanya

Sanya
—  Prefecture-level city  —
Chinese transcription(s)
- Chinese	三亚
- Pinyin	Sānyà
The beach in Sanya
Location of Sanya Prefecture (yellow) within Hainan
Sanya Location in China
Coordinates: 18°15′12″N 109°30′13″E / 18.25333°N 109.50361°E / 18.25333; 109.50361
Country	China
Province	Hainan
Area
- Total	1,919.6 km2 (741.2 sq mi)
Population (2006)
- Total	536,000
- Density	279.2/km2 (723.2/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	572100
Area code(s)	898
Website	http://www.sanya.gov.cn/

Sanya (simplified Chinese: 三亚; traditional Chinese: 三亞; pinyin: Sān'yà) is a city in southern Hainan province of China. It has a population of 536,000 as of 2006. 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.

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. ^[1]

Sights

A 108-meter Buddhist statue of Guanyin in Sanya, completed in May 2005, is one of the tallest statues in the world.

Yalong Bay is a 7.5 km beach located southeast of Sanya City.

Administrative divisions

Sanya is a sub-provincial city. It has direct jurisdiction over 2 township-level districts (乡级管理区 xiangji guanli-qu) and six towns (镇 shen) :

Township-level districts

• Hexi District (河西区; Héxī-qū)
• Hedong District (河东区; Hédōng-qū)

Towns

• Tianya (天涯镇; Tiānyá-zhèn)
• Yacheng (崖城镇; Yáchéng-zhèn)
• Haitangwan (海棠湾镇; Hǎitángwān-zhèn)
• Tiandu (田独镇; Tiándú-zhèn)
• Fenghuang (凤凰镇; -Fènghuángzhèn)
• Yucai (育才镇; Yùcái-zhèn)

Tourism

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.

Attractions

• Cape Tian-Ya-Hai-Jiao (天涯海角) (The end of the seas and skies)
• The Deer Turns (Luhuitou Park) - A large stone statue above Sanya harbour telling the story of a hunter pursuing a deer to an isolated headland in 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 her and instead fell in love with her. Luhuitou is a place for lovers; many people leave a padlock on a chain at the top of the mountain in the hope that their love will last as the lock remains.
• Yalong, Dadonghai (大东海, big east sea), Sanya, Haitang, and Yazhou are the five major bays in Sanya.^[2]
• Wuzhizhou Island.
• West Island
• Daxiao Dongtian (Fairy Caves)
• The Tiger and Crocodile centre.
• Nanshan Temple
• Guanyin Statue of Hainan

Transportation

The city is served by Sanya Phoenix International Airport which is called Sanya Fenghuang International Airport. Buses from other parts of the island serve Sanya's bus terminal. Plenty of taxis serve residents and tourists.

- From Sanya Phoenix International Airport to Dadonghai Beach and Yalong Bay, can take the No. 8 Bus.

Geography and climate

Sanya is roughly on the same latitude as Hawaii, with very warm weather all year around. It is one of the transportation and communication centers of China, and one of the important trade ports in the extreme south of the golden coastline. The daily average temperature is 25.4 °C and annual rainfall is 1,279 mm.

Average Temperature of Sanya

Other history

It was the first Chinese city (excluding Special Administrative Regions) to receive the Olympic torch after its departure from Beijing, in the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing. The city hosted the:

• Elite Model Look 2008
• Miss World contest in 2003, 2004 2005 and 2007
• Mister World 2007 contest
• World's Strongest Man contest in 2006

Gallery

Sanya Sunset	Setting Sun Sanya Beach	East part of Sanya	West part of Sanya

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sanya

• Sanya News
• Article about Guanyin statue, with pictures (note: the article confuses "Buddha" and "Guanyin")

v • d • e Hainan Province History • Politics • Economy Prefecture-level cities Haikou • Sanya Districts of Haikou Longhua • Meilan • Qiongshan • Xiuying Below are the Sixteen county-level divisions directly under the province, with no intermediate prefecture level County Chengmai • Ding'an • Lingao • Tunchang County-level cities Wenchang • Qionghai • Wanning • Wuzhishan • Dongfang • Danzhou Autonomous counties Baisha • Baoting • Changjiang • Ledong • Lingshui • Qiongzhong Administrative Office Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority (disputed) See also: List of Hainan County-level divisions