Sanya, Hainan Province, China

🇨🇳 Sanya (三亚), also Samah is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province, in Southeast China.

Its built-up (or metro) area encompasses Haitang and Jiyang Districts.

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. It is also the location of Yulin Naval Base a major military facility on the South China Sea which is home to the People's Liberation Army Navy ballistic nuclear missile fleet.

Sanya lies at the southern tip of Hainan Island on 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.

There are four districts in Sanya: • Jiyang • Tianya • Haitang • Yazhou.

Tourist Industry In recent years Sanya has become a popular tourist destination. Numerous international hotel chains are now established in the area. In 2009 the luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel group opened in the Dadong Hai area of Sanya, their first property in mainland China. There are now over 100 hotels, ranging from international brands to locally managed resorts.

Russian and English signs can be seen throughout the city. In response to claims of over-charging of tourists (whether foreign or Chinese) at restaurants in the city, Hainan government officials and Sanya city officials have vowed to crack down on the practice. The Sanya Industrial and Commercial Bureau has implemented a real-time information system of the city's seafood restaurants during the May Day holiday for public supervision in order to stop any future price gouging by restaurants.

Nature reserves of Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park (亚龙湾热带 天堂森林公园) and Sanya Coral Reef National Nature Reserve (三亚珊瑚礁国家级自然保护区) are located nearby Yalong Bay, and Yalong Bay National Tourism Holiday Resort was created. In recent years, as the waters of Sanya Bay and others below mentioned are becoming clearer and healthier, several species of dolphins, including endangered Chinese white dolphins, appear along the coasts from time to time. However, they have not been considered as targeted tourism attractions.

Transport The city is served by Sanya Phoenix International Airport. Taxis are available throughout the city.

Buses from other parts of Hainan serve Sanya's bus terminal. The No. 8 bus connects the airport to Dadonghai Beach. From there tourists can take the 24 or 25 bus to Yalong Bay or the 28 bus to Haitang Bay. There is also a free bus from Luhuitou Square to the Duty-Free Shopping Center at Haitang Bay, the largest such centre in China.

Hainan East Ring Intercity Rail The Hainan East Ring Intercity Rail links Sanya and Haikou and runs along the east coast of Hainan Island. 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. The Hainan Western Ring High-Speed Railway, running along the west coast of the province also links Sanya to Haikou.

Tram Sanya's tram service began trial operation on 7 January 2019. Trams are composed of five carriages with a maximum seating capacity of 362 people. In built up and urbanised areas, the maximum speed of the tram is 50 km/h. The current tram route begins at Sanya Railway Station and finishes at Jiankang Road Station. Full operation of the first line started on 10 October 2020.

Education: Universities Sanya University (三亚学院) Located at Xueyuan Rd., Yingbin Ave. Sanya Hainan 572022. Sanya University is an independent undergraduate university. The University has fourteen schools: Social Development, Law, Finance and Economics, Management, Tourism Management, Humanities and Communication, Arts, Foreign Languages, Engineering, Physical Education, General Education & Foundation Courses, International Tourism, International Education and Music, and other, and offers 56 undergraduate majors.

Qiongzhou University (琼州大学) is located at 1 Yucai Road. The only public university located in Sanya, Qiongzhou is actively pursuing more foreign enrolments, hoping to attract Chinese tourism and language students to the city. Courses offered to international students are: elementary Chinese, intermediate Chinese, advanced Chinese (listening, speaking, reading and writing), English, Russian (listening, speaking, reading and writing), Chinese calligraphy and painting, Chinese martial arts, Chinese history, studies of Li and Miao Cultures, tourism and recreational management, and music performance.