Sanya

Sanya
Sanya
Prefecture-level city
Chinese transcription(s)
• Chinese	三亚
• Pinyin	Sānyà
	The beach in Sanya
	Location of Sanya Prefecture (yellow) within Hainan
Country	China
Province	Hainan
Area
• Total	1,919.6 km2 (741.2 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	536,000
• Density	280/km2 (720/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	572100
Area code	898
Website	http://www.sanya.gov.cn/

Sanya (simplified Chinese: 三亚; traditional Chinese: 三亞; pinyin: Sān'yà) is the southernmost city in Hainan (海南) province, China. It has an area of 1919.6 square km and a population of 536,000 (2006). After Haikou, it is the second most populous city of the island. Sanya is renowned for its tropical climate and is 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). It's history can be dated back to Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC, more than 2200 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 6 towns (镇 shen) :

Township-level districts

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

Towns

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

Nowadays, 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. 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 sea and sky.)(The end of the Earth)
Lu Hui Tou (Deer turns its head) 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
Dongtian Park
The Tiger and Crocodile centre.

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 the 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 25.4C and annual rainfall is 1,279mm.

Average Temperature of Sanya

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
23.4°C	23.6°C	25.5°C	27.9°C	28.7°C	28.9°C	28.9°C	28.4°C	28.0°C	27.8°C	23.9°C	23.0°C

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: