Sanya #5: Sanya Bay

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Another day, another beach. I'd woken up around seven but had a slow start as I was in relax mode. I ordered some breakfast and decided to order something different today. I got cheung fun (rice rolls), youtiao and soymilk. So different but not too different as I had my staples of youtiao and soymilk. In all the years, I have lived and travelled in China, I have never had Cheung Fun. I don't know why as they do look good, but something else always looks better so I never order them. I did enjoy the cheung fun, but I didn't really like the dipping sauce that you have to pour over them. I think it is some kind of seasoned soy sauce. Once sorted, I took the bus to Haiyue Plaza as today I was visiting Sanya Bay. The bus journey was a bit long but uneventful.

I had lucked out with the weather as when I arrived at the beach I was treated to beautiful blue skies with some wispy white clouds. From the plaza I got some nice views of the beach, long and flat with golden sands and the sea with boats in it. Some of the bigger boats looked like cruise ships. I could also see Phoenix Island to the left and the pier to the right. While I was standing there, a woman came over and tried to flog me a helicopter tour. My first instinct was I am not rich love and my second why would I want to go on something that could crash into the ocean and kill me. Needless to say, I declined. I had a quick walk left first as there was only a few hundred metres or so to walk. There was a nice little park in front of the beach so I had a walk through that. There were quite a few old people there making the most of the nice weather. I walked through the park and then made my way down to the beach. I soaked in the views as I walked along. Looking along the beach it reminded me more of a European holiday resort than the other beaches I'd visited in Sanya. As the large hotels and resorts I saw gave me that vibe. As I walked in the direction of Phoenix Island I saw another pier which seemed to be a hub for water activities. I also saw a helicopter landing and taking off, glad I wasn't on it. When I reached the end I decided to walk back the way I came along the road for a slight change in scenery. The road wasn't too busy and there was construction going on, on the other side of it, but that was all hidden behind large metal walls. I loved that both sides of the road were lined with palm trees and there were some red lanterns up for the incoming new year. It made what would have been a boring path look so much prettier. While taking in the views of the ocean, I also liked people watching those who were relaxing under the shade of the palm trees. One old guy had quite a nice set up with his musical instrument and stand for his music. What a lovely place to practice.

When I saw a path, I re-joined the beach. The sand was pretty compact which made it a lot easier to walk on. There were quite a few people on the beach, but it didn't feel crowded. I think I have lucked out with the beaches as I had read that Sanya would just be filled to the rafters but it hasn't felt too bad. The best thing is to just walk a few hundred metres or so from the main entrances to the beach and then you get a quieter spot. I think Sanya Bay is the largest beach in Sanya, I could be wrong though. It is about 22 kilometres long. While I won't be walking it all, I did managed quite a bit of it. I got some nice views of the pier as I walked along the beach. I think that the pier must have been closed off as there were no people walking along it, and the sea around it was also free from people and boats. It looked really pretty. The views in the background as the bay curved around were really nice too. I could see lots of large hotel and resort type buildings but these were eclipsed in size by the mountains behind them. Past the pier looking out to sea, I could see quite a few boats anchored up and a lone water skier. I saw a horse which was being led along by what I think was its owner. I don't know if it was for rides like I had seen in Haitang Bay or if it was a prop for a wedding photo shoot as I saw a woman in a pretty wedding dress near it. I was surprised that I hadn't seen more wedding photo shoots as I would imagine Sanya would be a popular place for it. After walking along the beach for a few kilometres, I decided to head to the palm tree shaded path for a little respite from the sun. I also had to use a bit of a grotty, smelly toilet block. I don't know if I am just lucky living in Shenzhen as public toilets there are generally spotless and well maintained. I hope the local government here will invest some of the tourist dollars in upgrading the facilities. As I was walking along the sun was hitting off the water giving it a beautiful simmer and with it being framed by the palm trees, it looked even better. Even though I have lived in China for a few years previously, I never knew that there were so many nice beaches in southern China. It might be well known within China, but it hasn't really made it out to the foreign/English speaking sphere.

After a few hours of walking along the beach, I decided that I was done for the day. I did have an original end point in mind, but gave up with a couple of kilometres to go. There were bus stops fairly evenly spaced behind the beach and I only had to backtrack a couple of hundred metres or so to reach my nearest one. I think I only had to wait about ten minutes or so for the bus I needed. The bus journey back to my hotel seemed to last forever. You know when you just want to get home but the traffic was bad and lots of people were getting on and off the bus at its various stops. For dinner that evening I had my favourite eggplant and minced pork dish along with some egg fried rice and a beer, while planning what I would do on my last day in Sanya.

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Comments

[RENanDREW]

Wow!
I don't know why but I never expected China to have this type of tropical feel to its beaches! Thank you for taking on this trip... it's probably an area I'll never get to as a tourist travelling through such a large country :)

[Zephyr]

China's Beaches
I never knew that China had such great beaches. Sanya is really popular with domestic tourists, but not really on the radar of Western tourists. There isn't a lot of English language information available about Sanya. If I wasn't here for an extended period of time, it would have passed me by too. Thanks for reading.