My Winter Vacation in Warm Sanya

After 3-hour's flying from cold Shanghai, I finally arrive at Sanya Airport around 2am, a late but much hotter and humid night. Quickly thrust my thick clothes into the baggage, I went out the airport with only a short-sleeved shirt and pants. The driver has arrived at the airport and picked me up at the arriving area on time. My hotel is the Sanya Royal Garden Resort which is located in Dadonghai Area, so the rate is much cheaper than those luxury hotels in the Asian Dragon Bay. It is said that the average hotel rate there during the winter vacation has been over 1,000RMB/night. Much further than my budget!

I woke up at 8am in morning, and found my room was filled with bright sunshine. It was more exciting to see the wide sea through the window. At the hotel buffet restaurant, there is an open platform for people to view the beautiful sea while having breakfast. I have booked a 1-day tour in advance including the Nanshan Temple and Tianya Haijiao (edge of the sky, rim of the sea). The tour guide picked me up at the hotel just after breakfast. The Nanshan Temple belongs to the Nanshan Culture Tourism Zone which is about 40km away from downtown Sanya. It is a famous Buddhist temple, of course, a must for people of the first time. There were many prayers in the temple who were expected to donate money more or less. I was attracted by the big Golden Jade Kwan-yin Statue immediately, which looked so elegant and delicate.

In midday, the guide suggested a vegetarian dinner at Yuan Qi Lou (缘起楼) also in the tourism zone. Obviously, this was a good idea to satisfy my hungry appetite. We ordered three noted dishes here, but just cost 90RMB. Ps: the electric power cart supplied in the temple helped a lot, especially in the hot middy.

Tianya Haijiao was less interesting for me but should be romantic for young lovers. The guide was nice to tell me some legends happened here. On the way back to Sanya city, the driver left me at Chun Yun (春园), which is a famous market for having seafood in Sanya. However, since it was a little earlier, the market hasn't been opened. So, I walked along the road to the Mingzhu Square, which is a department store but much shabby than those ones in Shanghai. On the way back to Chun Yun, I found Ming Run (明润), another famous seafood market in Sanya. There were already many people there, so I decided to taste some seafood at Ming Run for instead.
Ps: at Ming Run, people could order seafood and dishes directly, just like at a restaurant. To be opposite, people should purchase seafood at nearby market and then cook them at any Dapaidang in Chun Yun.

While the night was coming, the weather cooled down and the wind brought salty flavor from the sea. Close to my hotel’s beach, some people set fireworks which enhanced this city's charm!