Sandy Sanya

Flights booked, excitement was there, plans were made…flights cancelled the day before the trip. That was the start of our trip to Sanya. Originally, we were going to Taipei, Taiwan. Without a rhyme or reason our first extended holiday since moving to China was over with. So do we just stay in Nanjing, and waste 8 days off, or find somewhere else to go? I came to China to travel, so I’m sure you know the answer.

My favorite travel buddies and I decided on Sanya because ticket prices had dropped and hotels were inexpensive. Sanya is coined as the “Hawaii of China.” We were lucky that we booked a trip toward the end of the holiday because there were absolutely no crowds.

First day in Sanya we spent it being beach bums for hours and searching for a bar with the best view of the city. Sanya surprised me in a few ways. A positive way that it surprised me was how many lights there were. I’m a big fan of cities that blind you at night, so I was happy with this. The next day we spent our time exploring a well known cultural site. Nanshan Cultural Zone is 100% a can't miss. The ticket is about 129¥ if I remember correctly. Expect to spend several hours here. There’s so much to do and many things to eat, but the star of the show is the Temple of Guanyin. This is the 12th tallest statue in the world. It has three faces representing peace, wisdom, and compassion. The statue is on a blue water beach, nestled at the bottom of mountains, so there’s views for days. Also expect to walk about five flights of stairs to get to the top because the line for the elevator is out of control. Pictures and videos below:

The final day of our trip we decided to do something to get the adrenaline pumping and went jet skiing at Dadonghai Beach. This was definitely an experience. I guess I wasn’t daring enough for the person riding with me. Sometimes he’d take the wheel and go crazy (too crazy for me like sir...we could flip over). Up until this point, we had spent all of this beach trip at Sanya Bay. However, Dadonghai Tourist Area (see below) was the better beach between the two. There’s a boardwalk with endless restaurant and its a more scenic beach than Sanya Bay. We also spent time on our last day checking out the pineapple shaped mall here. Other than being pineapple shaped, it’s nothing too special. Especially in comparison to other Chinese malls I’ve been in.

As I stated above, Sanya surprised me in a few ways. Unfortunately, not all positive. Sanya has a VERY large Russian population. So much so, menus and signs are usually in Chinese, Russian, and English. Sanya having a large Russian population was not my issue. I was bothered by how Russian people stared (really gawked with disdain) at us more than the Chinese locals did. Like...China isn’t not your country either. It also annoyed me because many of them had box braids, but had the nerve to stare. Make it make sense.

There was also an incident at the hotel we stayed at (I won’t say their name, but if you message me I’ll tell you). Three of us came to Sanya together. Two of us were at the pool while the other went to the front desk to buy some things. Someone staying at the hotel assumed we didn’t stay there and said something to the security guard. They both then stood to the side and stared. This whole time I'm swimming and my friend was taking selfies, so we had done nothing. Then a cop pulled up. At this point, my friend was (rightfully) going off in English. The other person with us came back and I told them to show all three of these people our key. After seeing the key they dispersed. Even though nothing crazy happened, it’s still extremely annoying for people to assume you can’t be staying somewhere. In a lot of people’s minds, especially East Asians, they associate dark skin with being poor which is ridiculous because everyone on the trip makes more than the average Chinese person does, but I digress. It took me so long to write this blog because of this incident. People will say it could’ve happened to White foreigners too, but I prefer to be real. And if we’re being real, we know the likelihood of that is slim.

Overall, Sanya was a good experience. It’s my #2 favorite city we’ve been to. We had adventure, gorgeous views, and beautiful waters. We also ate some really good food at Dolphin Bar & Grill and Casamia. I highly recommend both. If you want to see a completely different side of China outside of mega-cities or ancient villages, step onto a beach in the Hawaii of China.

#China # Sanya # Travel #TravelBlog #BlackandAbroad