Nanshan Culture Tourism Zone----- the Biggest Buddhist Preaching Site of China

Situated 50 kilometers from Sanya City, Nanshan Culture Tourism Zone occupying an area of 264,000 sqm, is the biggest Buddhist preaching site of China. It was completed on 12 April 1998, the 2,000th anniversary year of Buddhism coming to China. Countless visitors flock to the area, drawn by the beauty of Nanshan Mountain (South Mountain), making it a principal eco-tourism zone. Visitors also are attracted to the area because of the profound Buddhist influence on the surrounding culture. The zone features three theme parks: Buddhism Culture Park, Blessing and Longevity Park, and Hainan Custom Culture Park.

Rated as one of the top scenic spots in China (AAAAA), Nanshan combines Buddhist culture, garden architectures, and recreational facilities with the spirit of peace, tranquility, happiness and harmony. And it must be a wise choice for visitors who wish to pay their respects to Buddhist culture while traveling in Sanya. You can also stay in the hotel situated in the grounds of the park.

The most stunning feature of the park is the 108-metre statue of the Goddess of Mercy standing out in the South China Sea, on a man-made island.  The palace at the base of the statue is connected to the shore by a 280-metre bridge. The project started in 1999 and opened to the public in April 2005. 

Another amazing national treasure is a 3.8-meter（13-feet） high Golden Jade Kwan-yin Statue. It is covered with 100 kg (221 pounds) of gold and silver, embedded with 120 carats of South African diamonds plus countless jewels.

In the Nanshan Culture Tourism Zone, you will be able to feast your eyes on the beautiful location, while dining on the area's renowned vegetarian dishes. Cooks make use of wild mushrooms and other vegetables when preparing delicious and nutritious dishes.

After you dine, be sure to attend the classical concert and kung fu performance. The concert band is comprised of 14 Chinese young girls. They use traditional instruments such as the Erhu, zither, lute (pipa), and flute, to create beautiful Chinese Music. The Chinese kung fu performance is splendid as well. One cannot fully appreciate the skill and technique of Chinese kung fu without witnessing a live performance such as this one.
For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Dongjiao Coconut Plantation

Dongjiao Coconut Plantation is located on the seaside of Dongjiao Town, Wenchang City in Hainan and is most well-known for its broad coconut plantation. There goes a saying that coconuts of Wenchang yield half of those grown in Hainan and the most famous is Dongjiao Coconut Plantation. The plantation is literally a forest with over 500,000 coconut trees including the red, green, well-bred, short, tall and other varieties. Some short arecas are immingled among them, which quite resemble the coconuts, so the Hainan people call them 'Trees of Lovers', coconuts the heroes and arecas the beauties. The trees not only provide a scenic backdrop and savory fruit, but they also act as a shield against the frequent typhoons here.

Walking along the shady paths in the forest, special scenic spots provide a feast for the senses. Coconut Bayou, whose scenery is pictured on the famous series of stamps named 'Seashore Scenery', engenders a peaceful and idyllic feeling of nature. In the Coconut Park, you'll be inundated in a sea of coconuts of different shapes and sizes, including the uniquely 'King Three Branches of Coconuts' named for the grotesquely large branches in the tree. Dongjiao is also home to a thriving fishing industry. Facilities have been established to ensure maritime safety including an ancient beacon to guide the passing boats. Also noteworthy is Shuiwei Shengniang Miao, a temple for praying to the believed goddess Shuiwei Shengniang to protect the fishermen.

The sea next to the plantation is limpid and warm providing a natural bathing experience for tourists. There're a variety of activities available from rowing, bike riding and taking wavering umbrellas over the sea to picking shells or strolling barefoot on the silver sand. Small wooden cabins are accessible for rest and a respite from the sun. While enjoying the scenery, you can sip some fragrant Chinese tea as being gently touched by the sea breeze. This place is a wonderfully relaxing retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life.

If you want to let your appetite loose, Dongjiao will not disappoint you. Enormous varieties of seafood are available - in fact, you are allowed by the nearby restaurants to select your favorite directly from the fishing boats and ask them to cook them for you. After getting your fill of seafood, try some sweet coconuts to freshen your taste buds. If you want to buy some special product, like coconuts and seafood in Hainan here, Coconut Plantation Long Street is probably the best choice.

The plantation was developed as Hainan Province's first tourist resort in 1989, the second year it was recognized as a province. Now, many docks, vacation resorts, seafood shops and hotels for tourists dot the area. With the gradual expansion and improvement of facilities, this enchanting place is sure to attract an increasing number of visitors.
For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Wuzhizhou Island

Wuzhizhou Island lacated in Haitang Bay is about 30 km (18.6 miles) northeast of Sanya city, it has an area of some 1.48 square kilometers (365.7 acres). With an irregular butterfly-like shape and a total coastline of 5.7 km (3.54 miles), the island is about 30 km (18.6 miles) north-east of Sanya City.

The island was known as Guqizhou Island in ancient times and the earliest records date from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when a temple was built to commemorate the originator of Chinese characters, Cang Jie. Following the Qing Government's fall from power, the villagers rebuilt the temple to honor the Goddess Matsu, who bestowed good fortune on the local fishermen. From 1949 this island became an important strategic defense zone. However, from the 1990s, the island began to enjoy a completely new role as a romantic place for holiday and leisure.

As the island is in a tropical marine zone, the climate is temperate and pleasant all year round. The annual average temperature comes between 250 Celsius and 300 Celsius but from January to March, climate is cooler in the mornings and evenings. The best time to visit Wuzhizhou Island is during winter. While travelling to Wuzhizhou Island, Sanya it is advised to take sunscreen lotions, umbrella, hat, sun glasses and mosquito cream.

Other than exploring sea there are few scenic spots such as Goddess Matsu Temple, Gold Turtle Stretching towards the sea, Lover’s Bridge, Lover’s Island, Life Well, Sunrise Rock etc… you might like to see. If you have come to stay overnight and relax, you can make visiting each spot a small adventure. To stay overnight you have plenty of choices like Wuzhizhou Island Holiday Centre, Onshore Wooden Cabin, and Presidents’ Villa etc…with beautiful island view. The island is also a heaven for sea food and tropical fruits. There are plenty of restaurants to the south of the island where you can taste varieties of mouthwatering seafood.

In addition to the natural attractions of the island, tourists are certain to be pleased by the delightful catering facilities here. In the south of the island there are the Buffet Lunch Restaurant, the Pirate Bar, the Seafood Pool and the Chinese Restaurant all providing excellent food. The Summer Western Food Restaurant in the east corner and the Winter Western Food Restaurant in the west corner of the island also offer a choice of delicious food. Local caught lobsters, prawns, crabs, conch, sea cucumbers and jellyfish will make your mouth water! Furthermore, this island is rich in fruits; bananas, coconuts, mangos and other tropical fruits are plentiful and inexpensive.

For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Holiday Beach in Haikou

Holiday Beach (officially Holiday Beachside Resort) is beach and visitor attraction located along Binhai Road, Hainan. The beach, some six kms (about 3.7 miles) long, enjoys a wonderful climate (average temperature of 75.2F), with sparkling waters, waving coconut trees, and plenty of sunshine and blue skies.

The beach area was officially established in 1995. Since then, it has undergone development with the establishment of visitor attractions such as restaurants, swimming pools, an outdoor roller skating rink, and an amphitheatre. The land beside the beach has been landscaped and pathways created. The entire shoreline is maintained by workers who remove rubbish.

Holiday beach is a popular destination for tourists. It is known by residents of Haikou as a place to eat chuanr at night. The beach has also been the site of major competitions for such sports as kitesurfing and volleyball.

The resort has four zones: The first is Sea Sports. One can enjoy swimming, sail-boarding, kayaking, or just lazing on the beach. Just whatever takes your fancy.

The second is Food and Culture: the Guanjingtai Plaza provides excellent sightseeing and a wide variety of restaurants and bars to satisfy every palate. The International Fishing Club offers high-tech fishing tools and makes you enjoy the happiness of fishing.

The third is The Fun Section: this offers a wide range of family entertainment: the Music Square, a roller-skating course, a Children's Movement Center, the Kingdom of Butterflies, and much more. Especially popular is the World above Water with its water ballet and diving presentations.

An unusual feature of the Holiday Beach Resort is the 'kissing fish'. These fish can live happily in 104F water, and they will nibble at your body to provide delightful underwater skin-cleansing care. This beach also provides accommodation in a relaxing environment: everything from villas and chalets to tents and hammocks is comfortable, clean and safe.
For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Dadonghai

Located 3 kilometers (about 1.9 miles) southeast of downtown Sanya, and between Mt. Tuziwei and Mt. Luhuitou, Dadonghai is one of the most popular tropical seaside holiday areas in Hainan Province. It has a crescent-shaped beach 2.3 kilometers long (about 1.4 miles) and clear blue sea, sunshine, white sand and green trees creating a beautiful location in the Torrid Zone. Dadonghai is famous for winter swimming and it is the earliest and most mature beach resort.

The famous beach is ideal for diving, beach sports, bathing and sunbathing. And as it has everything to support a seaside tourist location, including a large shopping square on the shore, amusement companies and a famous dive company that can provide scuba diving, ship diving, seabed strolling, speed boat, motorboat, luxury yacht, sail boat, ocean fishing, beach sports and underwater photography, this location is renowned for water activities in Sanya and throughout China.

There is a small sea park to the east line and about three hundred meters away from the beach. In the park there is hill with a pavilion on witch you can have a bird-view of the sea. There is an egret park in witch visitors can see a lot of egrets paradise.

Dadonghai has spring-like weather all year round. The water temperature is about 20C degrees even in winter, hence its reputation as an idyllic spot for winter holidaying and relaxation. It also has several shopping areas; the largest shopping center is the Sanya-Ruihai Shopping Park, then Dadonghai Pearl Square, Tropical Rain Forest Square, Seashore Lovers Road and Seafood Barbecue Square, are all able to offer leisure for tourists. 300 meters (about 328 yards) east along the beach is Seashore Park. Standing on the top of the small mountain inside the park, you have a panoramic view of the beach.

For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Luhuitou Park

Embraced with water at three sides and about 5 km (3 miles) south of Sanya City, Luhuitou is a peninsula in the Sanya Bay. It is a hill extending in the shape of an enthralling deer looking back. The name is derived from a beautiful love fair tale. Once a Li ethnic hunter running after a deer, which was actually a fairy lady from the heaven, fell in love with the fairy lady the instant the deer turned into the lady. You can have a magnificent bird's view of the sea and the whole Sanya city.

Luhuitou Hill, at an altitude of about 280 meters (918 feet), is the main peak of Luhuitou Peninsula. It's a pleasant place to appreciate the sunrise and sunset, and overlook the downtown area of Sanya City. At the foot of the hill, you can see various kinds of halobios, including starfish, crabs, sea cucumbers, actiniae and jellyfish. Up along the hill, a kind of red flower called Triangle Plum will come into view. It's the City Flower of Sanya. Halfway up the hill, a tuft of Triangle Plum, descending like a waterfall, is a really amazing sight. There are so many beauties and stories to be mentioned about.

Luhuitou Park itself is situated on Luhuitou Mountain near the seashore, about 4 kilometers from the city of Sanya, the island's second-largest city.  People can visit Luhuitou Hill as well, it is really convenient because it is close. On the other hand, Luhuitou Peninsula is not only a romantic peninsula, but also a lush, natural environment covered with deciduous trees and plants. It is the ideal place to spend a winter holiday in China.

Luhuitou Park has numerous winding paths offering refreshing strolls with some spectacular views. The panoramic views from "Luhuitou Hill" are perhaps the best reason to visit the peninsula. There is also an observation station here, named after Halley's Comet, and a number of other scenic sites such as Monkey Mountain, Deer House, Turtle Heaven, Immortal Pond, and of course the 9 by 12 meter statue commemorating the aforementioned romantic "Deer Looking Back" legend. And then there is the island's food specialty that can be tasted everywhere: the red coconut.

In Luhuitou Bay below one can go scuba diving. Here one will find a whole range of colorful fish in all sizes, as well as the usual coral scenery and other fascinating underwater treasures that are only found in a tropical climate. And speaking of climate, Hainan Island is regarded as having the best climate in all of China, and its air quality is second only to that on Hawaii, which ranks as the best air quality in the world. 
For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Tianya Haijiao-----A romantic Place in Hainan

Tianyahaijiao, which means the end of sky and the rim of the sea, is a romantic and beautiful scenic spot located at the southwest seaside of Sanya. It receives many visitors from home and abroad every year since its open in 1988. It also attracts thousands of young lovers from every corner of the world to hold their wedding ceremonies here.

Tianya Haijiao means 'the furthermost part of the sky and the sea' in Chinese, suggesting an unattainable place. In the past, Chinese people believed that the sky was square and the earth was round. Therefore there was definitely a furthermost part of the sky and the earth. Hainan Province, the southernmost part of China, was believed to be the location of Tianya Haijiao.

You can see a stone carved with the characters of Tianya and another stone carved with the characters of Haijiao. There is a romantic love story about these two stones. In ancient times, two young lovers eloped when their parents disapproved of their marriage. Unfortunately, when they arrived in Hainan, their parents were also there. Facing the sea and with nowhere to escape, they were so sad that they just held each other as they jumped into the sea. Suddenly, there was a thunderstorm. They were hit by lightning and changed into two stones. Now people regard these two stones as symbols of eternal and faithful love. Because of this beautiful and romantic story many young lovers choose this place for their wedding ceremony.

Apart from the legend, Tianyahaijiao is also famous for the beach, which is so South-Sea-Island paradise-like that it is hard to connect it to the rest of bustling China. This area is a heaven for people who are head over heals in love, and also an ideal place for people who are deeply in love with the sea. With palm trees gently swaying on sandy beaches and sparkling, pristine waters beckoning, one has to pinch oneself to remind oneself that this is not some sort of exotic, South-Sea-Island movie set.

Besides the three stones, modern facilities can be found such as a Shopping Center, the Li Ethnic Group Village and a Celebrity Sculpture. An international wedding festival is celebrated in Tianya Haijiao every year. Around the Mid Autumn Day, there is a Lantern Festival, which adds to the special atmosphere. You will definitely have fond memories after visiting this scenic spot.
For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Temple of Five Lords (Wugong Ci)

The Temple of Five Lords is a memorial to five officials from the Tang and Song dynasties located to the southeast of the city of Haikou on the island of Hainan. It was renovated on several occasions during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Now, it is a place known for its sense of peace, tranquility and beauty.

During the times of these dynasties, Hainan was perceived as a remote part of the empire and was used as a place for banishment for disgraced court officials. All five officials commemorated at the temple encountered such a fate, typically after losing power struggles within the imperial court. After many years of renovation and development, the existing Temple of Five Lords are now an attractive ancient architectural complex that mainly include the Five Lords Ancestral Hall, the Sugong Memorial Temple, Hairui and Fubo memorial temples, Guanjia Tang (Watching Crop Hall) and Xuepu Tang (Studying Hall). They cover an area of about 2,800 square meters (about 0.69 acres).

The temple's main building is the Five Lords Ancestral Hall. It is a red two-story wooden structure that stands more than 9 m meters tall and has a total floor space of 560 square meters. A historical inscription on a board placed over the front entrance on the second floor declares it the "first building in Hainan". The earliest buildings of the complex were erected during the reign of Wanli Emperor (1572–1620) of the Ming Dynasty. The main hall houses the vivid and lifelike stone statues of the five prestigious officials. On the inner pillars, there are two much praised couplets which visitors, having learnt about the background of the five officials, cannot help but admire. Additionally, a stone tablet that is carved with calligraphy inscriptions of Emperor Huizong, from the Song Dynasty, is also displayed in the temple.

Sugong Temple, located in the east of Temple of Five Lords, is another fascinating destination. Su Dongpo was one of the greatest poets of the Song Dynasty. He dug two springs for the locals when he heard that they were finding it difficult to get water supplies. Hence the local people constructed a temple to commemorate his contribution to their community. One of the springs still exists even to this day.

On the right of the Temple of Five Lords, there is a peaceful yard where fresh flowers and thriving trees are planted. There are two main buildings here. One, the Xuepu Tang (literally Gardening Study Hall), is the old site where the famous scholar Guo Wanxiang often gave lectures. The other is Wugong Jingshe (West Hall), which is where the students of the Hainan Province, (at the end of the Qing Dynasty) learned historical works and poems. 

For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com

Yalong Bay(Asian Dragon Bay)

Located on Hainan's southermost coast, 25 km from the bustling resort town of Sanya.Asian, Yalong Bay is a 7.5-kilometer (4.7- mile) long, crescent-shaped bay that is considered one of Asia's most beautiful scenic spots. From the beach, it is possible to enjoy a view of rolling hills and heaving deep blue seas. Just a short distance from the beach, the coral reefs here are the environment for a stunning array of tropical fish. The water here is so clear that you can see to a depth of up to 10 meters!

Being of typical tropical marine climate, Yalong Bay has an annual average temperature of 25.5 degree Celsius, which allow its visitors to take marine sports all year round, and its bay area of 66 square km can host 100,000 people have fun in the sea at a time. The scenery is amazing, with endless rolling hills, serene gulfs, clear blue sea and silvery sand beaches--three times as long as any in Hawaii. Home to several well-preserved coral reefs with tropical fish of varied kinds, colors and shapes, the ocean here is crystal clear, allowing visitors to view underwater sights up to 10 meters (33 feet) deep from the surface.

Asian Dragon Bay boasts the five essential elements of modern tourism: sea, sands, sunshine, lush green plants and fresh air. In 1992, the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization once marked that this bay embraces the unique and unparalleled natural settings, sands, crystal sea water, endless seashore, unspoiled hills and pristine vegetation, making it a paradise for holiday travelers.

In the centre of Asian Dragon Bay square stands a Totem Pole of 27 meters (about 88.6 feet), on which the God of Sun, and Gods of Wind, Rain, and Thunder as well as those legendary animals such as Dragon, Phoenix, Kylin and Fish are engraved. The design of this square embodies the Chinese civilization of 5,000 years and has received recognition in winning the Luban Prize - awarded to the top level design of architecture in China. In the north of Asian Dragon Bay is the site of Butterfly Valley, which is classified into five halls that present the most precious species of butterflies in China and other countries as well.

For more information, please visit http://top-chinatour.com