Sanya, China

Where do the wealthy Chinese from Beijing and Haerbin go in the winter when their own cities are snowed under?  To the beach of course!!  The southernmost tip of China is on Hainan Island, and we headed down to Sanya for some 'summer fun'!  The weather was sunny and the sky was clear.  The trees were tropical, including coconut palms and papayas and mangoes.  People were sitting outside at tables enjoying the evening air when we arrived.  What a change!  Our first excursion, however, was to Nanwan Monkey Island.  We rode a cable car over the houseboats on the water to the island.

 The rhesus monkeys roam free on the island and are not at all afraid of humans.

Hang on, baby!

Aww, so cute!

There was a special place where they put the monkeys in "jail" if they misbehaved, such as biting a tourist or something!  They said it worked, but I'm not sure....... 

Then we were subjected to a non-PETA-approved performance or two.  You can make a monkey do anything if you tie a rope around its neck and jerk it when they don't do what you want.

Monkey Island Show

It was more fun to see the monkeys doing their own show in the trees.

Wild Monkeys

You can buy monkey food to feed the animals, but I was able to find a peanut shell that this little guy was interested in.

Monkey Island was an hour or more drive away from our hotel, but we were eager to go to the beach.  After lunch, we just went and walked along it, picking up shells and enjoying the view.  Kirk actually got in the water--some pluses for being a guy!

Toes in the South China Sea!

Local fishermen

We took a ferry from here back across the water.

As we drove along in the bus, there were unusual sights to see, such as these fish spread out to dry on racks.

Maybe they sell those fish at this "Fat Lady Sea Food"!

Kirk didn't think he'd like to trust his life with bamboo scaffolding!

What is life like on one of these house boats?

Ferry Crossing

Goodbye Monkey Island

The 2-3 story homes reminded us of those in the Xinjiang Province.

More sights from the bus ride--simple peasant homes.

Flooded rice paddies.

These boats were on the Sanya River, back in town.

We could see the water from our hotel window.

The ocean

The Sanya River with the yachts!

Another view from our window wasn't as pretty--what do you do in China if you don't know where to put your garbage?  Throw it on the roof! 

The nighttime view was better.  There was a park on the hilltop that had a laser light show.  It was fun to see.  This city has many of the Li minority people, and the story is that long ago, a hunter was trying to shoot a deer, but the deer kept running away.  The deer finally ran to the top of this hill, and when it turned around to face the hunter, it became a beautiful woman.  They fell in love and became the ancestors of the Li people.  There's a big statue on top.

Night-time laser light show as seen from our hotel room.

 The next day, we went to the Tianya-Haijiao Scenic Area, also known as "The End of the World".  It is a beautiful beach where lovers go, and when they get to the last big boulder, the "Lucky Stone", they promise that they would go to 'the end of the world' for each other.  There were lots of people here, enjoying the sunshine, so it wasn't really a romantic stroll on the beach.

Behind us is "The End of the World"

Kirk climbed a palm tree like this on our Hawaiian honeymoon!

There was a topiary garden with dragons, whales, elephants and a peacock.

Romeo and Juliet are known around the world!

I loved seeing the wealthy Chinese people on vacation.  The guys were easy to spot.

Where do you think you are, Hawaii?

We got a romantic coconut to share.

For lunch, we went to a restaurant with this gorgeous jade ship carving, and with fish in the tanks, ready to be cooked and eaten, a common sight in China.

The Chinese tie red ribbons everywhere; car tires, trees, houses, etc.  It's supposed to bring good fortune.  Doesn't look like these crabs are going to get "good fortune"!   Made me laugh!

NOW, for the swimming BEACH!!!  I will spare you details of the disgusting changing rooms at Dadonghai Bay.  The beach had no big waves, as we were in a bay, so no body surfing or boogie boarding, but the water wasn't too cold, and we had fun being in it.  I even got a bit of sunburn where I forgot to put sunscreen, as usual.

It still would have been better with a Balboa Bar.

In the evening, we went for a walk and saw more interesting sights around town.

Marxist/Communist Leaders--this was a rare graffiti we saw.

I was happy to support this crippled man who has developed a wonderful talent.

This fun bridge looked like an undulating snake.

This cart is attached to the SIDE of the motorcycle--different!

As we started to cross the 'undulating' bridge, we saw a group of Chinese women dancing.  They do this all over China in the evening for exercise.  I love the fans!  We applauded them when they finished and they were pleased.  It looks like so much fun--I miss Jazzercise!

Sanya Ladies Dance Club

The big buildings in Chinese towns are all lit up at night with LED lights.  It makes them all look like Vegas.  We enjoyed seeing them all as we went back to our hotel.

A pretty sunset towards the ocean.

Next stop:  Shenzhen