Coconut promenade
For sunset walks.
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Sanya's long seafront, a beach running about 22 kilometres from the mouth of the Sanya River west towards the airport; along it the Coconut Dream Corridor promenade winds between rows of palms and is the city's favourite sunset spot, as the sun sets straight over the sea. Near its eastern end sits the artificial Phoenix Island, 1,250 metres long and 350 metres wide, linked to land by a 395-metre bridge and topped by striking hotel and apartment towers and a cruise terminal; some call it «the Dubai of the East», and its towers glow with colourful light shows at night. The bay holds two small islands, Xidao and Dongdao, and rare Chinese white dolphins sometimes appear near the coast; the water is less clear than in the eastern bays, so people come here to walk and sit more than to swim. On the road to the airport lie the Huixin and Huihui neighbourhoods, home to the Utsul, a Muslim community of Cham origin whose ancestors came from the kingdom of Champa centuries ago, with mosques and halal restaurants; the beach itself is free and always open, per visitor guides.
For sunset walks.
Lit up at night.
And halal food.
Sanya Bay seafront, Tianya District, Sanya
The easiest area is the Huixin and Huihui neighbourhoods on the airport road, home to the Utsul Muslims, with mosques and halal restaurants; downtown also has halal restaurants run by Muslims from northwest China, per visitor guides.