White sand
Soft and long.
Tanya Dedyukhina — CC BY 3.0 · GPS8 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Henning_48 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tanya Dedyukhina — CC BY 3.0 · Maxim Nedashkovskiy — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jie Yang — CC BY 3.0 · 江上清风1961 — CC BY 3.0 · lienyuan lee — CC BY 3.0
Sanya's most famous beach, a crescent bay at the southern tip of Hainan Island about 20 kilometres east of the city centre, with some 7 kilometres of soft white sand; Chinese visitors call it «the Hawaii of the East». Its clear water shades through several blues, and beneath it lie coral reefs that belong to Sanya's national coral reef nature reserve, so snorkelling and glass-bottom boat trips are popular; green hills frame the bay and international resort hotels line its shore. Midway along the sand is Yalong Bay Central Square, the public way onto the beach for those not staying in the hotels, with shops, restaurants and bus stops around it; behind the bay lies the Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise Forest Park with its suspension bridge over the valley. The public beach is free; water sports and sunbeds are paid separately, per visitor guides. The tropical sun is strong all year, so bring sunscreen and follow the swimming flags; November to April is the best season, while summer is hot and humid and can bring typhoons.
Soft and long.
For snorkelling.
The public way in.
Jiyang District, east of central Sanya, Hainan Island
Yes, the public beach at Yalong Bay Central Square is free; water sports and sunbeds are paid separately, per visitor guides.