Sanya is the southern most coastal city in China, and is very famous for the “three S’s”: sun, sand and sea. But there is more to this area that just the typical vacation spots. Sanya also has lots of cool natural tourist attractions to check out. In Sanya, you can see beautiful orchids, majestic butterflies and rainforest galore if you know where to go.
 
Sanya Orchid World
 
1) Sanya Orchid World
Situated in Sanya, "Orchid World" is the world’s largest tropical orchid theme park. It is also one of China’s national 5A-class tourism sites (which must mean its bathrooms must be "top-notch"…) and it covers over one million sq. metres. Inside the park, there are more than 3,000 species of orchid, including a bunch of rare ones, in every variety, shape and colour that you can think of (not sure if they have any of the illusive Ghost Orchid though). The grand total for the number of plants at this park: 2 million (orchid overload!). This place is perfect for eco-tourists, botanists, and hopeless romantics alike, as there are plenty of orchid-related activities to indulge in!
 
Address: Near the entrance of Hongtang Expressway, Tianya Town, Sanya
Price: 125 RMB
Opening hours: 07:30-18: 00
Getting there: ride the No. 16 but or the tourist special line 2, and get off at the tropical rainforest station.
 
Yalong Bay Butterfly Valley
 
2) Yalong Bay Butterfly Valley
Butterfly Valley is located in Yalong Bay, behind a small dragon pool, and is surrounded by mountains on both sides. There is a small bridge that goes over the creek in the park that makes for a particularly good photograph. But the pleasant scenery alone doesn’t makes Butterfly Valley one of China’s "National 4A-class" tourist attractions…it’s the thousands of butterflies that do! You can see these butterflies dancing about in the trees throughout the park, or if you want a "concentrated" experience, Butterfly Valley has a large ecological park (covered by a stainless steel net) where more than 2,000 butterflies live. And if you are really into zoology, be sure to check out the insect museum also, which has over 500 types of insects on display (including a bunch of rare ones).
 
Address: Sanya Yalong Bay
Opening hours: 07:30 – 18: 00
Price: 26 RMB (there are also ticket packages for 69 RMB that include the Central Square 中心广场, the Shell Museum 贝壳馆, and the Butterfly Valley 蝴蝶谷).
Getting there: ride the Taihe bus (泰和公交车). It comes every 30 minutes (West Station – Shiwei – Dadonghai – Tiandu – Yalong Bay). There is also a double-decker tour bus that comes every 30 minutes (Yalong Bay – Dadonghai – Sanya Bay – West Island Ferry – Tianyahaijiao). Bus hours: 07:00 – 19:00.
 
Yanoda Rainforest
 
3) Yanoda Rainforest
Yanoda is the only “real” tropical rainforest in China (it’s located at 18 degrees latitude). The tourist area is about 35 km away from Sanya’s city area, and about 52 km away from the Phoenix airport; but the city has a free bus that comes here so transportation is very convenient. The rainforest is surrounded by some pretty amazing scenery: the Five-finger Mountain and Seven-finger Mountain can be seen in the north, the South China Sea is to the east and Begonia Bay is close at hand, and to the south are the Nantian hot springs. The rainforest itself is quite beautiful, and is full of spectacular gorges, flowing streams, windy caves, hot springs, tropical fruits and other interesting natural things. The area also has a performing arts area, as well as a customer services area. Visiting Yanoda is great if you are getting tired of hanging out at the beach and playing golf all the time, as it gives you a good idea of what Hainan was like before it became a “vacation paradise.”
 
Address: Sandao Nongchang, Baoting County, Sanya
Opening hours: 07:30 – 17:30
Price: 130 RMB
Getting there: Sanya – Yanoda bus (reservation required)
Station 1: Sanya Pearl Plaza (三亚明珠广场) 09:00 departure and return time is 15:00
Station 2: East China Sea Yintai Hotel (大东海银泰酒店) 09:30 departure and return time is 15:00
Station 3: Yalong Bay hotel area (亚龙湾酒店区域) 09:30-10:00 departure and return time is 16:00
Station 4: East China Sea Summer Department Store (大东海夏日百货) 09:45 departure and return time is 15:00
 
 

Editorial Message 
This site contains materials from other clearly stated media sources for the purpose of discussion stimulation and content enrichment among our members only. 

whatsonsanya.com does not necessarily endorse their views or the accuracy of their content. For copyright infringement issues please contact
 editor@whatsonsanya.com