Sanya

A bay of seven-odd kilometres of white sand, divided up among big resorts. Anyone may walk onto the beach itself, but shade and loungers belong to hotel guests, so bring your own. The water is clear, and people snorkel by the rocks at its east end.

Boulders carved with characters meaning the edge of the sky and the corner of the sea dot the beach. One, the Pillar of the Southern Sky, was printed on the 1980 two-yuan note, on its back. Tour groups pack it by day; come at opening for a clear photo.

A 108-metre Guanyin raised in 2005 on an artificial island, with faces looking three ways so it is front-on from anywhere. A bridge leads to its feet, and the Nanshan temple grounds are so large that electric carts do the moving.

An island reached by boat and counted among the clearest water around Hainan, used for diving and snorkelling. Landings are limited each day, so in peak season tickets sell out early. Food on the island is expensive; bring water.

A rainforest park nearly an hour's drive north into the hills. Boardwalks wind through trees wrapped in climbing vines, with a swaying bridge and a stretch of stream for wading. It is humid under the canopy, so take insect repellent.

A hill crowned by a statue of a Li legend, in which a deer chased by a hunter turned back on the clifftop and became a woman. The top looks over Sanya Bay and the city, and if you climb toward sunset the sun drops beyond the sea.

A beach you can walk to from town, so seafood restaurants and bars sit right behind the sand. Russian visitors are many and the signs carry Russian too, and the beach promenade stays busy after dark.

The town seafood market. Pick from the tanks, carry it to one of the cooking houses nearby and they will prepare it for a fee. Scales are sometimes rigged, so watch the weighing yourself and confirm the price per jin before you buy.

A cultural village showing the life of Hainan's native Li and Miao peoples, where Li grandmothers with tattooed faces weave on their own looms. Li brocade weaving went onto UNESCO's urgent safeguarding list in 2009.

A fishing village at the top of Haitang Bay, now filled with surf schools and guesthouses. Waves roll into the bay low and even, good for first-timers, and the northeast wind of winter brings the most consistent swell.

An island off Sanya Bay, a short boat ride from the pier, with a fishing village still lived in on its inner side. The shore is crowded with operators selling snorkelling and trial dives, while the village lanes stay quiet with few visitors.

A palm-lined promenade running far along Sanya Bay, a sunset spot, since the sun goes down over open water west of the city. Shallow, calm water laps it, but most of it is not a designated swimming beach, so walkers outnumber bathers.

A coastal scenic area of piled boulders west of Sanya, with a cave where Taoist hermits lived from the Song dynasty. Old characters are carved into the rocks, and as a place to pray for long life it draws many groups of older Chinese travellers.

Forest over the hills behind Yalong Bay, made famous by the rope bridge across its gorge in the 2010 film If You Are the One 2. The lookout up top shows the bay's beach curving like a bow, and shuttles carry visitors up from the gate.

A Lingshui peninsula, about sixty minutes northeast of Sanya by road, kept as a reserve for rhesus macaques. You arrive by a long cable car over the sea, and the monkeys snatch bags and food, so keep plastic bags out of sight.

A huge mall born of Hainan offshore duty-free, for travellers heading on to mainland China. Checkout needs that domestic flight, train or ferry; flying straight abroad from Sanya does not qualify. Collect at the airport or post off-island.