A cheat sheet about Hainan or what is Dadonghai. What to bring from Hainan? Shopping in Sanya on Hainan Island Winter Hainan shopping mall

Sanya is not only the southern capital of the island of Hainan, but it is also the tourist center that attracts most of the tourists who come to this amazing place, which is called Eastern Hawaii for a reason. There are 2 airports on the island: one in Haikou and the other, Phoenix, in Sanya. It was to this airport that I flew when. But we were so exhausted by the flights that we didn't have the strength to admire the city from the window of the bus that was taking us to. But I grabbed more impressions from Sanya for 5 months. And even managed to live in it. But more on that later.

It so happened that I got to Sanya only a month after my arrival on the island of Hainan. And I went there with a wonderful family, our tourists, with whom we still communicate. On this day, I received so many positives that it is beyond words. We got to Sanya by bus, which runs once a day, in the morning, and only if the tourist signed up at the reception of a hotel employee the night before. It turned out absolutely unexpectedly that we were all going to go to Sanya together: me and my friends from Tyumen: Sasha, Nastya, Marina and their wonderful children Yegor, Ilya and Alina, who disappeared all days with us in.

And Alinka did not get off my hands even in the evening.

Shopping malls, shops and shopping in Sanya

The guys' tour was coming to an end, and they decided to go to Sanya for Chinese souvenirs and other purchases. For shopping we headed to WINTER SUMMER, a low-priced shopping mall (Chinese flea market) located in Dadonghai Bay. There is one more favorite place for tourists in this city - the PEDESTRIAN. This is a street with many shops and cafes, which is located in the Sanya Bay. But the prices for souvenir products here are 2.5 times higher when compared with WINTER-SUMMER.

To understand better, I will explain. The entire city of Sanya is divided into bays: Sanya Bay, Yalongwan, Dadonghai and others. But now each bay is divided into its own districts.

So, we arrived in Dadonghai and immediately went shopping, as there were many plans and time is limited. I broke away from my wonderful company for a while and decided to look into the SUMMER MALL, which was located opposite the WINTER-SUMMER. And ... I didn't find anything interesting for myself there. An ordinary shopping center with many expensive boutiques, in which, of course, I was not going to buy anything. I walked around, looked and joined my friends. It was much more interesting and fun with them. Sanya was there so annealing, persuading the Russian-speaking Chinese to drop the price of the goods. I even filmed a scene from "Irina's tea shop". Watch and learn how to bargain with the Chinese.

So, from the main entrance of the Sheraton hotel, we took a regular bus and got to the Wanning train station for 10 yuan for two. There we bought tickets to Sanya for 33.5 yuan per person and left by train. I felt like a discoverer for Marinka, I told everything, led, showed. But, in the end, she turned out to be Ivan Susanin. From Sanya City Station

we boarded the ominous bus number 2 (why I christened it that way, I'll tell you next time) and, in my opinion, should have come to Dadonghai. As a result, we got lost and for 2 hours rolled around the city in search of at least some familiar building. In the end, that day we also visited a pedestrian, where we were stunned by the prices; and in the Dadonghai Bay, where they ate very tasty (by the way, at the same Sasha's);

and even to Boao, where we got by passing Wannin station by train.

To get from Bo'ao to, we paid the taxi driver, if my memory did not fail, 500 yuan. Not only was the distance not small, plus it was already late evening, and even New Year's Eve. Well, yes, I have such a feature, to find on my "that very" adventure. But on the other hand, there is something to remember. And these are, perhaps, two of my brightest trips to Sanya from December to February. Well, and about how I returned to Sanya in the spring and lived there for 2.5 months, I will tell in Sanya - the southern capital of Hainan Island (part 2) ... Because this is a completely different story.

After repeated travels along the already hackneyed routes, Russian tourists wanted to visit something more exotic and unusual. As a result, after looking at the reviews of tourists and analyzing all the promised advantages of this holiday, we chose the island of Hainan, which is located in the South China Sea. Also an important criterion was the acceptable price tag for rest on the islands, since usually it is very, very expensive to rest on any islands. Our trip lasted 13 days at a hotel called Haosheng sea view resort 3 *, which is located in the Sanya Bay (Chinese call Sanya Wang). The bay itself is a 10-15 minute drive from the airport of Hainan Island, so we always saw and heard planes taking off and landing. In principle, it didn't really bother me.

We arrived on the island in the morning. After checking into the room, we gathered to the beach as soon as possible to look at the sea and at the white sand, which was so promised by the tour operator and manager at the travel agency. Upon arrival at the beach, we were deeply disappointed, since the sand was not white at all, but the most ordinary one, as if from a sandbox. The sea was also disappointing. It was dirty and not transparent at all. In general, on the very first day we realized that we had not arrived where we expected. Because this island was so highly praised that much more was expected! Many people even compare it with Hawaii, but only we asked the question "Why?"

In terms of food, all hotels on the island only include breakfast in the room rate, so people have lunch and dinner at street eateries and cafes. These establishments can hardly be called restaurants. We preferred to buy groceries at regular grocery stores. This is due to the fact that many of the tourists who ate on the street were diagnosed with food poisoning. This is understandable, since this food is prepared without observing any sanitary standards. They do not have this concept at all. So many tourists ended up walking out of the instant noodle shop.

As with any vacation, it is impossible to do without various excursion programs to the sights of these places. We attended a tour of the orchid garden. The program was free, so it was in great demand among tourists. We were brought to a huge greenhouse in which many species of orchids of the most bizarre and unusual shapes and colors bloomed. One type of orchid had doll-like flowers in a yellow dress. There were even such types of orchids, the roots of which simply grew without soil, in the air. After that we were brought to a tea ceremony, where we tasted several types of Chinese tea, and after that we were offered to purchase such tea. I note right away that buying exactly the same tea in a regular grocery store will cost several times cheaper.

Another no less interesting excursion we visited were thermal springs and swimming pools. This place is a small park with several dozen swimming pools with different fillings. For example, a pool with wine, rose petals, coffee, coconut milk. There are also common pools here.

We also went to the neighboring Dadonghai Bay on our own. It is the busiest and it is here that the famous shopping centers on the island of Hainan are located, for example, "Winter-Summer" and McDonald's, where almost all holidaymakers strive to get here. Even the fact that the local shopping centers are huge in area and large in terms of the amount of goods sold, there is nothing to buy here. Since all the clothes sold on the island are not suitable for a Russian person either in style or in height, because all Chinese are short, and the styles are more reminiscent of children's clothes. We also visited several fur shops. Many tourists have a rest on the island of Hainan, they want to buy a fur product at a low price, but furs here are imported and they do not differ in low prices. Fur coats are brought from the mainland, and you need to buy them there. What really needs to be bought and tasted is the exotic fruits. For example, mangoes and pineapples. Of course, we also have them in our country, but these fruits differ radically in taste. It should be remembered that I buy fruit on the street, you need to bargain and look carefully at the scales. Because very often Russians are weighed on fruit. We even noticed ourselves, when we were buying fruits, there were Chinese in front of us, and the same fruits were sold to them much cheaper. It is best to buy fruits in stores, as there are promotions and the price can be cheaper than from street vendors.

In the last days of our vacation, there was a typhoon on the island. It was pouring rain all day long and we did not leave the room at all. Palm trees were toppled, rubbish swelled in the street, and the sea spilled over the entire beach strip. So the last days we remember were not very happy. From souvenirs and gifts to loved ones, tea, fruits, coconut sweets were purchased. We did not buy anything from clothes, since the local selection is suitable only for the population itself.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the rest on the island of Hainan did not meet our hopes, and by the way tour operators praise this place, we were completely surprised.

I rested in Hainan in June 2017. Tour operator - Tez tour. First, I would like to note one feature of the rest on this island. The main contingent of tourists is the Chinese and ours, from the CIS countries. That is why, if you see a non-Chinese face, then you know for sure that a person will understand you and tell you what, where and why. So, people easily exchange information about the island, where it is better to eat, stay, and from whom to take excursions. There are even groups on Vkontakte in which people are constantly discussing about recreation. By the way, it's still worth downloading the maps me app and finding labels for maps in VK groups, it's much easier to navigate.

By the way, Google, Facebook, Instagram and now WhatsApp do not work there. They need a vpn.

So, let's begin.

The island met perfectly terrible the weather is still on the plane. There was a terrible downpour and it was very uncomfortable to sit down.

When we got off the plane, we thought it would be cold. But the tropical climate has endowed us with stuffiness combined with a downpour.

At the exit from the airport we were met by the "favorite" Tez Tour with buses. Before the bus we just fled, the water was ankle-deep, and at the same time, no one helped the two women load their suitcases into the bus. Previously, we dealt with the tour operator Mouzenidis, who showed himself from a much better side, including in this matter.

They got on the bus soaking wet

Our hotel is located in Dadonghai Bay, so on the way we could contemplate a fairly large part of Sanya. We chose Resort Intime Sanya as the place of stay.

Upon arrival, leaving our things at the reception, we went to breakfast. Going to the beach, we came across a restaurant called "USSR" Immediately I want to say that it is very expensive there compared to many other places in Dadonghai. We paid around 200 yuan for eggplant, broccoli, two fresh juices and shrimp. BUT! This was the tastiest thing we have eaten on the island. The sauces were perfect, the vegetables - not in a ton of fat, as they like to cook everywhere. Very tasty.

I would like to show a small map of the island, which was given to us either by a tour operator, or somewhere in stores. Those who rest in Dadonghai should immediately learn where the shopping centers are located - Winter and Summer.

Winter is an old building full of Chinese cheap consumer goods, etc. It is worth going there for beach accessories, tea and possibly silk.

Summer is more expensive. There are several cafes, a large number of shops, where everything is VERY expensive. Mostly there are clothes and pearls. I would like to mention two stores there. The first is a comic book store. There was a fairly large number of various paraphernalia, clothes, figurines on sale. For example, a Suicide Squad baseball cap cost 180 yuan. After that, I didn't even want to look at the rest of the prices. The second is an imported goods store. You can find Russian vodka there. But the most interesting thing there were various Japanese and Korean sweets. But the prices, again, bite. Chips, biscuits, etc. cost around 40 yuan. Hainan, after all, is not for shopping.

Between these malls is the food square. In the evenings, at 6-7 o'clock, kiosks with food and drinks open there, and the whole square is filled with people. You can find a wide variety of different seafood there and the prices are quite reasonable.

Rice with shrimp cost about RMB 20

Squid shashlik - 10 RMB. But it turned out to be very salty and with a huge amount of spices (and, strangely, not spicy)

An unfinished building with shops on floors 1-2 is also located near the food square. There you can buy souvenirs (but there are few of them), "contraband", tea and, most importantly, excursions. To do this, just go to any teahouse.

We bought all the excursions from the Chinese guys, Petit and Vanya We kept in touch with them via WhatsApp (though now, Whatsapp does not work there, it seems). All excursions went well. Of course, tour operators have more guarantees, etc., but the locals have never let us down personally. See for yourself.

Also in teahouses, of course, you can buy and taste tea, as well as coke and rice vodka, rose candies (very tasty!), Coconut oil.

It also has a large number of clothing stores that are not cheap.

There is also a good supermarket with various goodies and disappointment kinder.

There is also everyone's favorite Miniso. But, since he is in my city, I did not fall into the shopping frenzy, and bought only the necessary things there, like tweezers or headphones.

We had dinner at Pineapple once and it was a rather strange experience. I wanted to try local sushi or rolls.

The rolls were quite tasty, and I also liked this format.

There was no Russian menu, so my mother ordered herself at random. They brought her such a dish with pickled onions and scallops. It was disgusting.

From the excursions we decided to take Romantic Park, Monkey Island, Yanodu, and also independently traveled to the center of Buddhism "Nanshan". To do this, we just took a bus. By the way, such leaflets are given in the Silk Road store, near the Intime Hotel.

Also, on the first day, we had the stupidity to go on a free excursion from Teztur.

I will not go into details now, but this is a waste of time - you will simply be taken to the points of sale of all kinds of garbage, like nanocalcium, shark fat, etc. It was just a pity for the time wasted.

Several times we got out to the center of Sanya - to the pedestrian street and the night market.

On the pedestrian street, we categorically did not like it - there is practically nothing interesting there. However, the night market is worth your attention.

It opens in the evening and occupies a fairly large area. There you can find a lot of things - souvenirs (by the way, there is a problem with magnets in Hainan. Surprising, right?), Clothes, fruits. It was there that we tasted durian and bought pieces of jackfruit. I also bought a nice wallet there for 15 yuan and a dress for 65 yuan. Not that much when compared to the prices in the malls there.

Where else to eat?

Since we only took breakfast at the hotel, every day we were looking for where to dine.

The 12 Chairs Café is adjacent to the Barry Hotel. The food was good (not counting the fatty eggplant), but I didn't take a picture of it. Photo menu

But there, of course, you can find less exotic food.

We also dined several times at the Moskva tavern, and we liked it very much.

From everything I ate, the rice in the pineapple was just love.

We've also come across such ice cream. It is made from any fruit right in front of your eyes. It is, of course, delicious. But there is a LOT of it. It melts faster than two people can eat it.

On the last evening, we decided to have dinner at Lena's cafe, which is also pretty good there.

What to bring from Hainan? We tell you about shopping, shopping centers, how you can spend money on the sunniest island in China.

What to bring from Hainan

Top 10 things that must be brought from the island of Hainan for yourself, friends and family as a gift. We go shopping in Sanya and buy gifts from the list.

• Medicinal tinctures and ointments
• Pearls and articles thereof
• Figurines of gods, a cat with a waving paw, a toad with a coin in its mouth
• Porcelain
• Vodka
• clothing
• Natural cosmetic
• Electronics

Tours to China

Shopping in Sanya on Hainan Island (Zefan St.)

In search of all this stuff, we headed to Sanya, or rather to Zefan Street, to arrange a real Sanya shopping or Hainan shopping. Zefan Street is the main shopping street in Sanya. I marked this place on the map for clarity, you definitely won't get from Dadonghai on foot, you have to take a taxi.

Zefan Walking Street in Sanya on the map

Zefang Street in Sanya is essentially a huge area of ​​shops and markets where you can buy anything and everything, very similar to the markets of Guangzhou city, which is nearby, only 50 minutes away by plane.

They speak here on Dzefan Street in Sanya mainly in Russian, which is good news. You can buy all the goods offered by endless Chinese boutiques very cheaply, but you have to bargain, in the end you can buy a thing for its real cost, which in principle and quality will be exactly at this cost. There are also boutiques with well-known European brands, but I didn’t understand what these are - original stores or Chinese “zakos” for them. So I didn't dare to buy anything.

My review about shopping in Hainan

Of course, coming to Sanya for shopping and not buying anything would be strange, so in ordinary stores I had a chance to buy some kind of scarves, dresses, ornaments. I was very attracted by the low prices, but again in the end I regretted it, because the quality is appropriate.

However, Zefan Street in Sanya is a favorite place for tourists, of whom there are very, very many. This is a kind of entertainment for vacationers, to walk along the streets with a local Chinese flavor, see what street vendors have to offer, buy some trinkets and take memorable photos in Sanya. Although, all this stuff can be bought from us in Moscow at the Sadovod market, and you don't have to drag it to Russia for 10 hours.

By the way, right there, on the pedestrian street Dzefan, there are many famous world fast foods, and the McDonald's sign is so impressive that you can see it from afar. It is also a kind of landmark, because McDonald's is located at the very beginning of the pedestrian street. So if the map does not help, but you want something new, shopping in Hainan, ask where McDonald's is, he is the only one here for the whole of Sanya. Well, or show the map, which is located above in this article about shopping in Hainan, where the addresses are indicated in English and Chinese.

Pearls in Sanya on Hainan Island

Separately, I will tell you a little about pearls in Sanya. Hainan Island produces a huge amount of pearls, which are sold everywhere. The prices are very attractive and of course resale to tourists is very common. The guides who bring tourists to the “best pearl shops” (otherwise, if these are not the best shops, no one will go with them) receive a commission that sometimes reaches 50% (!).

As for pearls, I bought them on the beach from street vendors. It came out very, very cheap. The pearls themselves are natural and unprocessed, therefore they are not expensive at all. Another version is pearls, which were not accepted in stores due to defects. The quality may be better in stores, but prices are several times higher, and sometimes more expensive than in Moscow.

I also brought tea, of course, and I still drink it. By the way, I want to tell a lot about tea from China, so there will be a separate article on this topic.

Shopping malls in Sanya on Hainan Island

If you decide to go shopping in Sanya and have already decided what to bring from Hainan, then other shops and shopping centers in Sanya will be useful to you. I didn’t visit all of them, except “Summer Mall”, which was next to my hotel in Dadonghai, but I can imagine what assortment there is. So, addresses of stores in Sanya.

• « Corner deli", (" Summer Mall " , 5th Floor, Dadonghai). A small deli serving a wide variety of imported food and beverage products. For those who live in China and want to purchase some Western products that they usually cannot find.
• « China Duty Free"(CDF). The government has set up a duty-free shopping center for luxury goods in Sanya City. Here you can buy Gucci, LV, etc. Purchase is possible only if you have a return ticket from Hainan Island; on the day of departure, the goods must be picked up at the airport. The maximum purchase amount is RMB 8,000 per person.
• « Summer mall» (( 夏日 百货), Xiari Baihuo), Dadonghai. A popular shopping mall in Dadonghai, famous for its shops as well as Pizza Hut on the ground floor. Address: Haiyun road 1. Open from 9 am to 11 pm.
• « No1 Harbor City Mall» (Pineapple Mall), No.168 Yuya Rd, Dadong Hai. New mall with MacDonalds, Coffee Time, shops, bookstores, hairdressers, various Korean restaurants.
• « Mingzhu Square» ( 明珠广场 ), 668 Jiefang 3rd Rd. Located in the center of Sanya, on the pedestrian street ( No 668 Jiefang 3rd Rd), there are a huge number of clothing and footwear shops, as well as cafes, restaurants and a cinema.
• « Wang hao supermarket» , (1 JieFang Lu & Walking Street). Also located at 1 Jieafang Yi Road, famous for brand shops with reasonable prices.
• « Watsons» ( 屈臣氏 ), located on the streets Jiefeng Lu & Yuya Lu. A well-known chain of stores for beauty and health.

A pedestrian street, a kind of mecca for local and visiting shopaholics. There are not only brand shops, but also shops with unique souvenirs, jewelry, as well as many restaurants. Do not confuse it with Pedestrian Street # 2, opened in 2010. It is also a pedestrian alley with many boutiques and souvenir shops. The Sanya International Shopping Center, a duty-free shop, is also located here.

This region is known for its large volumes of pearl production, so you can buy it here on almost every corner. You can and even need to bargain with sellers, as many of them strive to cash in on gullible tourists.

Consider certain nuances of buying pearls and other local souvenirs if you don't want to overpay:

1. It is simply necessary to bargain with sellers, otherwise a gullible tourist will overpay many times.
2. Tour guides receive about 50% commission on the amount of your purchase, so you pay for it. Therefore, it is best to get out to the store yourself.

Hainan island shopping paradise

In addition to pearl jewelry, people often buy in Sanya:

• famous Chinese tea;
• Chinese powder;
• branded items from well-known manufacturers;
• dressing gowns, peignoirs, silk bed linen;
• womens cone-shaped hats with photos for 5 yuan (can be purchased in Sanya City at The First Market).

There are bus routes 2 and 4 to The First Market. You can learn more about how to get around the city in the overview.

For shopping to be fruitful, you need to know the best places with which we will now get to know.

China Duty Free (CDF)

It is a duty-free mall that opened in Sanya in 2009. It is located practically in the center of the city, not far from Dadonghai Bay.

The largest duty-free shop in the city center

CDF is the largest shopping mall for tourists, with branded boutiques from Chinese and foreign manufacturers on two floors. Here you can buy leather goods, clothing, shoes, cosmetics and perfumery, jewelry, food and much more.

To purchase duty free goods, you must present a return ticket and a foreign passport. You can pick up your purchases after check-in at the airport, where there is a special counter in the Duty Free store for dispensing purchases.

Corner Deli

Supermarket of foreign-made goods. Located on the fifth floor of the large Summer Mall shopping center.

Here you can buy not only goods from Korea, Japan, the USA and Europe, but also Russian alcohol, as well as food. The prices in the supermarket are about the same as elsewhere in Sanya, but the assortment is more varied.

Good selection of products from Germany, France, Italy, USA, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore and other countries

TC "Mingzhu Plaza"

• Opening hours: from 9-30 to 22-30.
• Address: Mingzhu Square, No.668 Jiefang Sanlu.

A six-storey hypermarket located in the very center of the city. It offers tourists a huge selection of clothes, footwear for the whole family, leather goods, household goods, food, etc.

In addition to all kinds of shops, Minju has cafes and restaurants on the sixth floor, as well as two cinemas, one of which offers foreign films in their original language with Chinese subtitles.

TC "Summer Mall"

• Address: Da Dong Hai, Haiyun road 1

One of the most popular shopping malls among tourists and locals, which is located in Dadonghai.

What can be bought at Summer Mall:

• 1st floor - cosmetics and perfumery, watches, jewelry;
• 2nd floor - all kinds of goods for women;
• 3rd floor - the same, but for men;
• 4th floor - sportswear, footwear, inventory;
• V floor - imported goods and products, as well as bedding, household appliances, etc.

Supermarket "Gou Jun"

• Opening hours: every day until 22.00.
• Address: Da Dong Hai, Yuya Lu 115.

Supermarket "Guo Run" is located in the center of Dadonghai. On its three floors, you can buy food, appliances, stationery, clothes and shoes, household chemicals and other goods.