Sanya History

Sanya has a history of 2000 years. In ancient times, Sanya was named Yazhou which literally means "Cliff-State ". It was brought under the authority of mainland China during the reign of the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di. In the succeeding dynasties, its name and its ties with the central government were in a constant state of change. Since the Sui Dynasty, it became a place to put expelled notable officials in exile because it was so remote from the court. In 1984 Sanya was given its present name as a county and in 1987 it received a further promotion to its current city status.

Sanya has an abundant and diverse array of culture to interest tourists to the area, such as the prehistoric Luobi Cave, and the ancient tombs in the coastal area of Haitangwan. The banishment of expelled notable officials and scholars to Hainan allowed those people to establish their own schools and cultivate many talents, founding Zhongyuan Culture and advancing technology, and also contributing to the colorful folklore culture that was created by the local people and Han people together.

In recent times, Sanya has been gradually developed as a tourist city, becoming China’s own version of Hawaii, with clean sea, clean air, clean beaches, and beautiful sunshine for tourists to enjoy.