Sanya

Sanya is the southernmost city in Hainan province, China. It has an area of 1919.6 square kilometers. With six gorgeous bays, it boasts the best white-sand beach and turquoise sea water in Asia. This coastal city is nestling among hills, with two quiet rivers running through it. Several little islands are scattered in the South Sea off the city. The highest elevation of Sanya is the Luhuitou Peak Park that overlooks the whole city.

The southern coast has several sandy beaches. Yalong, Dadonghai (grand east sea), Sanya, Haitang, and Yazhou are the five major bays in Sanya. At the southernmost point is Jingmu Cape, which is a popular sunset viewing point.


One of the most popular tourist areas in Sanya is Yalong Beach, perhaps owing to the easy access to its wide and long beach. This is the most beautiful place in Sanya to feel the white sand between your toes and splash in the waves. Most of Sanya's nightlife and cheap shopping places are located in the downtown area.


Other popular beaches are located south of on both side of Yalong Beach. Haitang Beach are generally much less developed than Yalong Beach, and sought out by individuals, families and other groups with a preference for more relaxed and less crowded environment than Yalong Beach and Dadonghai Beach.
There are several coral islands to the south of Sanya, the Wuzhizhou Islands lies near Haitang Beach, and West Island near Sanya Bay. Both islands are suitable for diving.

The ancient name of Sanya is Yazhou (literally means cliff state). Her history can be dated back to Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC, more than 2200 years ago). Since then, it is always within the territory of the following dynasties of China. Being the tropical Ultima Thule of China, it is so remote from the capital of China. Therefore it is always called Tianyahaijiao, which means the end of the sky and ocean in Chinese. Some Prime ministers in various dynasties were here in exile. In Tang Dynasty, an enlightened monk named Jiangzhen accidently sailed here and used this place as one of his harbors for his long Buddhism-missionary journey to Japan. On September 26, 1987, Sanya was established as a city (of Di administrative level) by the approval of the State Council of China.

Royal Poinciana is a species of flowering plant from the Fabaceae family, noted for its fern-like leaves and flamboyant display of flowers. Often grown as an ornamental tree and given the name Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant, it is also known as Krishnachura, Gulmohar, Peacock Flower, Flame of the Forest, , and one of several named the Flame tree. The species was previously placed in a genus Poinciana, named for Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy who is credited with introducing the plant to the Americas.

The tree's vivid red/vermilion/orange/yellow flowers and bright green foliage make it an exceptionally striking sight.

The Royal Poinciana is endemic to Madagascar, where it is found in the Madagascar dry deciduous forests. In the wild it is endangered, but it is widely cultivated elsewhere. In addition to its ornamental value, it is also a useful shade tree in tropical conditions, because it usually grows to a modest height (typically around 5 m, though it can reach as high as 12 m) but spreads widely, and its dense foliage provides full shade. In areas with a marked dry season, it sheds its leaves during the drought, but in other areas it is virtually evergreen.

The flowers are large, with four spreading scarlet or orange-red petals up to 8 cm long, and a fifth upright petal called the standard, which is slightly larger and spotted with yellow and white. The naturally occurring variety flavida has yellow flowers. Seed pods are dark brown and can be up to 60 cm long and 5 cm wide; the individual seeds, however, are small, weighing around 0.4 g on average. The compound leaves have a feathery appearance and are a characteristic light, bright green. They are doubly pinnate: Each leaf is 30-50 cm long and has 20 to 40 pairs of primary leaflets or pinnae on it, and each of these is further divided into 10-20 pairs of secondary leaflets or pinnules.


Tamarind is a tropical tree, native to Africa. Interestingly, it was introduced into India so long ago that it has often been reported as indigenous there, and the specific name, "indica", also perpetuates the illusion of Indian origin. The fruit was well known to the ancient Egyptians and to the Greeks in the 4th Century B.C.E.

The tree can grow up to 20 meters (66 ft) in height, and stays evergreen in regions without a dry season, it is frost sensitive. The tree has pinnate leaves with opposite leaflets giving a billowing effect in the wind. Tamarind timber consists of hard, dark red heartwood and softer, yellowish sapwood. The leaves consist of 10–40 leaflets. The flowers are produced in racemes. The flowers are mainly yellow in color. The fruit is a brown pod-like legume, which contains a soft acidic pulp and many hard-coated seeds. The seeds can be scarified to enhance germination.