Summertime in Sanya: Luhuitou Park

Something I’ve found interesting about moving abroad is learning about all of the new “must-see” places within a country that I had never even heard of before living here. If you’d asked me where in China would be worth a visit a few years ago, I probably would have replied: “Umm… Beijing… Shanghai… and… wherever the Terracotta Army is? And the Great Wall?” It was a surprise, then, to find out the most visited place within the local community of expats. And within my students and their families. And just about anyone I spoke with. No matter who I asked, no matter what time of year, the answer of where to go on vacation was always the same: “You have to go to Sanya.”

Often referred to as “The Hawaii of China,” 三亚 Sanya is everything you could ask for in a a tropical paradise beach getaway. The city is located at the southernmost tip of the island of 海南 Hainan, the largest and most southern of China’s islands. The name Hainan translates to “south of the sea” – as a reference point, the island can be found in the South China Sea sort of in the middle of Vietnam, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. So, at the southernmost tip of the southernmost island, Sanya is a special kind of vacation spot that you won’t find anywhere else on the mainland.

When I heard that a bunch of my coworkers were heading there for a week after school let out for summer, my friend Andrea invited me to come down with them. Though I’m not typically a “beach vacation” kind of person (my ADHD brain has a hard time understanding the concept of a relaxing vacation… have you noticed??) I decided I would give this place that everyone kept talking about a try.

Now, before I tell you about the hotel we stayed at, I feel I need to make one thing clear: I am not typically a fancypants traveler. I’m a share a room in the hostel with 9 other people traveler. I’m an if it’s less than 3 hours away we can walk there traveler. I’m a pack a jar of peanut butter and some tortillas and call that lunch for a week traveler. So when I saw the hotel glorious magical kingdom resort that we’d be staying at for the week, it felt a bit like the first time Annie sings her way through Daddy Warbucks’ home. (Soap? No, bubbles I think…)

Look, I’m not an influencer travel blogger, so I’m not going to go on and on about the hotel to fulfill some sponsorship deal (though I will 1000% sink to that level if someone wants to give me a place to stay for free, just saying) BUT I will say this: if you ever find yourself vacationing in Sanya, the InterContinental Sanya Resort WILL make you want to put on a fake posh accent and pretend to be an heiress as you enjoy your outdoor shower. Or walk to one of the six (six!!!) restaurants on the resort. Or enjoy the all-inclusive brunch buffet and happy hour. Or are able to go to a private beach and get a spot in front of the ocean that isn’t swarming with tourists. Oh and also all of the pools (multiple — there are multiple pools) have sand on the bottom and big floaty lily pad things to lounge on. IT’S REALLY NICE, OKAY.

Though it would be very easy to just stay in the resort and relax all week (and, after having visited Sanya so many times, some of my friends did just that!), I knew I wanted to get out and explore a bit. Since our resort was near 大东海 Dadonghai Beach, we were within walking distance from the first place I wanted to visit: Luhuitou Park!

鹿回头公园 Luhuitou Park – whose name translates to “deer turning its head back” – is a cute (and kitschy, but, welcome to traveling in tourist China) little hilltop park that overlooks a panoramic view of both Sanya City and the South China Sea. A local legend accompanies this park:

Long ago, an emperor wanted a pair of deer horns. (For decoration? As a status symbol? Unclear.) He sent a young man out to the mountains to hunt for one. As the hunter was on his way, he came upon a spotted deer being chased by a ferocious panther. Using his bow and arrow, the hunter shot the panther and began to pursue the beautiful deer himself. After chasing the deer through the mountains for nine days and nine nights, they arrived at the Coral Cliff of Sanya. (Apparently, they also had traveled over 99 hills. So. There’s that.) With nothing left between the cliff and the sea, the deer was trapped. The hunter got ready to shoot, but then suddenly the deer turned its head back to look at the hunter. Instantly, the deer turned into a beautiful woman and began walking towards the hunter. The hunter and the beautiful woman (who I guess was a fairy? A shapeshifting fairy who was hanging out as a deer and decided she needed to run for 9 days before revealing herself?) fell in love and got married. Then, all of the fairies got together to take down the evil emperor and made their home on the Coral Cliff. From then on, this romantic (seriously?) hill has been known as Luhuitou.

So, the moral of the story is… fall in love with the man who spent over a week trying to kill you? Or: things that you thought were animals are actually beautiful fairies who want to marry you, so be careful who you hunt? Either way, Sanya really wants to lean into the idea that this is a beautiful, romantic legend, so, we’ll go with that.

Walking up the hill, there were all sorts of statues, little pathways, and photo ops. Most of them generically “romance” themed. (Something you should know about tourism in China: they LOVE photo opportunities. The cheesier the better. Gimme ALL the swings, ALL the frames, ALL the quirky seats. If you build it, they will come. And I did. Guilty as charged.) While there were some rabbits, peacocks, and deer that you could feed, there was another animal that we found even more exciting: monkeys!

Now here’s the thing about monkeys, if you’ve never encountered them in the wild: they are little shitheads. They’re adorable, and real smart, and absolute shitheads. But they know they can get away with just about anything, because, again, shitheads. So even though there are signs basically everywhere that advise against feeding the monkeys, or teasing the monkeys, or basically interacting with the monkeys, you’re still gonna get a bunch of tourists doing stupid things with monkeys that are hanging out a little closer than anyone should be comfortable with. So when we turned a corner to find a hoard of monkeys who had surrounded an older couple (who were very excited to take so many pictures until the monkeys started batting at the woman’s skirt), we backed away verrryyyy slowly and decided to just wait that one out.

Waiting for us at the top of the hill was a beautiful view overlooking the city below. Also waiting for us were those corny birds’-nest-looking chairs that have Instagram written all over them and you know what?! I took a picture. Because I am a white woman in my twenties, and you just don’t pass one of those up.

More importantly, also waiting for us at the top of the hill was a little food stand selling these delicious frozen coconut slushie-type drinks. They were sweet, and refreshing, and wonderful. Loved by all. And I know this to be true, because soon after we bought ours, a cheeky monkey decided to jump up on to the food stand, grab a few cups, rip them open, and start drinking them right there on the stand. Monkey-approved, y’all. 5 stars.

It’s easy to see why so many people flock to Sanya every time they get a chance to travel. Beautiful weather, tropical fruits, shithead monkeys, and questionable love stories — what more could you want?