Sanya, the southernmost city on Hainan Island, has captivated visitors from around the world with its stunning beaches, lush rainforests, and a vibrant local culture.
Boasting a paradise for travelers seeking adventure, relaxation, and cultural experiences, the city offers an array of unforgettable activities in its renowned tourist destinations, such as Yanyoda, a major rainforest site.
The rainforest, famous for its unique tropical vegetation and rich diversity of ecosystems, has seen an increasing number of global visitors following the introduction of China's entry-free policy.
"Very beautiful. I liked nature. I liked tradition. The food is very good. I really like it. My family is delighted too. Well, I generally love Asia. I like to learn a new culture, see new things that I have not seen before. That's why we chose Sanya," said Danil Zinchenko, a tourist from Kazakhstan.
The tourist area offers a variety of activities for visitors to enjoy. Guests can explore the lush rainforest, participate in guided tours that highlight the area's rich biodiversity, and enjoy the traditional music and dance.
"Well, I've already been here for about the 5th day. There were a lot of excursions. I really liked the circus show, which was held at a very high level. I like local food. Also the people are very friendly," said Dmitry Serov, a tourist from Russia.
Visitors can also indulge in local delicacies.
"I like everything about food, that is, no problems at all. Everyone greets us kindly. Everything is very good. By the way, we'll recommend our friends to come here. We will also recommend everyone to come to Moscow," Arina Pakshtyaeva, another tourist from Russia.
Sanya attracts increasing number of global visitors
After over five years of construction, the Urumqi-Yuli Expressway that traverses the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region opened to traffic on Friday, cutting the time of driving from the southern to the northern parts of the towering mountains by half.
Thanks to the entry into operation of the expressway, the travel time from the regional capital of Urumqi, north of the Tianshan Mountains, to Korla, south of the Tianshan Mountains, has been shortened from seven hours to about 3.5 hours.
The Tianshan Mountains, with a length of 2,500 km, spans across the whole the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Urumqi-Yuli Expressway traversing it is 324.7-kilometer long. It includes 12 interchanges, 17 tunnels and hundreds of bridges, culverts and passages. Among them, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel is the key project.
"With a total length of 22.13 kilometers, the Tianshan Shengli Tunnel is the world's longest expressway tunnel, and has the deepest highway shaft worldwide, creating two world records," said Song Hailiang, president of China Communications Construction Company.
The Urumqi-Yuli Expressway not only links the Urumqi metropolitan area, the northern Xinjiang urban belt, and the southern Xinjiang city cluster, but also provides convenient connectivity between the three major pilot free trade zones in Urumqi, Kashgar and Khorgos, significantly reducing logistics costs, effectively promoting mutual complementation of resource advantages between northern and southern Xinjiang, and accelerating the two-way circulation of northern Xinjiang's energy and equipment manufacturing with southern Xinjiang's agricultural products and distinctive resources.
It also connects with multiple important highways at home and abroad.
"The Urumqi-Yuli Expressway connects with New Eurasian Land Bridge, and multiple economic corridors' major arteries linking up China to Central Asia, west Asia and Pakistan. Meanwhile, it also connects with the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. Therefore, operation of the expressway will further consolidate Xinjiang's role as a strategic hub in the 'dual circulation' of domestic and international markets," said Guo Sheng, deputy director of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's Department of Transportation.
Expressway traversing north, south Xinjiang opens to traffic
