Home to what might be China's best waters for scuba and snorkeling, Wuzhizhou Island lies within easy reach of Sanya and makes for a nice alternative to the increasingly busy resort town's enclaves of five-star hotels and overdeveloped beachfront.
Ringed by beaches and coral reef in Haitang Bay, just 2.7 km offshore and about 30 km from downtown Sanya and the airport, the 1.48 km2 island is home to a handful of attractions and scenic spots, some stunning beaches, and one of Hainan's most pleasant resorts, Wuzhizhou Island Resort.
Divers will appreciate the clear seas (10-30 meters visibility, depending on location and weather), especially off the southern end of the island, where coral reefs host a colorful range of tropical sea life.
The southeastern quadrant of the island is fairly rugged, with a maximum elevation of 80 meters and a rough, rocky coastline that has kept development at bay, leaving relatively untouched patches of land boasting impressive pockets of vivid flora.
The flatter northwest is home to fine white sand beaches and the majority of Wuzhizhou's development. It's there that you'll find opportunities for boating, windsurfing, sunbathing and swimming. If you explore the island, you'll perhaps chance upon old military emplacements dating back to the 1950s, when the island was garrisoned by People's Liberation Army troops.
Aside from the beaches and clear waters, Wuzhizhou Island attractions include Mazu Temple (Mazu Miao), dedicated to a fisherman and navigator-friendly goddess and built on the site of a former shrine erected in the early Qing Dynasty to Cangjie, the four-eyed and eight-pupiled mythical inventor of Chinese writing. Today's temple is the result of restoration work undertaken in the early 1990s.
Lovers' Bridge (Qingren Qiao) is a fun way to spend half an hour. The former military lookout's chain bridge passing over a stretch of sea has been upgraded to a tourist-friendly wood-plank bridge, but the suspenseful walk still leads many a lady to forcefully clutch the hand of her paramour in the manner that originally gave the bridge its name.
Finally, though the rocky southeastern coast may not be ideal for swimming, it is well known for a number of gorgeous scenic spots and commanding views of the South China Sea, including Jinguitanhai (Golden Turtle in the Sea), Guanriyan (Sunrise Rock) and the twin offshore rocks known as Lovers' Island (Qingren Dao).