Day 19 – April 7th – Sanya

At breakast the followimg morning we chatted about what to do and Diane said she had seen photos online of a giant Buddha statue in the sea and would like to see it. Having come across this statue whilst looking at things to do in Sanya I soon agreed and so did Gary.

“It’s about 25 miles away I said”, “25 minutes by taxi.”

“No problem, let’s go” agreed Gary and Diane and so I booked a taxi and we were soon on our way to the ‘Nanshan Buddhism Cultural Park’.

I may have said before about the cost of taxis in China but this 25 mile nearly half hour journey cost only £8.50, which for 3 passengers is great value. If

you are travelling to China just download the AliPay app and link it to your bank card before you arrive. This app is used everywhere to pay for all your meals, shopping and other payments and also includes the “Didi” mini app to book a taxi.

Simply click on the app, the built in GPS pinpoints where you are and you type in where you want to go, (in English), and it gives you a choice of vehicle types to choose from, ordinary taxi, executive car, minivan etc and the cost of each type for the journey. Then just click on the one you want and within seconds the screen shows the vehicle registration and type and the drivers name and how soon it will arrive.

I can’t stress enough how essential the AliPay app is in China, In four weeks I used on £30 in cash and the rest of my spending was with Alipay and on Didi. Even the smallest street food seller has the Alipay QR code to scan to pay them.

Anyway back to our trip. The Didi driver dropped us off at a car park by the side of a dual carraigeway where we saw quite a few tour buses parked up and a number of people getting tickets (and paying with Alipay of course), up I went and the lady handed over 3 tickets at £1.50 each and through the turnstiles we went.

“That was cheap” Gary said, Diane chirped up with ” What are we doing here in a car park ? I thought the statue was at the seaside?”

Well it all became clear, we were at the entrance to the park and the tickets were for the mile or so return ride to the ticket office!

As with many cultural and scenic areas in China there are good discounts or even free entry for seniors, Here it was half price if you are over 60 and free entry if over 70. so Diane and I were half price at £4 and Gary was free. Always remember to bring your passport at all times as entry to all attractions requires proof of ID and age.

So off we went in the glorious sunshine to explore the park.

We wandered down the gentle slope towards the sea and past the many floral displays and food stands and after about 20 minutes we caught our first glance at the statue.

the 3-sided Guanyin of Nanshan (Goddess of Mercy) statue is 354 feet (108m) high, is the tallest Guanyin statue in the world and taller than the Statue of Liberty which is 93m tall.

The statue represents Guanyin, the Buddhist figure of mercy, and the three faces symbolize:

Compassion in all directions

Each face looks in a different direction (one toward land, two toward the sea), showing that Guanyin is watching over and helping all beings everywhere — no one is outside her care.

Different aspects of protection

Each face represents a slightly different role:

• One face: peace and blessing
• One face: wisdom and guidance
• One face: protection from danger (especially for people at sea, important in coastal Hainan)

Unity of mind, body, and spirit

In Buddhist symbolism, multiple faces often represent different qualities unified in one enlightened being — not three separate figures, but one compassion expressed in many ways.

Why two faces look out to sea

Given Sanya’s coastal location, this reflects:

• Protection for fishermen and sailors
• Blessings for those travelling across the ocean
• A link to Guanyin’s traditional role as a protector from peril

We stopped and rested at one of the many food stands and chatted about how beautiful the park was and how glad we were we visited.

We took a slow walk back up to the entrance and Didi ride back to our hotel for a dip in the pool to cool off before dinner.

TTFN

Bibbley