The ancient name of Sanya is Yazhou, which literally means "cliff state". Its history can be dated back to Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC, more than 2,200 years ago). Since then, it has always been within the territory of the Chinese dynasties. Due to its remoteness, Sanya has is sometimes called Tianyahaijiao (天涯海角), which means the end of the sky and ocean in Chinese. Some prime ministers in various dynasties were exiled there and a monk named Jiangzhen accidentally sailed there and used the place as one of his harbors for his long Buddhist missionary journey to Japan.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japan occupied the area from 1941–1945 and Sanya was known as Samah and was the home port for the Second Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy and the main embarkation point for the Japanese Invasion of Malaya and Thailand.
Nowadays, Sanya is an important trade port in southern China to the world, and also known the world with ''Oriental Hawaii'' for warm and humid climate and unique tourism resources. On the 200 kilometers coastline, distribute the clouds Yalong Bay, Large East China Sea, Luhuitou Park, Tianya Haijiao, seamount wonders, Nanshan Cultural Tourism Zone and other world-famous tourist attractions. In addition, the local snacks and tropical fruit will make you feast on it. The most representative foods include Hainan rice noodle, Hainan rice dumplings, Bamboo-tube rice, Hainan chicken rice; fruits include mango, dragon fruit, litchi, jackfruit, durian, coconut etc.