Sanya in Hainan Island China

[dolevr]

It took me some 3.5 years of living and diving in China to get myself dwn to Hainan.

For those of you that can not place Hainan on the map - it is the big Island to the south of China.

Hainan is considered (rightfully so) to be the Thailand of China, and to justify this Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Marriot, Sheraton ... all have come here.

So far for the environs .. now for diving.

I arrived Sanya on some business issues and expected a "close to" Thailand experience.

It is not.

For the Hainan diving industry guys everyone is basically a first time diver. Chinese (as I said above) seem to believe that Hainan is the Chinese equivalent of Thailand or the Great Barrier Reef and indeed they do advertise it as such. The advertisements are blatant lies featuring crystal clear waters with pasted in tropical creatures.

Well, of course, I was not interested in an introductory dive but I saw on the price board that they had deep diving.

Nonetheless, I was in Hainan with a group of work coleagues and escorted them off to the place where thsi is done.

If you have been (once in your life) to a factory assembly line (imagine Fort model-T factory) this is what they have there. Groups of tourists (mostly Chinese) arrive there and pay 500 RMB (about $60USD) per head for the chance to be dragged 50 meters from the rocky shore in an old wet suit, no fins, and be pushed under water to see nothing.

Okay, I thought, I'll go for the deep dive, this might be better. I asked if it was a boat dive and they replied in the affirmative. Turns out it was a 2-minute boat trip over to a platform just offshore. The maximum depth turned out to be 12 meters and I went along with this because from what little I could see underwater (absolutely maximum viz was 2 meters) below 12 meters was just sand.

Above 12 meters were a few dead lumps of coral with heavy algal growth. Fish life was sparse.

There is no discount for using your own equipment. The rental equipment is no-name brands and I mean this literally. I could not find a brand name on the BCDs, wetsuits, or regs. Also you will need to add on a few sizes to what you would normally wear. E.g., I usually use a Scubapro BCD size L but in Hainan I used an XL and it was too small.

As for other diving, I was told Yalong Bay was better but after going there I could see that Yalong Bay was more of the same. I eyeballed the situation there and asked where the boat was going to. The guide pointed to a nearby island. Maximum depth was to be 12 meters again. No thanks.

Dolevr

[chinadan]

It took me some 3.5 years of living and diving in China to get myself dwn to Hainan.

For those of you that can not place Hainan on the map - it is the big Island to the south of China.

Hainan is considered (rightfully so) to be the Thailand of China, and to justify this Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Marriot, Sheraton ... all have come here.

So far for the environs .. now for diving.

I arrived Sanya on some business issues and expected a "close to" Thailand experience.

It is not.

For the Hainan diving industry guys everyone is basically a first time diver. Chinese (as I said above) seem to believe that Hainan is the Chinese equivalent of Thailand or the Great Barrier Reef and indeed they do advertise it as such. The advertisements are blatant lies featuring crystal clear waters with pasted in tropical creatures.

Well, of course, I was not interested in an introductory dive but I saw on the price board that they had deep diving.

Nonetheless, I was in Hainan with a group of work coleagues and escorted them off to the place where thsi is done.

If you have been (once in your life) to a factory assembly line (imagine Fort model-T factory) this is what they have there. Groups of tourists (mostly Chinese) arrive there and pay 500 RMB (about $60USD) per head for the chance to be dragged 50 meters from the rocky shore in an old wet suit, no fins, and be pushed under water to see nothing.

Okay, I thought, I'll go for the deep dive, this might be better. I asked if it was a boat dive and they replied in the affirmative. Turns out it was a 2-minute boat trip over to a platform just offshore. The maximum depth turned out to be 12 meters and I went along with this because from what little I could see underwater (absolutely maximum viz was 2 meters) below 12 meters was just sand.

Above 12 meters were a few dead lumps of coral with heavy algal growth. Fish life was sparse.

There is no discount for using your own equipment. The rental equipment is no-name brands and I mean this literally. I could not find a brand name on the BCDs, wetsuits, or regs. Also you will need to add on a few sizes to what you would normally wear. E.g., I usually use a Scubapro BCD size L but in Hainan I used an XL and it was too small.

As for other diving, I was told Yalong Bay was better but after going there I could see that Yalong Bay was more of the same. I eyeballed the situation there and asked where the boat was going to. The guide pointed to a nearby island. Maximum depth was to be 12 meters again. No thanks.

Dolevr

Thanks for your report on this topic. I have heard from Chinese colleagues the exact same story, and on the Internet as well.

Thanks to market economics, Hainan is now increasingly feeling the pressure from other destinations in SE Asia.

It always amazes me how indoctrinated some Chinese are (e.g. when they comment that the perma-fog haze in the sky is actually a clear day)...

I hope that diving takes off quickly in China so

a) I can dive while I am stuck in Jiangsu ("wanna-be Hong Kong" Shanghai has 2 dive clubs, laughable)
b) the evnrionmentally-challengened don't go about Asia and destroy the really nice dive sites

Isn't there diving in your neck of the woods (Shenzhen has PADI) and Guangzhou alledgedly as well?

Cheers

[drbill]

Sad to hear this report (and a few others) about Hainan. I'd been asked to come visit by a friend who lives there so I could assess the diving for a possible business venture. I thought it would be a kick to just dive China, but I've heard several similar reports about the assembly line approach and lack of anything worthwhile in the water to see.

Doc

[chinadan]

Sad to hear this report (and a few others) about Hainan. I'd been asked to come visit by a friend who lives there so I could assess the diving for a possible business venture. I thought it would be a kick to just dive China, but I've heard several similar reports about the assembly line approach and lack of anything worthwhile in the water to see.

Doc

Hey Doc-

just FYI. The governor of Hainan has called for fundamental changes as the island has slipped significantly as a local tourist destination. Most Chinese tourists usually only stay for 2-3 days (i.e. no resort-tourism) but now are choosing other destinations within China.

The governor is encouraging to let professional developers in to create a real competition to Thailand and SE Asia and improve the environment. Being the first on the spot with a dive shop may not be a bad thing, but it is going to be a long haul before China starts treasuring nature...

[alc16]

I guess marketing worldwide needs a little kick up the rear to get the truth out! How many times are we told about places being something that it's not all to be? Incidently, besides the diving, do you have some info on the general state of accomodation/food/things to do etc. on Hainan?

I also have problems with the "hands-on" approach. Seems like some dive operators in Australia & Thailand have the same issue (not all mind you!) - I was under the impression when I did my PADI OW course that all touching was a "no no" if it can be avoided! :06: Lots of places around the world have issues environmentally so we're all guilty even though not blatantly.

Shame about the diving in Hainan. I'm wondering if anyone has found any independant dive operators in Hainan rather than the cattle market operators? Just got to China so am wondering on the options.

Incidently, I was puzzled to see how the above post was similar to this one by diverkim http://www.scubaboard.com/t34727-.html - Are you guys related?

[drbill]

I do plan to go to Hainan, possibly this spring on an extended trip through SE Asia. Know the diving there will not be up to my desires, but I still have to give it a try and see the topside aspects of Hainan. My friend (an American expat) who lives there really enjoys the lifestyle, although he is not a diver himself.

Dr. Bill