Areca Valley Li & Miao Cultural Tourism Zone

Areca Valley Li & Miao Cultural Tourism Zone

Areca Valley Li & Miao Cultural Tourism Zone is a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction.

Hainan Areca Valley Li & Miao Cultural Tourism Zone was established in 1998, located at 18°N latitude within the Ganshiling Nature Reserve at the border of Baoting County and Sanya City. The scenic area lies amidst over ten thousand graceful and elegant areca palm forests, and is nestled in a tropical rainforest filled with towering ancient trees and intertwined vines. The planned area covers more than 5,000 acres, about 26 kilometers from Yalong Bay Beach and 28 kilometers from downtown Sanya.

The valley gets its name from the fact that it is flanked by dense forests on both sides, with an areca palm valley stretching for several kilometers in between.

The scenic area consists of seven cultural experience zones: the Intangible Cultural Heritage Village, Ganshi Li Village, Guyin Miao Family, Field Li Home, the large-scale live performance "Areca · Ancient Rhyme," Orchid Cottages, and the Li & Miao Flavor Food Street, offering beautiful scenery.

The scenic area also showcases ten national-level intangible cultural heritages, among which the "Traditional Spinning, Dyeing, Weaving and Embroidery Techniques of the Li Ethnic Group" has been included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Areca Valley is also one of the main venues for Hainan’s traditional Li and Miao festivals, such as the "March 3rd Festival" and the "Qixi Water-Splashing Festival." With immense cultural charm, it is considered a "living fossil" of Hainan’s ethnic culture.

In July 2015, Areca Valley was awarded the title of National AAAAA-Level Tourist Attraction. As China’s first ethnic culture-themed 5A-level scenic area, Areca Valley is also a national production-based protection base for intangible cultural heritage and one of the top ten best movie filming locations. It has received numerous national honors from the State Council, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Agriculture, including "National Model Collective for National Unity and Progress," "National Key Cultural Export Project," and "National Five-Star Enterprise for Leisure Agriculture and Rural Tourism."

Hainan Areca Valley Li & Miao Cultural Tourism Zone upholds the mission of "excavating, protecting, inheriting, and promoting Hainan’s Li and Miao cultures to keep them alive and thriving." It recreates the thousand-year-old civilization of Hainan for the world and serves as both an inheritor and innovator of Hainan’s indigenous culture.

The scenic area includes the Intangible Cultural Heritage Village, Ganshi Li Village, Rainforest Miao Village, Orchid Inn, Li & Miao Flavor Food Street, Youli Outdoor Adventure Base, Sailong Experience Projects, and the large-scale original ecological Li & Miao cultural live performance "Areca · Ancient Rhyme." It is Hainan’s most abundant, authoritative, dynamic, and authentic “living” museum of ethnic culture, and also the main venue for the "Seven Fairies Hot Spring Water-Splashing Festival."

Ganshiling Areca Garden forms a distinctive landscape centered around the ancient civilization of the southern region, Li & Miao ethnic charm, and tropical ecological gardens, connecting elements such as ancient culture, folk customs, green mountains, clear waters, and pastoral scenery. It is known as the "Sacred Land of Li & Miao Ethnic Charm."

The scenic area has won a total of 167 honors, including 34 at the national level, 70 at the provincial level, 44 at the county level, and 19 from other social organizations. These include: National Production-Based Protection Base for Intangible Cultural Heritage, National Key Cultural Export Project, National Five-Star Enterprise for Leisure Agriculture and Rural Tourism, and Top Ten Best Movie Filming Locations.

Transportation

A. Scenic Area Shuttle Bus

Guoguang Hotel (9:20) → Sanya Resort → Jinglilai Hotel → Beautiful New Coast → Green Sea Pastoral → Blue Sea and Sky → 425 Hospital → Tuanjie Street Intersection → Xinfeng Street Intersection → Phoenix Island → Yifang Department Store → Luhuitou Square → Hawaiian Hotel → Summer Department Store → Dadonghai Square → Yuya Road → Jiuyang Health Center → Return (16:10)

[Scenic Area Shuttle Bus Tips]

Reservations are required one day in advance. Reservation phone: 0898-88248598, available from 10:00 AM to 12:00 AM (midnight). Free round-trip rides are available on the day of travel with your reservation verification code.

B. Hainan Public Transport Bus

At Sanya Bus Terminal (located between Jiefang Road Pedestrian Street and Wanghao Supermarket in Sanya), purchase a ticket to "Sandao." Inform the conductor to let you off at the new main gate of Areca Valley Scenic Area. The fare is approximately 14 RMB, and the journey takes about 45 minutes.

C. Taxi

From downtown Sanya to Areca Valley Scenic Area, the one-way fare is about 80 RMB; from Yalong Bay, it’s about 50 RMB.

Ticket

Gate Price: 120 RMB per person. Discount Policy: A. Children under 1.2 meters, seniors over 70 years old (with valid ID), active-duty military personnel (with military ID), disabled military personnel (with disability certificate), and holders of disability certificates issued by the China Disabled Persons' Federation can enjoy free admission.

B. Children aged 1.2–1.4 meters, seniors aged 60–69, residents of Hainan, students (with student ID), journalists (with valid press cards issued by the National Press and Publication Administration and annually inspected), and those holding non-CPPDF disability certificates can enjoy discounted admission at 60 RMB per person.

"Areca · Ancient Rhyme" is a paid performance (Standard seating: 140 RMB per person, VIP seating: 160 RMB per person).

Opening Hours

8:00–17:30, last entry at 16:30.

Location

Address: Within the Ganshiling Nature Reserve, Sancun Town, Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County

Further reading:

· The 28th Batch of National 5A-Level Tourist Attractions (July 2015)