Tianya-Haijiao Tourism Zone
7 min readNow，in a few minutes we will be leaving for Tianya-Haijiao which is one of the most famous scenic spots in China.Only when you get to Tianya-Haijiao，the southernmost tip of the island，can you realize that you are on an island，and can you get the feeling both traditional and exotic.There is a very popular Chinese song”Come to the End of the Earth Please”which draws a picture of what might be called Thule in the farthest south of China.Literally known as Sky Limit and End of the Sea，Tianya-Haijiao is situated at the southernmost tip of Hainan Island and it is about 23km away from west of the City of Sanya.Originally known as Xia-Ma-Ling or Off-Your-Horse Peak，it is a section of the seacoast on the South China Sea.On the beach at this spot is strewn with rare stones of all kinds.Placed in the midst of the huge rocks，people will seeabillowy sea surging up and seemingly engulfing the sky and sky hanging low trying deliberately to provoke the sea.Two green-grey stones are about morethan 10 meters high and 60 meters long，and with inscriptions carved on then.One was carved with two Chinese characters”Tianya”by the local prefect called Cheng Zhe from Yazhou（today’s Sanya）in the Qing Dynasty，and the other with”Haijiao”by the local prefect called Wang Yi from Qiongya in 1938.Tianya means Sky Limit and Haijiao means the End of the Sea.From then on，it has become a place of interest.Standing in the midst of the big stones，visitors can see that a vast billowy sea is surging up and seemingly engulfing the sky，and that a sky is hanging low trying deliberately to provoke the sea.No matter how hard you try to look，you can see nothing but a boundless haze before you.All that makes you feel that you have reached the end of the earth.So only when you get here can you have the feeling that you are really on an island；only when you get here can you enjoy the exotic and romantic scenery.
Seeing only some groups of rare rocks standing at the center of the spot you might have been puzzled that”Aren’t there just a few stones in the Enc of the Earth？Why do so many visitors come here every day？”Yes，it is true，but the stones are rare and fantastic，especially the big stones can be rising up into the sky，vast and limitless.In no other places in the world can such stones be found.The stones with inscriptions carved by famous notables indicate different traditional culture from ancient to modern times.
As described in the ancient Chinese allegorical novel Journey to the West written by Wu Cheng’ en of the Ming Dynasty, the fabulous Monkey King creates a great disorder in the Heavenly Palace when he tries to unthrone the Jade Emperor. Not only are the celestial officers and soldiers unable to put him down, but the Jade Emperor himself is also unable to do anything. As a last resort, the Emperor asks Buddha in the Paradise of the Western Heaven for help. Buddha arrives to the scene and says to the Monkey King,”What temerity for an idiot monkey to try to seize the throne from the Jade Emperor!”
“Why,”replies Monkey King gloatingly.”Me no idiot at all.I can change into a myriad of different forms.I have the magic power of never getting old or dying I can turn somersaults to get on a flying cloud that will then carry me to thousands of miles as I wish. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to sit on the throne in the Heavenly Paradise?”Buddha then says,”All right, if you are that good,I’ ll lay you a bet. If you can turn a somersault and get out of my palm.
will invite the Jade Emperor to the Western Heaven as my guest and let you take his place here. But if you are unable to get off my palm, then you had better make yourself scarce and go to cultivate new capabilities somewherebefore you come again and make a fool of yourself here.”Monkey King jumps on Buddha’s palm, and after turning a somersault, he believes that he has been far away from Buddha. Suddenly, he finds five huge flesh-colored columns on his way. He thinks he has got to the end of the heaven. To get back and let Buddha know, it occurs to him that the latter might not believe him without good evidence. So he plucks out a hair and breaths on it to turn it into a pen brush. With this, he writes on the column in the center the following words.
“Note the Great Heavenly Monkey King has been here!”After this, he pisses on the first column as further evidence. Then turning another somersault, he arrives back on Buddha’s palm and says to the latter,”Here l am.I’ ve already been to the end of the heaven. Let the Jade Emperor vacate the palace for me.”
But he draws only a reproof from Buddha, who says to him,”You stinking pissing monkey! Don’t you see you have never left my palm?”In disbelief Money King contests,”Who dare say I have not been to the end of the heaven. Come with me and see what I have left there.”At this, Buddha chuckles,”Noneed to do that. Look down there and you will see.”Monkey King looks down and sees on the middle finger of Buddha the words he wrote on the flesh-colored column in the center while from between the thumb and the index finger a strong reeking smell assails his nostrils. Nonplussed, Monkey Kingmakes an attempt to turn another somersault to go and see what has really happened at the end of the heaven. But with a single whack, Buddha has himsmitten down on dusty earth again and pinned down with his big hand that then turns into a high mountain to imprison the monkey under earth. It is said that it is not until 500 years later when Monk Xuan Zang, on his way to the Western Paradise for Buddhist sutras, finds and rescues him that the fabulous Monkey King becomes free again. He then escorts Xuan Zang on his journey to the west and after surviving one terrible disaster after another (81 times in total) becomes in the end Bodhisattva of Victory and is fully rehabilitated.
Now let’s go to enjoy the sight of “Pillar under Southern Sky”. It is said the characters of”Pillar under Southern Sky”were written by Fan Yunti，a famous scholar in the Qing Dynasty.There is a moving story about it.In ancient times，there were fierce waves on the sea surface at Li’an，Lingshui County of Hainan Province.People could not get out to go fishing and they lived a poor and hard life.Hearing this，two fairy maidens made up their mind to do something helpful to them.They left the heaven and stayed in the sea.All ofa sudden，the wind died down and the waves subsided.Then the fishermen could go fishing peacefully.On hearing this，the Lady Queen Mother got very angry.She insisted that the fairy maidens were not allowed to interfere in human affairs.So Thunder God was sent to arrest them and take them back forpunishment in the heaven.The maidens refused and were willing to turn themselves into double-sail shaped rocks for the fishermen’s navigation.When the rock was split into two halves by the lightning，one half flew onto the beach of the End of the Earth.People admired the fairy maidens being upright and above flattery and called it”Pillar under Southern Sky”.The other was in the sea of Li’an.So the rare stones are famous not only because they have a long history，but because of the marks of Chinese traditional cultures left there.It is priceless and people never lose to visit the End of the Earth，when touring in Hainan Island.Today the End of the Earth is not only a place of historicalsites，but also a place where the International Marriage Celebrations are held once every year.
Now look ahead，this is the vast South China Sea.There are East and West Island，which can be reached by boat.You can enjoy all kinds of marine recreational activities there.To the left appears the sculpture area of notables in Tianya（today’s Sanya）.All the statues of famous people existing there，more or less have something to do with the history of Sanya.Every statue has a touching story to tell from ancient times.To the right appear the coconut tree-fringed soft-sand beach，the sunshine，and the blue sky joined together with the green sea.It is a charming and picturesque natural setting that nothing can be paralleled.
Why don’t you take some pictures here？It’s high time to enjoy the gentle breeze from the sea and admire the appearances of those big rare stones.Have you noticed that there are masses of pits on the stones？Those are the creation of typical sea wave erosion.We can imagine how the seaside stones could be shaped.Who can you tell are the real artists that have carved the beautiful rare stones？Of course they couldn’t be human beings，but the sea waves.This might be the scientific explanation of the heap of rare stones in the End of the Earth.
Look，everybody！There along the rocky road on the seashore，a great variety of souvenirs at Tianya shopping center are waiting for us！Let’s go！
