Tianya Haijiao — from the end of the world to the wedding photo

Where the world ended

Tianya Haijiao lies about 24 kilometres west of Sanya's centre, on a cape between two bays. The name means “Edge of the Sky, Corner of the Sea”. For imperial China this was meant literally: here, at the southern tip of the last island, the empire ended. Beyond there was only water.

Whoever was exiled this far usually didn't come back. The officials and scholars whose stories you met in Haikou and Danzhou saw the island as a place of despair. “To the end of the world” was not a romantic phrase for them but a threat.

Four inscriptions, four eras

The oldest inscription isn't the most famous. In 1714 imperial surveyors had four characters carved into a rock that say, roughly: here the sea divides the south of the sky. They were working on China's first great imperial map, and this stone marked their southernmost point.

The characters “Tianya”, edge of the sky, were carved into a large granite boulder in 1727 by the prefect of Yazhou, Cheng Zhe. “Haijiao”, corner of the sea, was only added in 1939, written by Wang Yi, a general of the Nationalist government. And in 1909 the then prefect had the words “A Pillar of the Southern Sky” carved into a seven-metre rock.

A date nobody read correctly

For a long time all the books said the “Tianya” inscription dated from 1733. An old chronicle had recorded it that way, and even the famous writer Guo Moruo adopted the date. Only in 1984 did staff from the local cultural office take a rubbing of the weathered characters and find that another year was written there: 1727.

Wind and salt had worn the characters down so much over two hundred years that everyone read the wrong year into them. It's a small story, but one that suits this trip: not everything that has long been written is true.

A rock on a banknote

The rock with the inscription “A Pillar of the Southern Sky” is familiar to many Chinese who have never been here: it's pictured on the back of an older two-yuan note. At about seven metres it's the second-tallest single rock on the site.

There's a legend about the rock. Two fairies are said to have secretly come down from heaven to show the local fishermen the way. When they were called back, they refused, turned to stone — and a bolt of lightning split them. One piece fell into the sea near Lingshui, the other landed here.

From place of despair to wedding photo

Today the phrase “to the end of the world” sounds quite different in Chinese: it's said to lovers who want to follow each other anywhere. There's even a legend of a pair of lovers who fled from their families all the way here and turned into two rocks.

That's why bridal couples from all over China come to Tianya Haijiao today to have their photos taken. The same place that for centuries stood for exile and homesickness has become a symbol of eternal love. A thousand years lie between the two meanings.

Two stones — and much more?

Many visitors are disappointed because the famous place basically consists of a few rocks on the beach. If you don't know the stories behind them, you really do just see stones with characters. If you do, you see four eras of Chinese history on one beach.

Then there's the landscape: long sandy beaches, coconut palms, rocks in the sea and above it all the planes flying in low to the nearby airport. Next to the site lies a newly built little town in white and blue with cafés and restaurants.

Free, but with reservation

Admission has been free since 1 June 2023. But you have to reserve beforehand with your real name via the site's official channel — there's no ticket office any more. Over-55s usually get in with ID even without a reservation. If in doubt with a foreign passport, the hotel reception can help.

Only extras cost money, such as the electric bus or boat trips along the coast. Neither is necessary. Watch out at high tide: the “Haijiao” rock partly stands in the water and is then hard to reach from the beach.

How to approach the visit

The late afternoon is most beautiful, when the light turns warm and the rocks cast long shadows. Two hours are enough for the rocks and a walk on the beach. Afterwards you can eat in the white-and-blue town next door or head back to Sanya Bay.

It's best to walk along the beach from one rock to the next: first the Pillar of the Southern Sky, then “Tianya”, then “Haijiao”. And if you like, look for the inconspicuous surveyors' stone from 1714 — it's the oldest of them all.