enerous is what I'd call the person who first thought of describing Sanya as the `Hawaii of the EastÆ. If I was asked to describe it I'd suggest imagining a competition between a dozen or so major construction companies to see who could make the most mess while half completing a large ugly building. Such were my thoughts after spending an hour or so strolling along busy roads in search of the beach. And then, at an intersection, I saw a sign with an arrow and the legend `End of the WorldÆ, and suddenly I knew everything was going to be fine. Who wants to go to Hawaii anyway?

It was just a half-hour bus journey from Sanya. En-route the other passengers explained that the End of the World was the famed Qing dynasty territorial marker, Tianya Haijiao - the Edge of Heaven, Corner of the Seas. Back in the early Qing dynasty, when characters inscribed on the rocks marked Sanya as the south-eastern extent of the Chinese empire, this really was the end of the world - the Chinese one at least.