Shoppers' paradise on Hainan Island gives Hong Kong a run for its money
Massive mall on Hainan is drawing away from city mainlanders keen to snap up luxury goods at duty-free prices while enjoying beach holiday
He Huiying, a 27-year-old white-collar worker from Guangzhou, enjoyed the perfect vacation last month in Sanya on Hainan Island, where she whiled away the hours on the beach, stayed at a luxurious hotel and shopped at the world's largest duty-free shopping centre, the newly opened Sanya Haitang Bay International Shopping Mall.
She originally planned a holiday in Hong Kong, but changed her mind on hearing of big promotions offered at the Haitang Bay mall.
Following the mall's opening on September 1, Sanya has set itself up to rival Hong Kong as the No 1 spot for legions of mainland shoppers with an insatiable appetite for luxury goods.
The biggest mall of its kind in the world, covering a gross floor area of 120,000 square metres, sells duty-free goods by more than 300 international brands, ranging from perfume and skincare products to jewellery, watches and fashion goods.
On its opening day, the 5 billion yuan (HK$6.3 billion) mall, run by state-owned China Duty Free Group, attracted 30,000 people, who snapped up 37 million yuan worth of goods.
The mall is expected to provide a big boost for China's duty-free industry, after the central government introduced a policy allowing tourists to buy up to 5,000 yuan worth of goods duty free on the island. The cap was later raised to 8,000 yuan.