The Guanyin of Nanshan is a huge statue of the bodhisattva Guanyin, located on the island of Hainan, just off the coast of China. You can perhaps see how huge it is by examining the size of the average Chinese tourist at its base. This island is a common vacation spot for the Chinese, and they consider it to be like their “Hawaii,” although it’s really nothing like Hawaii. The statue has three faces. One faces inland and the other two face out to the South China Sea. The one facing the land depicted Guanyin holding a sutra and gesturing the Vitarka Mudra with the other. The second face has her palms crossed holding prayer beads. The last face is one simply holding a lotus in peace.
From the Worship collection on Foundation.

Guanyin of Nanshan, China

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-18 12:16:58
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/2439
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-0.656

Sanya is a bit of a strange place, I must say. It’s considered the “Hawaii” of China because people vacation here to have the tropical beach life. But the strange thing is that the beaches were totally empty, as all the tourists (99% Chinese mainlanders and 1% me) would just hang out at the pool all day. This made it great for me, who actually enjoys the beach and ocean… so I was out there all by myself. However, as you can see, the pool was pretty awesome.

The Pool at the Ritz-Carlton in Sanya

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• Date Taken2018-03-19 03:59:43
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture6.3
• ISO400
• Focal Length25.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I was surprised to see all the semi-religious buildings and structures in Sanya. You don’t see a lot of this sort of stuff in mainland China, but because Sanya is on an island of their own, they seem to have a bit more of a different history and architecture. It was a welcome relief, because after you’ve seen about 10 Chinese temples of traditional design, you’ve seen them all.

Spirals in Sanya

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-18 11:58:42
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/3600
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-0.656

One day on the beach in Sanya, I took the drone out over some ships that were anchored about a mile off shore. It was about the limit for my drone, but it was really cool to explore these abandoned ships. I could have done it all day! Here’s one of the many shots my fun little drone friend brought back to me.

Abandoned Ship in a Chinese Harbor

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-19 18:35:19
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/50
• Aperture2.2
• ISO155
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Some of my favorite photos I got in Sanya were from the main beach while using a drone. This is yet another place in China where I am not sure if it is legal to fly drones or not. But since Sanya is in a more remote area of China, I figured it was okay. I’m 99% sure that all these huge boats out here are abandoned… at least they looked abandoned when I got close with the drone!

Sunset in Sanya

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-19 18:26:35
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/640
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Sanya was one of the more unique places I’ve ever visited. It’s on an island off the coast of China and it’s one of the top destinations for middle-and-upper class Chinese businessmen and politicians that want a bit of a tropical vacation. Even though there are tons of beaches, the Chinese don’t really seem to be “beachy” kind of people. They seem to mostly hang around the pool that happens to be right beside a perfectly awesome beach! These are some of the little villas I was staying in at the Ritz-Carlton there.

Walking home in Sanya

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-19 03:40:02
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time8
• Aperture6.3
• ISO400
• Focal Length36.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

We were by one of the giant Buddha statues on Sanya, and, like at most temples, there is a place for visitors to make a symbolic donation. Every religion has some sort of area like this… There’s a big difference between ones in China and the ones in Japan. Chinese ones are almost entirely uniform, as you can see here. The ones in Japan are much more varied and interesting on an individual level. It’s kind of a key indicator of how different the cultures are…

Ribbons in Sanya

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-07-08 17:17:30
• Camera
• Camera Make
• Exposure Time
• Aperture
• ISO
• Focal Length
• Flash
• Exposure Program
• Exposure Bias

Look at the size of this thing! You can see the normal sized Chinese people down at the bottom. I took this with a quad and it was extremely difficult! For one thing, it was extremely windy. Secondly, this was about two miles away from my takeoff location so I was constantly losing the connection with the quad. I had to burn through three batteries before I finally got it out far enough to get this angle that I wanted.

Amazing Statue in Sanya

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-18 12:16:58
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/2439
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-0.656

Now I’m not technically sure these are abandoned, but they probably are. This is near Sanya, which is an island off the SE coast of China. I flew my drone over about 50 of these ships and got in close. There was definitely nobody aboard the ships, and they don’t appear to be terribly seaworthy. If anyone else has more info on these, let me know!

Abandoned Ships in the South China Sea

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-19 18:27:25
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/470
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Well, I don’t know if these are actually abandoned, but they certainly appear to be so. On my final night in Sanya (which is a small island off the coast of China), I took the drone out over a bunch of ships that were anchored off the coast. I had seen them a few times, and I wondered what they were doing out there. It turns out they were doing absolutely nothing. It was kind of like a giant parking lot for boats that are no longer useful.

Abandoned Ships in Sanya

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2018-03-19 18:37:18
• CameraFC220
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/125
• Aperture2.2
• ISO100
• Focal Length4.7 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias