HAIKOU /China/, October 4. /TASS/. Shopping malls in Sanya in China’s southernmost province of Hainan have become increasingly popular with Russian tourists, China News Service (CNS) reported.

The city of Sanya, famous for its picturesque beaches, has always attracted large numbers of Russian tourists, who have been lately combining a standard beach holiday with shopping. Foreign tourists can often be found at numerous shopping centers in the city, lured by the wide variety of brands on offer, the comfortable environment and convenient payment methods.

"My wife likes to go shopping. The shopping malls in Sanya meet her requirements and she has found lots of her favorite clothing brands here," the news website quoted Oleg, a Russian tourist who was accompanying his wife at the Joy City shopping mall, as saying.

For the convenience of foreign tourists, signs in Russian and other languages, can be seen everywhere at the city’s shopping malls to guide visitors and provide information on shops and services. In addition, the news website says, referring to the Joy City shopping center, currency exchanges and Alipay+ digital payment service are available.

"Since our outlet opened on October 1 last year, it has received more than 150,000 foreign tourists, accounting for 60% of all visitors," He Xianxue, deputy director of the New Balance outlet at Joy City, said. There are signs in Chinese and Russian inside it for Russian guests, and shop assistants can speak Russian, too.

The municipal authorities have set themselves the task of transforming Hainan into "an international hub for tourism and consumption." The Chinese island is often called the "Eastern Hawaii" as it boasts landscapes, tropical forests, a well-developed network of hotels in combination with beaches and a coastline stretching over 1,900 kilometers, attracting guests from the far corners of the world.