Other attractions for visitors is that restaurants offer a Russian menu and employees working in the tourist industry can speak Russian.

Some Russians liked Sanya so much they stayed.

"It is like a leisure activity for me to cook Russian food in a beach restaurant," said Nezheleva, who did not want to give her surmane. She cooks in a Russian restaurant on Dadonghai Beach.

"In the peak season, we receive about 400 Russian tourists offering them authentic Russian dishes as well as Chinese food," said Nezheleva, who relocated after quitting her job in Russia's snowy far east region.

Andre Ivanov, 57, is founder of Hainan Zhujiang International Travel Agency and was honored with the national Friendship Award in 2010 for his contribution in promoting Sanya to Russians since 1994.

He helped with the first charter tourist flight in 1997 when 100 Russian travelers from Siberia visited Sanya.

"I established my own tourism business in Sanya and settled here with my Chinese wife. I am proud to bridge this Chinese resort city with my motherland," he said.

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