Scubareefing

Dive into the Seas and Oceans

Open Water Dives @ Yalong Bay, Sanya, China on 24th May 2015


Did a couple of fun dives at Yalong Bay, China, on 24th May 2015. Though the dive was restricted, as the diving instructor held onto the dive tank while one dive, and no fins are given, but it was quite a fun dive feeding food to those staghorn small fishes. Interesting experience.

On the 2nd day of our land and scuba dive tour at Sanya, the first thing Kevin Lew and i went to do was to check out the diving spots there at Sanya, and went for diving. There are 4 dive spots at Sanya Beach ~ Yalong/ Baifu Bay, Wuzhizhou Island, Fen Jie Zhou and Dadonghai. We did 4 dives there, one dive each at each dive spot. Business conference only started on the coming last Monday.

Honestly speaking, we are disappointed as diving there are not as fantastic as what the online reviews had stated. There isn't much corals reefs and big fishes to see. Only minority small fishes swimming around and limited rare red corals to be seen at Wuzhizhou Island only. Diving at Yalong Bay is the most costly among all 4 dive spots as it's only operated by diving centers which they are linked to hotel operators. Next most costly dive is at Wuzhizhou island. Tour Packages to Wuzhizhou island and Fen Jie Zhou island are quite expensive.

The Maximum Depth for diving there as restricted and controlled by China Govt is up to depth of 15m, with visibility of up till 10m only. Still, we managed to dive and feed the fishes during the dive. And dive with Whale Shark and Dolphins. Funniest thing was that the diving instructors held onto our dive tanks while we dived even when we told them we are professional divers and even showed them our certifications. No fins are allowed for us to wear, hence we cant dive far. Mouthpiece has to buy separately and there was a queue system for divers to queue to get to dive. Frankly speaking, diving in China was really lousy. They claimed that the coral reefs are protected yet we saw nothing much as compared to other dives in other countries. However, the limited red coral reefs at Wuzhizhou island was quite an eye opener. Quite beautiful.

If you plan to dive at Fen Jie Zhou Island, Sanya with the Whale Shark and Dolphins, our suggestion is save your $. After all the trouble of going there and paying much for the entrance, tour and cruise boat fees etc., the dive center operator there told us that diving with whale sharks and dolphins are closed to public. Only when we book private boat charter out to sea, then we can dive with whale shark.

This Whale Shark and Dolphins at Fen Jie Zhou Island are confined to the pond area for tourists viewing. Like the Singapore Underwater World, Fen Jie Zhou is Sanya's Underwater World. However, the Underwater World there is of small scale as compared with Singapore's Underwater World. Hopefully, one day, the Whale Shark and Dolphins will be released back to sea. We really see no purpose in keeping the Whale Sharks and Dolphins there as the Underwater World there is quite under developed. Saw the seals are being 'tortured' in small ponds under the hot sun. No offence to China govt. As much as they claimed that coral reefs and marine animals are protected, but we really didn't see much coral reefs and marine animals in good living conditions to be convinced that China govt is doing their part in marine conservation. Very disappointing. Our honest opinions and feedback.


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