The island's original inhabitants are the Li people, said to be descendants of the ancient Yue tribes of China who settled on the island more than 3,000 years ago. Examples of their ethnic cooking can be found in restaurants decorated with bamboo and thatch and waitresses in traditional dress. Specialties of the Li and Miao people include bamboo rice and coconut soup.

Bamboo Rice	Chicken soup in Coconut

Also from the Li, come unique Wuzhi mountain specialties featuring organic vegetables, wild duck and “five feet?pig. The Mangrove Tree Resort in Yalong Bay features Wuzhi mountain food in their Chinese restaurant.
The Hui people have been living on Hainan Island over 700 years, mainly in Yanglan and Sanya. It is said that the Huis are the offspring of Arabs from the 16th century who did business along the Water Silk Road from Quanzhou, China to the Middle East. Some were ship wrecked and settled on Hainan Island. They married the local Li people but retained their Muslim customs. Phoenix town has many Hui offerings such as beef and mutton specialties.

Seafood
With an abundance of fresh catches of the day, seafood is very popular among visitors to Sanya Hainan Island. Customers can pick their own and have it cooked to personal perfection at most local restaurants. The four most famous dishes in Sanya are Wenchang chicken from Wenchang city which is known for its tender meat and succulent bone marrow; Dongshan lamb or mutton; Jiaji duck from Qionghai city with a special ginger, soy and pepper sauce; and festive crab, also from Wenchang city, which is best served steamed to retain its fresh flavor. There are several good examples of restaurants serving these specialities between Jie Fang Er Lu and Sheng Li Lu, Ji Xian Lu and Xin Feng Lu.

Recommended restaurant:
Hainan Feature Dishes Restaurant:If you want to eat more delicious food in Hainan we suggest you to try some local feature dishes. Here, the most famous dish is the Huangliu duck. When they boil the duck they put some specially-made ingredients into the soup which make the duck very tasty. Moreover the seasoning is also tasteful which mingles the ginger, soy, chili and some kumquat juice.
Transport:
It is located at the Shengli road. Taking a taxi from the city center (RMB5).

Dadonghai Coconut Seafood City: It is a high- level seafood city for some people with high income. Usually they come here to eat the seafood by driving their own cars. In the seafood city there are some entertainment programs such as dancing. You can taste the delicious seafood and enjoy the local dancing as well. The price here is higher than that of other restaurants but the food is more hygienic than the others.
Transport:
Take the No.2 or 4 bus at the opposite of the Dadonghai hotel and get down at the City hotel, then go across the road, you will see the seafood city. Take a taxi from the center (RMB5-7).