Sanya in demand as hotels cut room rates

Southern resort destination a top spot for Spring Festival vacations

Sanya in Hainan province, and Thailand are expected to top the list of travel destinations for Chinese during Spring Festival, as they seek to escape the winter chill.

Peng Liang, from the tourism vacation department of China's online travel service C-trip, said mainland bookings for Sanya have surged 20-30 percent from the same time last year, making the island resort the country's most popular holiday destination.