- The 6th Asian Beach Games run April 22–30 in Sanya. Tickets are 30–200 RMB and are on sale now.
- Almost every venue is on the same stretch of Sanya Bay coastline. A base in Tianya District covers most of it.
- Foreign passport holders can buy tickets in English on the official website. Bring the actual passport to venues, no photocopies accepted.
- Free city bus travel within Sanya’s urban area is included with any event-day ticket.
- The full session schedule has not yet been published. Plan around dates and venues, not specific session times.
Tickets start at 30 RMB. Here’s What you Need to Know …
The 6th Asian Beach Games bring 1,790 athletes from 45 nations to Sanya from April 22 to 30. The programme covers 14 sports across 62 events. For anyone already living in Hainan or on the mainland, this is an accessible, world-class, affordable sports event, low ticket prices, venues concentrated in one coastal district, and no visa considerations for existing residents. The logistics require some attention though.
This guide covers what is confirmed and flags what is not.
Where everything is
With two exceptions, every competition venue sits within the Tianya District coastal strip along Sanya Bay. A base in Tianya District, particularly along the Coconut Dream Corridor (椰梦长廊), puts most events within walking distance or a short ride. Tianya Haijiao and Phoenix Island are treated as controlled sites with dedicated shuttle access, covered in the transport section below.
The main venue clusters:
Tianya Haijiao scenic area (天涯海角游览区西侧):
Beach volleyball, beach handball, and sport climbing. The opening and closing ceremonies take place at the Ring Theatre (指环剧场) within Yasha Park, inside the Tianya Haijiao scenic area, with a capacity of 6,520 seats. The beach volleyball test events in March confirmed the setup is operating at international standard.
Yuhai Club Space, Sanya Bay (三亚湾御海俱乐空间):
Beach soccer, beach wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and teqball. A compact multi-sport cluster, straightforward to combine sessions in a single visit.
Haihong Square and Haiyue Square, Sanya Bay:
Sailing and open water swimming respectively, both using open waterfront positions along the bay.
Pingshuai Beach (三亚湾萍水沙滩):
Beach kabaddi.
The two exceptions:
Phoenix Island Venue (凤凰岛):
Beach athletics: Access is via a bridge that was subject to full road closures during the torch relay rehearsal. Self-drive access during competition hours is likely to be restricted.
Sanya River (三亚河):
Dragon boat: The only inland venue, a riverside setting away from the coast, with six events across men’s and women’s 100m, 200m, and 400m distances. Competition is currently scheduled for April 24–26.
Egret Gymnasium, Sanya Sports Centre (三亚体育中心白鹭体育馆):
3×3 basketball, the only indoor sport on the programme.
How to buy tickets
Tickets went on sale on March 23. Two channels are available:
- Official website: tickets.sanya2026.cn
- WeChat mini-program: search 第六届亚沙会票务
The ticketing website operates in English and lists Passport as a selectable ID type. Registration uses email verification, a Chinese mobile number is not required. Foreign nationals can register and purchase directly.
The process requires real-name registration. Register with your passport (details online), then bring the same physical passport to the venue, the ticket, holder, and ID document must match.
To buy for a group, add each person’s details under 常用持票人 (regular ticket holders) before selecting events.
Prices range from 30 to 200 RMB, with an average of around 80 RMB per session.
Offline ticket booths are available at five locations from two days before each competition begins:
- Tianya Haijiao Venue Cluster Ticket Booth (beach volleyball, sport climbing, beach handball), West Gate of Tianya Haijiao Scenic Area
- Sanya Bay Yuhai Club Venue Cluster Ticket Booth (beach soccer, teqball, jiu-jitsu, wrestling), 200 metres east of the parking lot at No. 31 Sanya Bay Road
- Phoenix Island Ticket Booth (beach athletics), Sanya Phoenix Island International Cruise Port
- Sanya Bay Haiyue Square Venue Cluster Ticket Booth (beach kabaddi), Sanya Bay Pingshui Beach
- Sanya Sports Centre Gymnasium Ticket Booth (3×3 basketball), Egret Gymnasium, Sanya Sports Centre
Ticket hotline (Chinese): 400-016-8150.
Sports currently available to purchase: beach volleyball, beach handball, sport climbing, 3×3 basketball, beach soccer, teqball, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, beach kabaddi, and beach athletics.
Dragon boat, sailing, open water swimming, water polo, and aquathlon were not listed in the ticketing system as of late March. Whether these events are free-access or ticketed on a separate release has not been officially confirmed. Check tickets.sanya2026.cn for current status before the trip.
Getting there and getting around
From within Hainan:
High-speed rail reaches Sanya station, designated as an official reception point for the games. Road from Haikou via the G98 expressway takes approximately two hours. Use G98, National Highway 225 near Tianya Haijiao experienced significant congestion during the March test events and will face heavier pressure during the main games.
From the mainland:
Sanya Phoenix International Airport is operating with dedicated games-period lanes and bilingual services. Since Hainan’s island-wide customs closure took effect on December 18, 2025, entering Hainan from the mainland now involves a customs process, not a visa restriction for existing foreign residents, but a procedural step that adds time at the border. Build buffer into airport arrivals. The high-speed rail connection from Haikou to Sanya is the more predictable option for those already on the island.
Around the venues:
Every ticket holder receives free city bus travel within Sanya’s urban area on the day of the event. Use regular city buses for the Sanya Bay strip; for Tianya Haijiao and Phoenix Island, plan on parking or being dropped at the designated transfer point and taking dedicated shuttle buses to the venue.
During the March test events, spectators for Tianya Haijiao parked at the West Island Tourist Center (西岛景区游客中心) and took shuttle buses from there. The same model is expected for the main games, though official traffic control notices for April 22–30 had not been issued as of publication.
Check Sanya Traffic Police (交警支队) official channels in the days before the opening. Taxi and DiDi drop-offs near venue perimeters will likely be pushed to designated points away from the venues themselves.
What is worth watching
The full competition session schedule had not been published as of this article’s date, planning around specific session times is not yet possible. What is clear is which sports and venues are worth building a day around.
Beach volleyball at Tianya Haijiao.
The temporary stadium built for this event was described by competing international athletes during the March test events as operating at world-class standard.
Dragon boat on Sanya River.
Six events, short distances, results clear within minutes. The riverside setting is open and easy to navigate. Competition is currently scheduled for April 24–26.
Jiu-jitsu at Yuhai Club Space.
Combat sport easy to follow for a non-specialist audience. Simple to combine with beach soccer at the same venue cluster.
Beach soccer at Yuhai Club Space.
Same location as jiu-jitsu, worth an afternoon if the Yuhai cluster is the base for the day.
Opening ceremony, April 22 evening, Ring Theatre, Yasha Park.
Worth targeting if tickets become available to the general public. Capacity is 6,520 seats. Check tickets.sanya2026.cn for availability.
What it will cost
Competition tickets: 30–200 RMB per session, average around 80 RMB. City bus travel within Sanya’s urban area on an event day is free with a valid ticket.
Accommodation in Tianya District does not appear to be carrying a significant games-period premium based on available data, but April is shoulder season in Sanya regardless, book sooner rather than later.
The 24 official reception hotels are reserved for athletes and officials and are not in the general booking pool.
A few things still unconfirmed
The full competition schedule, session times and medal event timing, had not been published as of this article’s date. Planning around dates and venues is possible now; planning around specific sessions is not.
Opening ceremony ticket availability to the general public has not been confirmed. With 6,520 seats and significant interest, treat any tickets that do go on sale as competitive.
Dragon boat, sailing, open water swimming, water polo, and aquathlon were not in the ticketing system as of late March. Check tickets.sanya2026.cn for current status before the trip.
Sanya has hosted large international events before and the infrastructure is in place. The test events in March ran without significant problems inside the venues. The friction, as it tends to be at Chinese multi-venue events, is in transit, not at the competition itself. Plan for that and the rest is straightforward.
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