Recently The New York Times reported the following:
On a Chinese Island, a Sunny Sanctuary for Russian
Tourists (1/2)
Russians find a refuge on the beaches of Sanya from
sanctions and “sideways looks,” toasting the New Year beside a Chinese nuclear
submarine base.
China dispatch - By Andrew HigginsVisuals by Gilles Sabrié.
Reporting from Sanya, China
Jan. 8, 2026
Updated 3:37 a.m. ET
Gathered on New Year’s Eve in the banquet hall of a
beachside hotel in southern China, tipsy revelers jumped to their feet to toast
the arrival of 2026 — two hours early.
They were not befuddled by too much drink but wanted to celebrate the start of the New Year according to the time in Vladivostok, a Russian city two hours ahead of China.
Slurred cries went up, in Russian: “Happy New Year, Vladivostok! Happy New Year, Russian Far East!” Many of the partygoers — mostly Russians with a few Kazakhs and others from the former Soviet Union — drifted away from the hotel celebration before midnight, when the new year actually began.
Unlike in many places in Europe, where Russians have learned to keep their voices down because of the war in Ukraine, the beaches of southern China offer a safe and sunny space for Russians to behave as they would at home without fear of sideways looks.
Police officers who were out in force to prevent rowdiness broadcast warnings along beaches that fireworks were forbidden. But they stood by as Russian revelers, wobbling drunkenly in the sand, unleashed a barrage of Roman candles into the sea.
The number of Russian tourists visiting the tropical Chinese island has surged, fueling a local economy geared toward Russian tastes.
The number of Russian visitors to Hainan, a Chinese tropical
island east of Vietnam in the South China Sea, increased 11 times between 2023
and 2024, making them by far the biggest group, buoyed by a visa-free policy
and a hospitality that ignores the war in Ukraine. The Chinese authorities,
perhaps fearful of alienating tourists from countries hostile to Russia, last
year stopped releasing Hainan visitor figures by country. During the winter
high season, the island receives eight or more flights each day from cities
across Russia.
Too polite — and wary of losing good customers — to mention the rising death toll in Ukraine, Chinese whose livelihoods depend on serving Russian tourists work hard to make their guests feel comfortable and welcome, gushing about the friendship and shared interests of the two countries.
To make money and also make Russians feel at home, locals have opened fake copies of well-known Moscow restaurants like Chaihona No. 1, a popular, fairly high-end chain known for fusion food that blends Central Asian and Slavic cuisines. The knockoff version here is called Chaihona No. 9.
(to be continued)
Translation
俄羅斯遊客在三亞海灘上找到了避風港，躲避制裁和奇異的目光，在中國核潛艇基地旁舉杯慶祝新年。
在中國南方一家海濱酒店的宴會廳裡，醉醺醺的狂歡者跳起來慶祝2026 - 時間上早了兩個小時。
他們並非因飲酒過量而神智不清，而是想按照俄羅斯海參崴的時間慶祝新年的開始。海參崴比中國時間早兩小時。
含糊不清的俄語喊聲響起：「海參崴新年快樂！俄羅斯遠東地區新年快樂！」, 許多參加派對的人 - 主要是俄羅斯人，還有一些哈薩克斯坦人和來自前蘇聯其他地區的人 - 在午夜之前就離開了酒店的慶祝活動，而午夜才是新年真正開始的時間。
與歐洲許多地方不同，由於烏克蘭戰爭的影響，俄羅斯人學會了壓低聲音，而中國南方的海灘則為俄羅斯人提供了一個安全、陽光充足的地方，讓他們可以像在家一樣盡情狂歡，不必擔心別人的側目。
為了防止騷亂，警方部署了大量警力，並在海灘上廣播警告，禁止燃放煙花。然而，當俄羅斯狂歡者醉醺醺地在沙灘上搖搖晃晃地向大海發射一連串的羅馬煙花時，他們卻袖手旁觀。
前往這座熱帶中國島嶼的俄羅斯遊客數量激增，推動了當地經濟的發展，使其迎合俄羅斯人的口味。
2023年至2024年間，造訪中國海南島（位於南海，越南以東）的俄羅斯遊客數量增加了11倍，成為迄今為止最大的遊客群體。這主要得益於免簽政策以及當地對烏克蘭戰爭漠不關心的熱情好客。或許是擔心會疏遠來自對俄羅斯有敵意的國家的遊客，中國當局去年停止公佈海南島的遊客國籍統計數據。冬天旅遊旺季期間，每天有八個或更多航班從俄羅斯各地飛往海南島。
基於禮貌 - 也擔心失去忠實顧客 - 那些依靠服務俄羅斯遊客謀生的中國人不願提及烏克蘭不斷上升的死亡人數，竭盡全力讓客人感到舒適和賓至如歸，並熱情地談論兩國之間的友誼和共同利益
為了賺錢，也為了讓俄羅斯遊客感到賓至如歸，當地人開設了許多仿冒莫斯科知名餐廳例如「Chaihona一號」。 「Chaihona一號」是一家頗受歡迎的高級連鎖餐廳，以融合中亞和斯拉夫風味的菜餚而聞名。這裡的仿冒品名為「Chaihona 九號」。
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