In pics: YOG prism
Amputee girl reaches top of half-left tower in Jiangxi
Yardangs in Lop Nur
Intoxicating Ayding Lake in Xinjiang
Beijing's MJ impersonator a 'thriller' for crowds
Armed police compete on the plateau
Rubber Duck settles in Guiyang new urban area
Rare set of giant panda triplets turn one month old
Closing ceremony of Youth Olympic Games
Attractive posters to welcome freshmen
Customers select jewelry in Haitang Bay duty-free shopping center in Sanya, South China’s Hainan province September 1, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]
SANYA - The world's largest duty-free shop (DFS) opened its doors on Monday in coastal Sanya City in the southern island province of Hainan.
The Haitang Bay duty-free shopping center has attracted nearly 300 international brands. For several of them, including Prada, Rolex and Giorgio Armani, it is the first time they have appeared in a DFS on the Chinese mainland.
With a shopping area of 72,000 square meters, the center will replace an existing DFS, which is just one-seventh of the new store's size, in Sanya's downtown.
China International Travel Service Group (CITS) invested 5 billion yuan (about 814 million U.S. dollars) in the center, which is operated by China Duty Free Group under CITS.
The State Council, China's cabinet, gave Hainan permission to run a duty-free program on a trial basis in April 2011 to promote the island as a world-class international tourist destination by 2020.
From 2011 to 2013, Hainan saw an annual 15-percent increase in its tourism revenue on average, with offshore duty-free sales accounting for 10 percent of the total revenue.
Figures from the local customs show that as of mid-August, the revenue in Hainan's two DFS stores exceeded 9.2 billion yuan.
![]() |
Models with two-dimensional codes painted on bodies
Antique exhibition of Maritime Silk Road held in Jinan
NASA releases images of solar flare
Daming Palace in Chang’an City in photos
Babies of celebrities born in the year of horse
Farmer Painting, one of Ansai's Three Strange Wonders
Special holidays
World's top 10 fighters
'Stewardesses' serve in hospital
The biggest duty-free store of the world
Volunteers bid farewell to YOG
More police dogs join anti-terror campaign in Inner Mongolia
Picturesque Dayilan Manchu village in NE China
Athletes experience the charm of Chinese traditional opera in Nanjing
Contestants for Miss Bikini World experience Chinese traditional cultureDay|Week|Month