A Resilient Model for Tropical Retail

As Sanya advances its role as an international tourism consumption hub within the Hainan Free Trade Port, its commercial landscape is shifting beyond tourism-led retail towards a more integrated urban model. 

Located in the core of the East Coast CBD, Sanya Joy City, masterplanned and designed by Woods Bagot, is conceived as a tropical urban experience and international retail destination. The project integrates retail, culture, night-time activity, and duty-free adjacency, operating as a city-scale destination that bridges local culture and international consumption.

With approximately 93,600 sqm of retail space and over 200 brands across six levels, the development is anchored by the concept of “Oasis Stage,” bringing together landscape, public life, and commercial activity within a unified spatial system. 

The “Red Box”: shaping identity at the urban edge 

At its primary frontage, a distinctive entrance volume—the “Red Box”—defines the project’s identity. Formed by a double-skin façade, a high-performance glazed outer layer wraps an inner system of interwoven red-orange aluminium panels. 

More than an iconic gesture, the “Red Box” operates at the intersection of climate response and spatial experience: the outer layer reduces solar heat gain while the cavity enables natural airflow, and the textured inner surface produces subtle shifts in light and shadow, allowing the building to read as light and permeable within the urban context.  An “Oasis Stage”: shaping a tropical retail environment .The design concept translates Sanya’s tropical climate and coastal character into a layered spatial system rather than literal form-making.  

Terraces, shaded platforms, and open boundaries reinterpret canopy and coastal airflow, creating a sequence of environments from sunken plaza to rooftop dining. Stepped gardens extend the adjacent ecology into the development, allowing landscape to guide movement and define experience. 

An open, interwoven retail framework Instead of a conventional mall loop, the project introduces a multi-level, non-linear structure where circulation, landscape, and programme are interwoven. 

As Billy Ip explains: “Within the Free Trade Port context, retail is framed as an open, experience-led system responding to both tourism and everyday urban life.” 

A sunken retail street and central atrium anchor the scheme, while elevated terraces and open-air dining platforms connect spaces vertically. By day, it supports shopping and leisure; by night, it transforms into a setting for social life and cultural activity—extending its use across time and user groups. 

Climate-responsive design in a tropical setting Passive strategies are embedded throughout the architecture to address Sanya’s hot, humid conditions. Layered terraces provide shading, open corridors allow natural ventilation, and elevated platforms create usable outdoor environments even under strong sunlight. 

Rainwater systems support the project’s vertical landscape, forming an integrated ecological approach shaped through environmental simulation and testing. An evolving urban platform Since opening, the project has developed into a hybrid retail and cultural platform. With over 200 brands and continuous tenant curation, it maintains a strong sense of novelty and activity. 

Performance reflects this positioning: annual sales exceed RMB 1.6 billion, with over 18 million visitors and more than 240,000 members. International consumption accounts for over 25%, while recent growth during peak periods demonstrates stability beyond seasonal fluctuations. 

Through a combination of brand strategy – bringing high-impact IP, curated events, locally driven content and community engagements – supports on ongoing cycle of attraction, conversion, and retention. As a result, Sanya Joy City operates not only as a retail destination, but as a continuously evolving urban space. 

Sanya Joy City proposes a more resilient model for tropical retail—integrating climate, landscape, and programme into a system that connects tourism with everyday urban life.