Wenchang has been the cultural center of Hainan for centuries and the Wenchang accent is considered the standard variant of Hainanese. The city houses the Confucius Temple, one of the oldest building on the island, and Wenchang School, a prestigious school funded by many overseas Chinese.
The city is not as "modern" and booming as Sanya. It is rather like a showcase on the lifestyle of ordinary Hainanese. It has only 520,000 residents, but is the ancestral home for over a million overseas Chinese, mainly in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. These immigrants have influenced the lifestyle back in Wenchang. During the day, people enjoy hanging out in a (kinda) cafe with a cup of tea and a slice of cake for Y1-2. At night, they may play table tennis, sing KTV and dance Tango in Wenchang Park.
The city also has a huge coconut plantation with more than 500,000 trees shadowing the beach resort area. The water quality is not as clear as certain beaches in Sanya, but the area is largely unspoiled by tourism. Tourism-related scams and crimes are almost unheard of. The friendliness of local people have made it an appealing alternative to Sanya.