You can travel Hainan with almost no Mandarin — a phone, a few phrases and patience cover most situations.
English and Russian
Resort hotels and tourist sites in Sanya often have English-speaking (and sometimes Russian-speaking) staff. Elsewhere, expect little English.
Useful phrases
Hello 你好 (nǐ hǎo) · Thank you 谢谢 (xièxie) · How much? 多少钱 (duōshao qián) · I don't understand 听不懂 (tīng bù dǒng). Show the characters — pointing works better than pronunciation.
Translation apps
Google Translate works offline if you download the Chinese pack before arrival. WeChat has a built-in translator for messages.
Menus
Most restaurants have picture menus; pointing is acceptable everywhere.
Tip Save a screenshot of your hotel name and address in Chinese — it solves 90% of taxi conversations.
准备好规划你的海南之旅了吗？
当地合作旅行社通常会在 24 小时内回复。