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In 2015, attracted by Hainan's beautiful natural environment and comfortable climate, Sardinian Daniele Vacca fell in love with the tropical coastal city of Sanya. Since then, Daniele haven't left Sanya and opened Cucina, an traditional Italian restaurant in 2018 to providing traditional Italian food to visitors from all over the world.  “Hainan is more than just a resort island, more than just scenery. It also has an abundance of natural resources” which, as Daniele says, allow him to both develop his extraordinary creativity and ensure original Italian characteristics at the same time.

The increasing development in Hainan not only makes the island a place to live, it also means increasingly open modes of thought and style with residents and tourists gradually coming to accept real western food. The increasing demand for authentically international food and beverage has led to an increased demand in trained practitioners. This prompted Daniele—who is skilled and experienced in cooking—to also open a consultancy which provides, among other things, back of house training services so that western restaurants can provide international standard catering services. Companies like Daniele’s are providing a strong guarantee for the development of Sanya food industry.

Over these past few years living in Sanya, Daniele has witnessed both big and small development and changes. "In terms of preexisting environment, Hainan has very good conditions for development and can be compared with more internationalized places such as Singapore and Hong Kong." Daniele hopes that the Free Trade Port policies will lead to even more talented people coming to the island for personal and professional development. At the same time, rich tourism resources and market reputation will lead to more tourists coming from more places and thus have the chance to enjoy the authentic Italian experience that he offers.