Sansha is one of the youngest cities in China. It has been only five years since it was established in July 2012. How is the city’s development faring? What are the main pillars of its economic development? Xiao Jie:

There have been tremendous changes to Sansha’s facilities in recent years. There is one inbound or outbound flight at Yongxing Airport every day; a ferry runs twice a week; and telecommunications services have improved remarkably. Residents can make phone calls anywhere, surf the Internet with Wi-Fi or 4G networks and watch TV programs on highdefinition screens. Desalination facilities and power supplies have been available on all islands and reefs where conditions allow. Basic needs, including education and health care as well as cultural and sports activities, have been met.

Apart from our traditional fishing industry, tourism is growing quickly and is attaining good returns. Cruise tourism has been flourishing. It is well incorporated with maritime ecosystem protection efforts. Since 2013, 120 cruise trips have brought around 20,000 tourists to Sansha. Such travelers alight from the ships to experience the recreation activities offered by Yagong, Yinyu and Quanfu islands of the Xisha Islands without straining resources or damaging the environment. In the future, we will explore new management mechanisms while optimizing our infrastructure to provide better services for tourists. We are planning to increase the number of cruise routes and diversify tourist products. Old ships will also be phased out in an attempt to improve tourists’ safety.