He Fei has the details.

 

　　Located on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea, Sansha City of Hainan Province administers the three island groups of Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha and their surrounding waters.

 

　　Officially set up last July, the city has been working on the infrastructure construction since then, especially in the field of transportation.

 

　　Mayor Xiao Jie explains.

 

　　"We've increased the number of trip of sealift vessels. For example, the Xiongsha No.3. Before it was one or two trips per month between the mainland and Yongxing Island and now we can guarantee one trip per week. The improved transportation has raised the supply capacity of the Xisha Islands. And now we are building a bigger sealift vessel, Sansha No.1. It is expected to be put into use in 2014."

 

　　Xiao Jie says other basic infrastructure to improve people's daily lives, such as desalination plants, solar power facilities and houses for public use, have also been built on Yongxing Island.

 

　　Hainan Governor Jiang Dingzhi points out that Sansha can help the province develop its marine industry.

 

　　"The establishment of Sansha city is key to the development of Hainan Province. We'll use the opportunity to further develop the marine industry. For example, to build more trawlers with larger tonnages to continue our work in the field of marine reserve. And probably, we'll engage in oil and gas exploitation in the area."

 

　　Thanks to its geographical location, Sansha at the southernmost point of China is expected to play a critical role in the exploration of the country's South China Sea.

 

　　NPC deputy and economist Xiang Xiaomei is an expert in the marine industry. In her opinion, the economic value of oceanic territory should be well utilized. And Sansha provides a support base for the country to explore the deep sea.

 

　　"Take a deep-sea fishery as an example. If you sail far in the deep sea and there is no such support base, then you need a larger ship to carry all the fishery equipment and living supplies, which costs a lot of money. Well, Sansha now plays the role of the logistic supply base between the mainland and the deep sea in the exploitation. It is the extension of the land."

 

　　Xiang also says that with Sansha as a base in the deep sea, China will learn more hydrological information about the South China Sea. It will also be another impetus for the already flourishing tourism industry in Hainan.

 

　　Mayor Xiao Jie says tourism will be the signature industry of Sansha. The first travel program it expects to launch this year is a cruise tour of the Xisha area.

 

　　"Now the preparation work is going smoothly. We've finished the construction work on the cruise ship. We've mapped out the ship route and the tourist attractions along the tour. Safety controls are also being discussed. It won't be too long before it opens to the public."

 

　　Xiao says the cruise tour might be a two- or three-day route.

 

　　For CRI, I'm He Fei.