Xisha Archipelago [Sanya]

"One of Top Ten Most Beautiful Islands in China"
Ranked by China National Geography Magazine

Xisha Archipelago in Hainan Province: Corals add beauty to CHINA

The Xisha Archipelago lies in the northwest part of the South China Sea. The most attractive feature of this group is that there are two arrays of islands; in the east lie the seven islands of the Xuande group , including the main island of Yongxing and the Dongdao Island (Bird Island); in the west are the eight islands of the Yongle Group, including Jinyin, Ganquan and Jinqing Islands. There are also reefs, sandy beaches and shoals. This island group is known to local fishermen as the 'seven easts and eight wests.' From the air, they look like two strings of white-ringed sapphires, set into the vast blueness of the South China Sea.
The South China Sea is located in the tropical zone, its southernmost sector close to the Equator, making the annual average sea temperature a warm 78.8F. The temperature, salinity and transparency of the water are ideal for the growth of corals. Therefore, almost all the islands in the South China Sea are encircled with coral reefs. It is China’s main area of reef-building corals and the coral resources are particularly rich in the Nasha and Xisha archipelagos. Indeed the Xisha group alone boasts 127 types of coral belonging to 38 species.
Reef-building, stony polyps and calcium-rich algae, with chinks and cracks filled with shells and masses of polyps, form reef-building corals. Stony polyps enjoy the reputation of 'ocean architects.' They are bottom-dwelling tiny tubeworms living in tropical and sub-tropical seas. A single polyp is as small as needle head, but a great colony of them secretes a great deal of calcium carbonate, over time gradually forming huge corals of different shapes and colors. Zooxanthella live inside the stony polyps and if the environment changes, they abandon the polyps, causing the corals to 'bleach' and die. The Xisha boasts over 100 species of stony corals, often named after their shapes, stag horn, brain, rose and mushroom corals. They also vary in color, from red, orange and purple to green and yellow.
In the coral garden beneath the sea, the most attractive and startling thing is the hundreds of different types of fish. The rich bio-resources and the vast area of the Xisha Archipelago complement each other so well; it is no wonder people say 'Xisha, one half seawater, the other half fish.'
Of the 32 individual island of the Xisha, the Bird Island deserves special mention. Countless numbers of birds are drawn to the Xisha by the rich resources of marine life such as fish and shrimp, for them the Bird Island is paradise. Boobies, tern and gray-spotted birds love to mix with human beings.
The island is only 1.4 square kilometers in area but is rich in vegetation cover; it stands out as the best-protected natural ecological island of the entire Xisha group. It is also a sanctuary for the red-footed booby, whose population amounts to more than 100,000, constituting the largest single group of island residents.
The Xisha Islands are on the sea route on the South China Sea and were part of the 'Ocean Silk Road.' Based on historic fact, sovereignty of these islands was maintained by China throughout the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that came later. Ceramics and coinage from all these dynasties have been discovered here. The Solitude Soul Temple on Yongxing Island, the Earth God Temple and Queen Mother Temple on Jinqing Island and the Bird Island respectively are strong historical proofs of the fact that Chinese fishermen lived and worked on these islands.

Best time to go
Anytime especially From September to May next year
The center district in the park is called 'Cool Mountain of Hot Island' with 67.46F, an average temperature of the whole year, 73.22F in the highest month, and 59.18F in the lowest month. Typhoon and rain is centered from June to September.

Ticket
No ticket but hard to travel

Around Landscape

Local Snacks and Specialties
All kinds of seafood

Travel Tips
Water supply is from at 7 to 24 clocks on island. There is no telephone in hostel.
Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus and fishing is important amusement.
Please make better preparation especially take enough foods before going.
There is no vehicle and other traffic on island.
There is no signal for cell phone on island and only a public phone and only a post office.
Only about 100 tourists can be reception on island in one year.
There is no food to serve on depot ship.
Please take sunbonnet, sunglass, and suntan oil, swimsuit, swimming cap, swimming glass, turkish towel, slipper, etc.
Please drink little white wine and vinegar When eating seafood.
Please do not eat too much seafood and tropical fruit.
Typhoon and rain is centered from June to September.
Be careful safe when you swimming and diving.

Distance
Beijing (3451 km) Hainan Island (180 nautical miles) Xisha Archipelago