Xisha——The blue in my heart

Living in the north, I have always had an island complex - yearning for the blue waters, soft sandy beaches, and strong tropical style... Ever since I learned in my circle of friends that the Paracel Islands are open to the public, "Xisha" is a mysterious place in the South China Sea. It has quietly taken over all my travel choices.

The Xisha Islands are one of the four major archipelagos in the South China Sea. They are composed of the Yongle Islands and the Xuande Islands. They are the largest archipelago in the South China Sea by land area. They start from Beijiao in the north, to Pioneer Bank in the south, and from West Cross the beach and end at Zhongjian Island in the west.

In the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947), they were named Yongle Islands and Xuande Islands in commemoration of the Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He’s seven voyages to the Western Ocean from Yongle to Xuande years in the Ming Dynasty.

The Xisha Islands have been China's sacred and inviolable territory since ancient times. In ancient times, they were called Jiuruluozhou (stone), Qizhou (ocean), Changsha, Qianli Changsha, etc.

In the collection of the Hunan Provincial Museum, there is an ancient map unearthed from Han Tomb No. 3 in Mawangdui, Changsha in December 1973. Historian Tan Qixiang named it "Changsha Guoshenping Defense Area in the Early Western Han Dynasty" "Topographic Map" (also known as "Topographic Map of Southern Changsha"). The wooden tablet on which this map is stored has the words "Yi Ji Shuo Wu Chen in February of the twelfth year", which is the twelfth year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty in 168 BC. . On this map, historians were surprised to find the South China Sea, which was the jurisdiction of the Nanyue King of the Western Han Dynasty at that time. Although the coastline is only symbolically drawn in a half-moon shape, it proves that the South China Sea appeared on China's map at least 2,100 years ago, and this is also the earliest existing map depicting the South China Sea. (Excerpted from "Special Issue of the First Voyage of the Dream of the South China Sea")

Although the South China Sea area is coveted by many countries, whether it is the various descriptions of the South China Sea that appear frequently in ancient Chinese books or the drawings of various countries in various periods The maps show without a doubt that China is the first country in history to discover, name, administer and develop and operate the islands in the South China Sea.

1. Time: August 16, 2019 - August 19, 2019, four days and three nights. Since there is no commercial development on the island, all food and accommodation during the trip will be on the cruise ship.

2. Cruise departure port: Sanya Phoenix Port International Cruise Port, a 30-minute drive from Sanya Phoenix Airport. At 2:30 pm on the first day of the trip, go to the cruise departure port to check in and board the ship. Set sail on time at five o'clock.

3. Cruise ship docking place: the deep sea area near the three islands on this trip

The cruise ship docking place is connected to the destination island by a connecting yacht.

We arrived at the anchorage near Yongle Atoll in the Paracel Islands at six o'clock in the morning on the second day of the trip.

4. The fare includes: food, drink, accommodation and travel for four days and three nights after boarding the ship, tour guide service and two nights of deck party watching

Does not include: additional consumption within the cruise ship, island Go to entertainment projects and buy seafood and tourist souvenirs on the island

Eat: All three meals a day are buffets, with a variety of dishes and moderate tastes.

Drink: Free boiled water is provided on the ship, and the room is equipped with a bottle of mineral water per person per day. Free mineral water will be provided after arriving on the island. Wine and beverages are charged separately.

Accommodation: The cruise ship offers a variety of cabins, which can be chosen according to personal needs. Different cabin classes have different fares.

Line: Cruise + connecting yacht, Yagong Island provides a glass boat sightseeing experience. The above fees are included in the ticket price and no additional payment is required.

Tour guide service: The tour guide assistant on the South China Sea Dream cruise ship is the feature and highlight of this cruise. The young tour guide assistants are versatile and good at singing and dancing. During the day, he was responsible for escorting and explaining the island, and at night he performed for us by playing, playing and singing. In addition to admiring the beautiful scenery of Xisha, you can also watch the singing, dancing and musical instrument performances of the Li ethnic group in Hainan.

1. The Xisha Islands have very strong ultraviolet radiation, so prepare sun protection products in advance: high-power sunscreen, sunglasses, large-brimmed sun hat (with windproof rope), long scarf, long-sleeved sun protection clothing. As a rule of thumb, physical sunscreen works best.

2. Prepare wading shoes that can wrap your feet in the front and back. Leather shoes, sandals, sneakers, and casual shoes are not allowed on the island.

Based on actual experience, the river-tracing snorkeling shoes pictured above are more practical than Crocs. Quick-drying cloth surface, rubber non-slip sole; cheap price; soft and light, does not take up luggage space; the shoe mouth fits the instep and prevents sand from getting into it; it also acts as sun protection for the feet.

3. The Xisha sea area is highly salty and humid, and there are strong winds and waves during the docking process, making it easy for clothes and items to get wet.

The waterproof mobile phone bag can free your hands and play a waterproof role.

If possible, you can bring a lightweight raincoat for body waterproofing.

Non-professional photography enthusiasts and non-photography enthusiasts are not recommended to carry expensive photographic equipment unless they are very proficient in the protection of photographic equipment.

4. People who are weak and sick, prone to motion sickness, and children under 6 years old are not recommended to participate in this trip.

5. After boarding the ship, be sure to listen carefully to the itinerary and precautions explained by the tour guide assistant. Be sure to abide by the regulations in areas where entering the water is prohibited, and remember that there is always a sense of chance. The poisonous man-of-war jellyfish can be found everywhere! !

The picture above shows the "South China Sea Dream" cruise ship, an important means of transportation and hotel for this trip to the Xisha Islands.

Since the three islands on this trip have not been commercially developed, the "South China Sea Dream" has become our travel base and rest base.

For safety reasons, let me first share with you an overview of the cruise ship and the operating company:

The "South China Sea Dream" is operated by Guangzhou Guangzhou Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., China's first listed shipbuilding company. The construction of International Co., Ltd. was completed in 2012 and is now operated and managed by Sansha Nanhai Dream Cruise Co., Ltd. The company was established on May 20, 2016, with a registered capital of RMB 500 million, and was jointly funded by China National Tourism Administration, China Ocean Shipping Group Co., Ltd., and China Communications Construction Co., Ltd. The company is registered in Sansha City, Hainan Province, and currently has one cruise ship, the "South China Sea Dream".

The "South China Sea Dream" was originally a ro-ro passenger ship for domestic routes. In order to meet the needs of the Xisha route, the ship has been functionally improved in terms of operational qualifications, technical safety, and tourist experience. Although the hardware and software facilities are not comparable to those of international luxury cruise ships, they are enough to meet the needs of our four-day and three-night itinerary. It is said that the cruise ship will return to Guangzhou for annual overhaul and upgrade in the near future. It is hoped that the new look will bring a more comfortable experience to tourists.

Ship specifications: Tonnage: 24572, deck level: 10, length: 167.5 meters, ship width: 25.2 meters, speed: 18.5 knots, maximum draft: 6.1 meters, maximum passenger capacity: 893 people.

Yinyu Island, Yagong Island, and Quanfu Island marked in the above picture are the destinations of this Xisha trip, and they are all part of the Yongle Islands. The anchorage is the anchoring point of the "South China Sea Dream" cruise ship in Xisha. It is basically in the middle of the three islands. Standing on the deck, you can look around the three islands. Due to the shallow coral reefs near the island, cruise ships can only dock in waters with a depth of more than 10 meters. The journey from the cruise ship to the island is via motorboat, which takes about 10 minutes one way.

Gather at the destination port and go through boarding procedures

Cruise ship tour, function explanation, emergency drill, historical introduction

Set sail at 5:00 pm on August 16, 2019 , the whole journey is 180 nautical miles and takes about 13 hours of sailing. Because it is far away from the mainland, there is no mobile phone signal during the voyage, and mobile phone communication can only be restored when arriving at the destination. Therefore, as soon as it gets dark, it would be nice to have a good sleep. When you open your eyes the next day, you will definitely be in for a big surprise.

In the early morning of August 17, 2019, people were waiting quietly on the top deck of the cruise ship to watch the sunrise at sea.

The beautiful sunrise attracted everyone to the east side of the deck, and the desertedness on the other side highlighted the tranquility of the moon.

Time: Morning of August 17, 2019

After breakfast, everyone, led by their respective tour guide assistants, put on wading shoes and life jackets, and headed to the third floor of the cruise ship in groups. Go take the shuttle boat. The staff in charge was waiting at the dock at the stern of the ship early, and the tour guide assistant demonstrated the boarding procedures and maintained the on-site boating order.

Yinyu, also called "Yinzhi" by local fishermen, is a tiny sandbar located on the Yinyu Reef in the northeastern part of Yongle Atoll in China's Xisha Islands. It is more than 2 meters above sea level and covers an area of ??0.006 square kilometers. Since it is less than 0.01 square kilometers kilometers, so it cannot be called an "island". Legend has it that there was a shipwreck here in the late Qing Dynasty, and fishermen found a lot of silver here, so it was named "Silver Island".

The high-rise building behind the sacred sovereignty monument is the seat of the Yinyu Community Neighborhood Committee. It was approved and established by the Sansha Municipal People's Government in July 2013. Its jurisdiction covers Yinyu and its surrounding waters, with 10 households. ***19 people.

With the clear water and soft sandy beach, overlooking the "South China Sea Dream", she is like a holy messenger, waiting quietly on the sea level. Far away from the mainland and sparsely populated, it is precisely because of her presence that I feel more at ease deep in my heart. She is our home in Xisha at this moment.

The first thing I did after arriving on the island was to sign a souvenir: Charming Xisha, here I come!

On September 6, 2017, the fishermen officially bid farewell to their wooden houses and moved into settlements built with reinforced concrete.

The fishermen’s house buildings on the island have the following characteristics and functions: 1. Flat roof: windproof and convenient for fishermen to dry seafood; 2. The bottom is 1.2 meters elevated: to facilitate the smooth passage of strong winds and maintain the stability of the house structure. 3. The pull-out structure in front of the house: it is convenient for fishermen to dry their fishing gear and rest.

The island has 24-hour water supply and power supply, and full network signal coverage. The island has a seawater purification system that can provide basic domestic water, but drinking water still relies on supply ships to be regularly transported from the interior. Power supply mainly relies on diesel generators.

According to the tour guide, Yinyu reef is very large and strong, and the geological structure is suitable for building reinforced concrete houses. Therefore, Yinyu is the island with the best construction conditions among the three islands on our trip. Due to its distance from the inland, harsh environment, and lack of supplies, the cost of building fishermen's houses on the island is around RMB 10 million.

Seafood is common here, but vegetables and fruits are truly precious. The soil for growing vegetables is carried to the island by local fishermen from their hometown in Tanmen.

Most of the local fishermen are from Tanmen, Qionghai. The fishermen in Tanmen Town have been fishing underwater for generations. They are not only the first people to explore the South China Sea, but also the Chinese people who are most familiar with the South China Sea. They are loyal guards who protect this sea area.

The island’s power supply relies on a diesel power generation system.

Xiao Hei is the only island dog on the island. He is smart, lively and friendly. The beautiful and kind-hearted tour guide Xiangli never forgets to bring a piece of Xiao Hei’s favorite ham sausage every time she takes a group to the island.

The red plastic basket contains the "tiger fish" commonly seen in nearby waters, whose scientific name is "agrayfish". The pufferfish is a close relative of the pufferfish. Its body is covered with hard spines like a hedgehog, and its abdomen has a large air sac. Most of them live in tropical coastal waters. When attacked, the agouti puffs up its spines to defend itself.

Xisha waters are rich in red-mouthed snails. Red-mouthed snails are dioecious and can be distinguished by their appearance. Pictured above is the female.

Tridacna is a marine animal in the class Bivalvia of the phylum Mollusca. There are 9 species in 1 family, 2 genera and 1 family. It is the largest bivalve shellfish in the ocean and is called the "King of Shells". Mainly distributed in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. There are 6 species of cockroaches in China, distributed in Taiwan and various islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Tridacna shells are large or extra-large, with thick shells and rough shell surfaces. The two shells are equal and have strong raised radial ribs on the shell surfaces. There are often scales or spines on the ribs.

There are many ridges on the back of the clam. If you look closely at the deep grooves between the ridges, does it look like a rut made by a wheel?

The outer shell of the clam is rough and thick, the inner shell is white and smooth, and the outer shell is yellowish brown. The best part of the tail is cut and polished to make Buddhist beads and decorative gems. In the Buddhist world, Tridacna is deeply loved by many masters and believers.

There are endless beautiful shells to pick up on the beach, big and small, with different colors and strange shapes. ——Excerpted from the primary school text "The Rich Paracel Islands"

As described in the article "The Rich Paracel Islands", strange and colorful shells can be seen everywhere. In order to protect this hard-won virgin land, the shells are not allowed to be taken away. Let me take photos with these beautiful shells for future generations to enjoy.

When we were taking pictures on the beach, the tour guide reminded us to avoid the man-of-war jellyfish stranded at our feet. Fortunately, I was a little excited. After all, it was my first time to observe this powerful ocean at close range. biology. The transparent bubbles are filled with blue liquid and are shaped like Jigong's monk's hat.

Everyone is surprised by how this gadget can hurt people. For this reason, I studied the relevant content on Baidu and share it with you here: The murderous weapon of the man-of-war jellyfish is its tentacles. , the tiny tentacles can reach 9 meters long, so many swimmers are too late to avoid the man-of-war jellyfish when they see it. The deadly toxins secreted by the man-of-war jellyfish are tiny stinging cells in the tentacles. Although the toxin secreted by a single stinging cell is insignificant, the toxin accumulated by thousands of stinging cells is as powerful as any venomous snake in the world today.

The most famous landscape on Yinyu Island is the "Seven-Colored Sea". There is a huge deep pit on its reef, with a water depth of more than 20 meters. The sun shines on the sea. Due to the depth of the water, the temperature difference and the light, Due to refraction, scattering and other reasons, the beautiful scene of the "Seven Color Sea" is displayed.

In the special territory of Xisha, the word motherland has become particularly affectionate!

The most exciting and unforgettable thing during my trip to Xisha was the declaration of sovereignty. The impassioned words of the oath reflect the sanctity and inviolability of our territorial sovereignty. The five-star red flag slowly rose above Yinyu accompanied by the national anthem, and patriotism spread all over the body. As a son and daughter of the Chinese nation, I am full of pride.

Each tour guide assistant will prepare a five-star red flag and several hand-held national flags for his or her team members to take photos with. With the blue sky and sea as the background, that touch of Chinese red is the pride of every Chinese person.

Yinyu Island is not big. Including the tour guide's explanation and the sovereignty oath ceremony, the entire Yinyu Island sightseeing time is about 2 and a half hours. On the outbound journey, each group of tour guide assistants will lead the tour to the island. There is no need to gather for the return journey. You can take the shuttle boat back to the cruise ship for lunch and rest according to the latest time indicated by the tour guide. The lunch break is about three hours.

There is a special set of numbers in the world to mark the color of sea water: from blue, light blue, green, light green, to brown and brown. Each color of seawater corresponds to a number, and they form a numbering system from low to high. The lower the water color number, the bluer the water color. The seawater in Xisha is the place with the lowest water heat number in my country. In the summer when the water color is the most beautiful, the water color number here can be lower than 2, while at the same time, the water color number of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea offshore waters are all above 10. There is no doubt that the most beautiful sea in China is here.

I greedily looked at the surrounding scenery with my eyes, wishing that I could take in all the beautiful scenery.

The lunch break was about three hours. After having enough water and food, and taking a good nap, we set off again and continued to take the shuttle motorboat to the different Yagong Island.

Yagong Island has an area of ??0.01 square kilometers and an altitude of 1 to 3 meters. The reason why Yagong Island is different is that Yagong Island is a gravel beach island. The entire island is naturally piled up of coral reef debris and shells, without sand. Black-naped terns can be seen on the island, but there are no forests or sandy areas on the island, so seabirds cannot come often and it has only become a seasonal habitat for seabirds.

Like Yinyu Island, Yagong Island relies on diesel generators for power supply, and drinking water comes from supply ships that are regularly delivered to the island.

A window of a fisherman’s house became an excellent photo-taking spot for us.

The island had only one tree in 2003. I don’t know when this extremely tenacious seed took root on this gravel beach full of coral rocks. It survived and stood firm despite the harsh natural conditions. Therefore, this tree, which is the favorite of local fishermen, is also one of the highlights of the trip to Yagong Island.

Without sand and soil on the island, there is no basis for the survival of trees. After the establishment of Sansha City in 2012, fishermen were encouraged to plant trees and improve their living conditions. The municipal land department fully supported the greening project of Yagong Island, using boats They pulled in shredded coconut and sand to make artificial "land", and then carefully irrigated it with the fresh water they brought in. From changing the formula of the "soil" to changing the species of trees, after several rounds of screening, a batch of vigorous atoms finally survived on the island. The tree serves as the greening tree species on the island.