Paracel Island cruises prove an undisputed hit with Chinese holidaymakers
Trips to the archipelago include diving stops, trips to fishing villages and screenings of patriotic films
Cruises around the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea are growing in popularity among Chinese holidaymakers, according to the official in charge of the disputed territory.
Since the start of the year, 59 groups have set sail for the archipelago, Tian Xiangli, party chief of Sansha, said on the sidelines of the 19th national congress in Beijing.
That represented a 20 per cent increase in both tour and passenger numbers from last year, he said, without giving an absolute figure for the latter.
“The popularity of Xisha cruise tourism has increased day by day, and it has become a new hotspot for the tourism industry [of Hainan province],” Tian said in a written reply to the Post on Monday using the Chinese name for the Paracels.
Sansha, which comes under the jurisdiction of Hainan, was established in 2012 on Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels, in a clear sign of China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea, which is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, providing a strategic passage between northeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Beijing claims almost 90 per cent of the disputed waterway, to which several Southeast Asian nations and also Taiwan hold rival sovereignty claims.