Plans underway for tourism at Xisha Islands: officials

Haikou (CNS) -- Hainan provincial authorities are preparing to promote the Xisha Islands, one of the four big island groups in the South China Sea, as a tourism destination, according to a source from the Hainan Tourism Development Commission (HTDC) on Thursday.

The provincial department of transportation authorized a maritime shipping route from Haikou to Sanya to the Xisha North Reef in November of last year, yet there is as yet no concrete sailing schedule, the source said.

The news comes amid reports alleging that plans to develop the Xisha Islands are only rumors.

Lu Zhiyuan, assistant to the governor of Hainan Province and director of the HTDC, said on Thursday that they are maintaining a "prudent" attitude about opening the Xisha Islands as a tourist attraction, but have been thinking about how to give full play to its abundant maritime resources and explore it for marine tourism.

The Xisha Islands are located 330 kilometers southeast of South China's Hainan Province.