China begins direct mail to Xisha Islands   

海南三沙开通邮政代办业务 邮品可直达岛礁

(ECNS) - Direct postal service has been made available for the first time to the remote Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.

Sansha, China's youngest city, was founded in July 2012 on Yongxing Island to help manage about 2 million square kilometers of islands, coastal areas and territorial waters in the South China Sea.

Mail and packages to Sansha were first processed by a port in Wenchang, Hainan province, and then transported by supply boat to Yongxing Island before being delivered to the Xisha Islands.

Sansha has opened two centers on Jinqing and Zhaoshu islands to handle direct postal service to the Xisha Islands.

Mail can be delivered from Haikou, Sanya and Wenchang through government-chartered aircraft, a cruise ship and supply ships, according to Zhang Zhaohua, general manager of the Sansha Branch of the Hainan China Post.

The average delivery time will be reduced from half a month to one week.

On its first day, the Haikou mail handling center delivered 160 packages, including letters and newspapers, to Sansha city.