Cruise ship to set sail for Xisha Islands

(Ecns.cn)--The cruise ship "Coconut Fragrance Princess" will be used to carry tourists to the Xisha Islands, according to the Beijing News earlier today.

The ship is a mixed cargo and passenger vessel that can carry 800 passengers, 100 vehicles of various types and a certain tonnage of general cargo.

The announcement of the ship's new route comes in the wake of officials saying last month that China is mapping out a plan to develop tourism on the Xisha Islands.

"Working together with the National Tourism Administration, we are designing a specific plan to open the Xisha Islands to tourists," said Wang Rulong, an official from the policy and regulation division of the Hainan Tourism Development Commission.

The plan will spell out policies for industrial distribution, environmental protection of the uninhabited islands and other important factors related to the development of tourism in the islands, said Wang, noting that there is as yet no detailed timetable for carrying out the plan.

"Our tourism development plan for the Xisha Islands will be in accordance with our country's diplomatic strategy," Wang added.

Former deputy director of the National Tourism Administration, Zhang Xiqin, who is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that the development of the Xisha Islands is "not simply an exploration of travel resources, it's more about safeguarding sovereignty over these islands".

"Personally, I think it is very necessary to open the Xisha Islands as a tourist destination," Zhang explained. "Allow our citizens to step on the Xisha Islands and they will have a stronger feeling that the Xisha and Nansha Islands are indispensable parts of China."

Zhang added that traveling to the islands might be inconvenient at present as there are no civil airlines or cruise ships connecting the islands to other parts of China. "However, if our government attaches more importance to developing tourism on these islands, this will no longer be a problem."

Located 330 kilometers southeast of South China's Hainan Province, the Xisha Islands are one of the four big island groups in the South China Sea, together with the Dongsha, Nansha and Zhongsha islands.