Sansha means “three sandbanks” in Mandarin and refers to these three groups of islands and atolls.
The Paracel Islands are claimed by Vietnam, but is now entirely controlled by China.
One-third of the world’s shipping transit through its waters.
The city has also recently started taking on tourists, and for that purpose built two museums.
Other tourist attractions include a couple of monuments and towers left by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII.
