A store on Yongxing Island in the South China Sea on Sunday. (Photo: China Daily)

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhuanet) — The Xisha Islands in the South China Sea may open to tourists this year, officials said.

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

Tourists will be able to visit the islands mainly on cruise ships while some can travel by air, Feng Wenhai, an official in charge of the Zhongsha, Nansha and Xisha islands’ affairs under Hainan provincial government, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying.

“They will eat or sleep on the cruise ships, instead of on the islands Tourists can leave only footprints on the Xisha Islands,” he said.

Planning is under way to estimate the islands’ capacity for handling tourists and draft regulations for protection of the islands’ environment, he said.

Calls to Feng’s office on Wednesday afternoon went unanswered.

The arrangement is due to the islands’ limited capacity.

Cai Damao, who works on Yongxing Island, one of the Xisha Islands, told China Daily that the Xisha Islands have to rely on supply boats to transport drinking water from Hainan Island to the Xisha Islands, and use electricity produced by diesel generators.

But islanders like him welcomed tourists, because “facilities on the islands could be further improved and benefit us, too,” said Cai, adding that a wharf for cruise ships to dock on Yongxing Island is under construction.

Changes have been great in the past decade, said Cai, who moved from Hainan Island to Yongxing Island 10 years ago with some co-workers.

Cai takes care of vegetable and poultry for the army on the island. “The island now has a supermarket, two guesthouses, a few restaurants and even an Internet cafe,” he said.

“Vegetables are grown in agricultural sheds that have automatic water spray Things are much easier than before,” he said.

Though the Xisha Islands are regarded as the frontier and not suitable for developing tourism, some individual tourists still made their way to the islands to fish or visit family.

Earlier news reports said a four-day and three-night tour to the Xisha Islands by a supply boat costs 5,500 yuan ($870) per person.

Insiders said that Hainan province has been pushing to exploit the Xisha Islands’ tourism resources since the 1990s, but has made no progress in the field.

With the complications of the situation in the South China Sea, the proposal looks more hopeful than before.

Tan Li, deputy governor of Hainan province, told a provincial tourism industry’s meeting on April 24 that tours to the Xisha Islands must be opened this year.

Some netizens expressed interest in visiting the islands on Wednesday, saying the islands could rival Phuket Island in Thailand or other tropical islands.

Cai Ying, the daughter of Cai Damao, who works in Haikou, capital of Hainan, and has visited Yongxing Island, believes that the Xisha Islands will make a great tourist attraction.

“It’s very quiet on Yongxing Island. The dazzlingly blue sea and sky really took my breath away,” she said.

“Though it is hot all year-round, the breeze in the evening cools the air, and it is really a joy to circle around the island in a two hours’ walk,” she said.

The Xisha Islands boast more than 40 different kinds of birds, experts said. “Some of them you cannot find in other places,” said Ouyang Jie, who visited the islands a few years ago.

(Source: China Daily)

Leo Wang. Photo courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund.

If you’re planning to visit cosmopolitan Shanghai—and we think it’s worth a trip to experience the booming nightlife, restaurant and cultural scenes—Leo Wang, the concierge at the Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, is an expert on what to do in his city. Check out his tips on the best of Shanghai, then take a look at Forbes Travel Guide’s new Star Ratings of the city’s top hotels and spas.

What’s the best way to spend a day in Shanghai?

In the morning, you can walk from the hotel to Yuyuan Garden because they are close. It’s open very early, so you may find some traditional Chinese dim sum for your breakfast. In the morning, it’s not too busy. But in the afternoon, there will be a lot of people there. After the gardens, you can walk along the Bund to the Fairmont Peace Hotel and turn left to Nanjing Road, which is the famous [shopping] road in Shanghai. … This is the first pedestrian street in China.

Then you can take the taxi to the French Concession’s Xintiandi. There you can find over 30 or 40 restaurants with different cuisines, both Chinese and Western. After lunch, you can walk around the French Concession or you may just walk around Wei Hai Road and do some shopping.

If you still have enough time, go to the Jade Buddha Temple. [Two Buddha statues] are made from jade … both are from Japan and 100 years old. … After dinner, you might have a river cruise on the Huangpu River.

What must-have souvenirs should travelers bring home from Shanghai?

Not only [material things], but the experience. … Eat traditional food—try some dim sum—go sightseeing to see the shikumen (traditional Shanghainese stone houses) that [aren’t found] anywhere else in the world.

What are the best things to see in Shanghai?

Don’t miss the Bund—if you walk along it, you can experience the modern city [and] the historical construction of the city. A hundred years ago, it was the financial area of Shanghai, and now the financial area has moved to the other side of the river. So you can compare the modern and the classical. … Also Yuyuan Garden—150 years ago, [Shanghai was concentrated in that area]. That’s why we call it Old Town.

What is one thing visitors might not know about Shanghai?

I think that most of the foreigners don’t have an idea of what China is like, or what’s in Shanghai, because most of the reports are negative. So … if they stay in Shanghai, they feel how friendly and how kind the Shanghainese of China are. … I have met a lot of guests who are impressed with the development of China and of Shanghai, and … the service we can provide. Some guests even tell me that our service is better than New York, which is true.