Four years after China established the city of Sansha in the South China Sea's Xisha archipelago, the Global Times reporter landed on Yongxing, the main island. With its untapped tropical resources, the military presence and civilian facilities in China's southernmost city have improved quickly.

Yongxing Island, the largest in the Xisha archipelago, is more than 180 nautical miles from Sanya, South China's Hainan Province. The island serves as the seat of the Sansha city government, which was established in 2012 under the administration of Hainan.

Last Monday evening, a Global Times reporter boarded a ship and set off from Sanya. After 12 hours of high-speed sailing, they arrived on Yongxing the next morning. Right now, only people invited by the government or military can travel to Yongxing.

From the pier, one can see a set of black wooden pegs, where ships can be docked. A few tall coconut trees form a natural protective screen. Some houses sit behind the trees, one of which has a sign hung from its roof, emblazoned with military slogans.

There are also a few pavilions on the pier. Everybody on the island is welcome to rest there without going through checks or carrying ID.

The military camps are also open. There are only guards in front of important departments and all the other facilities are open to the public. Island dwellers can enjoy the medical resources of the military hospital, or see the famous "general forest," which consists of coconut trees planted by the national leaders and generals who have visited the island over the years.

Besides the pier, another facility that's been in the spotlight is the airport. The airport is still under construction, but it's not as strictly guarded as one might think. It's clear the airport is designed for both military and civil purposes.

The convergence can also be seen in its design - because the island lacks fresh water, in order to collect rain water, the runway and aircraft parking space are designed to have a slight slope. After rainwater is collected, the military purifies it and provides it to the residents.

Residents of Yongxing consist of government staff, military troops, policemen, fishermen and construction workers, with tourists dropping by now and then. The island has everything, a government, a commercial bank, a post office, a school, a residential committee, WiFi and even stray dogs. The restaurants have red lanterns hanging by their doors and hammocks stretch between coconut trees.

However, because the small island is far away from the mainland, most daily necessities need to be transported there and can be expensive.

The only school on the island, Yongxing School, proves how small Sansha is. It's the southernmost school in China and was established in 2015. The school has a kindergarten, first grade and third grade classes and 27 students, all of whom are fishermen's children. Li Ruyin is 8 years old and told the Global Times her father owns a barbecue shop and her mother cleans the streets.