People visit the image exhibition on Sansha's development on November 8, 2022. Photo: Lin Xiaoyi/GT

A national image exhibition tour showcasing the development over the last decade of China's southernmost island city, Sansha, opened in Beijing on November 8.

Sansha is the youngest prefecture-level city in China, having been established on July 24, 2012 to manage the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands, isles and waters. It is the southernmost city in China with the smallest population, but it has the largest territory of any Chinese city. Sansha has more than 280 islands, isles, submerged reefs and waters.

"The decade of development witnessed since the establishment of the prefecture-level city of Sansha is a vivid illustration of the great changes in China's new era," Hong Liang, deputy director of the Publicity Department of Sansha city committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), told the Global Times.

Since the establishment of the prefecture-level city, under the leadership of the central government, groundbreaking and pioneering results have been achieved in safeguarding maritime rights and island protection and development. The local people's sense of growth, security, and happiness has increased significantly, Hong said.

A flag-raising ceremony is held to celebrate the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China at Yongxing Island of Sansha City, south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 1, 2022. (Photo by Li Yangbao/Xinhua)

The exhibition is comprised of nearly 200 photos and videos of Sansha, showing the natural scenery and ecological and environmental achievements made in protecting the archipelago, along with the improvement of people's quality of life in the last decade. Village councils on some islands, for example, have been transformed from dilapidated brick and tile houses into modern, multi-story buildings.

"We want the public in Beijing to directly experience the clear blue sea and appreciate the spirit of Sansha's people rooted in the country's southernmost archipelago, and realize that despite their geographical location, the people of Sansha firmly love the motherland and stand ready to defend China's rights and interests in the South China Sea," Hong said.

Nowadays, Sansha has completely changed from the hardship and backwardness of the past, reflecting the increase of China's comprehensive national power, Hong noted, stressing that the local authorities are also actively working on island construction so that the people of Sansha can live and guard China's southern frontier.

This exhibition has also set up a digital portal through which the public can enjoy the unique charm of Sansha through mobile phones and computers. In the near future, the exhibition will tour more cities across China.

Fang Qiang, deputy director of China's National Red Army Primary School Construction Engineering Council, said in a speech that future exhibition sites of the tour will be selected from a number of Red Army Primary Schools in areas where the CPC built up its revolutionary cause before the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, to show the beautiful scenery and spirit of patriotism of the southern border of China to the public, especially Chinese children.

"We also hope that through this exhibition, more Chinese people will further enhance their understanding of the ocean and absorb the spirit of inclusiveness and endeavor," Hong said.