SouthChinaSea

The area from south of the Taiwan Strait to a point near the equator, including Hainan Island, constitutes the South China Sea. The South China Sea was named after its location, which means the sea to the south of China. More specifically, it refers to the area south of Hainan Island. The South China Sea was the starting point of the "Silk Road on the ocean" during the last millennium. In the Han dynasty, silk was shipped to the west. The sea route started from the South China Sea, passed India and Sri Lanka, crossed the northern end of the Red Sea, then finally reached Rome. The famous story about "Cheng Ho going to the West Ocean" recounted how Cheng Ho led a fleet to the South China Sea, and visited the countries there. The West Ocean is called the South China Sea today. Cheng Ho had to pass through the South China Sea every time he sailed. We can understand the importance of the South China Sea from this. It is important in trading, transportation and military affairs.

The South China Sea is part of the territory of China. It is a marginal sea bordering several countries, located from 22 - 3 Lat. N and 120 - 105 Long. E. The South China Sea is very wide. It includes four archipelagoes (group of islands) and many reefs, atolls and shoals. Atolls form most of the islands. The archipelagoes including: the Pratas Islands (East Sand Islands, Dongsha Qundao), the Paracel Islands (West Sand Islands, Xisha Qundao), Macclesfield Bank (Middle Sand Islands, Zhongsha Qundao) and the Spratly Islands (South Sand Islands, Nansha Qundao) are named after their location. Except for the Macclesfield Bank, the archipelagoes are all dry land rising above sea level.