Spratly Islands, Hainan Province

Yongshu Island

Yongshu island is an artificial island on the southwest reef of Yongshu Reef, which is the abbreviation of "Southwest island of Yongshu Reef". It is the residence of Nansha District People's Government of Sansha city.

The Yong Shu reef is a large atoll in the Spratly Islands, with an area of 108 square kilometers, which exceeds some reefs in six reefs of Nansha. In 1988, China established the UNESCO marine observation station. By the beginning of 2015, more than 5 million hydrometeorological observation data had been obtained in the Nansha sea area, providing reliable navigation hydrometeorological support for Chinese and foreign ships in the South China Sea.

From August 2014 to April 2015, China completed the sand blowing and reclamation operation on the southwest land of Yongshu Reef (the land that comes out of water at low tide is "reef land"), with an area of 2.8 square kilometers, Yongshu Island Airport, Yongshu hospital, etc. Yongshu island will be China's largest material distribution center in Nansha, requiring long-distance large transport aircraft.

In 2015, the island area of the Yong Shu reef was third only to the Meiji reef and the Zhu Bi reef. It was the Spratly Islands's largest island.

Historical evolution

In 1935, the Republic of China announced its name as crossfire reef or northwest investigation reef.

In 1947, the Republic of China announced its name as Yongshu Reef. Chinese fishermen are called "Tuwu". Some foreign books are called field cross ref or N.W. (northern) investigator Ref.

Fishermen commonly known as: gengluboshang called this reef "Tuwu", and called each part as a corner, two corners, triangle, "Tuwu" tail. "Tuwu" is a word, that is, the word "Cheng" lacks a horizontal hook in the middle. I don't know whether it is a rare word or a wrong word, and I don't know the pronunciation and meaning.

In March 1987, the fourteenth meeting of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO decided that China should establish seventy-fourth observatory at Spratly Islands.

In 1988, the people's Republic of China selected Yongshu Reef as the UNESCO marine observation station, namely Nansha Yongshu Reef observation station. It has set up a sovereignty Monument and 10 navigation lights on five reefs in this sea area. The structure of these beacon lights is reinforced concrete base. The tower body is made of glass fiber reinforced plastic. The tower is 7 meters high and 1.8 meters in diameter.

In August 2014, the people's Republic of China began the reclamation project. On October 16, the main island of Yongshu island covers an area of about 0.7 square kilometers, according to the analysis of satellite images updated by the commercial high-resolution map website DigitalGlobe. This not only means that the island has become the largest island in People's Republic of China with the largest control area in Nansha, but also indicates that the island has replaced the Taiping Island controlled by the Taiwan authorities and become the largest island in Spratly Islands. On November 17, digital globe, a commercial high-resolution map website, updated its satellite photos. The main island of Yongshu island covers an area of about 1.3 square kilometers.

On October 16, 2014, the world-famous commercial high-resolution map website DigitalGlobe updated its satellite image. According to the latest photo analysis, the area of the main island of Yongshu island has further expanded compared with the end of September, reaching about 0.9 square kilometers. This not only means that the island has become the largest island in Nansha controlled by Chinese mainland, but also indicates that the island of Taiwan is the largest island in Spratly Islands.

According to the latest satellite image on November 5, 2014, the newly reclaimed area of Yongshu Reef is further expanded, with an area of 0.92 square kilometers, about 0.85 square kilometers on the left side, and two pieces on the right side, about 0.07 square kilometers. The longest is about 2400m.

According to the latest satellite image on November 17, 2014, the newly reclaimed area of Yongshu Reef has further expanded, with an area of 1.26 square kilometers and a maximum length of 3026 meters.

On January 6, 2015, Nansha people's Armed Forces Department of Sansha city was established in Yongshu Reef.

In April 2015, the permanent land area reached 2.8 square kilometers.

In May 2015, China released satellite photos of Yongshu Reef in Nansha after expansion.

In April 2020, the State Council approved the establishment of Nansha District in Sansha City, Hainan Province. Nansha District, the three Shashi, controls the islands and reefs of the Spratly Islands, and the Nansha District people's government is stationed at the Yong Shu reef.

geographical environment

position

The Yong Shu reef and its island are located in the central part of Spratly Islands, located at 9 degrees north latitude 37 minutes, 112 degrees east longitude 58 minutes, and 740 miles from Chinese mainland. According to 560 knots of Yulin port of Hainan Island, they belong to Hainan province. The island is located at the middle point of the nine reefs and the Yin Qingqun reefs in the Spratly Islands. There are no other prominent reefs in the large area. The environment is relatively safe and the geographical location is important. It is located in the midway between Taiping island and Nanwei Island, at the intersection of the central route of the South China Sea and Nanhua waterway, about 250 nautical miles northwest of Jinlan Bay.

Yongshu island is referred to as "Southwest island of Yongshu Reef" for short. It is an artificial island on the southwest reef of Yongshu Reef. From August 2014 to April 2015, China completed sand blowing and reclamation on the southwest land of Yongshu Reef (the land where the water comes out at low tide is "reef land"), covering an area of 2.8 square kilometers, with Yongshu Island Airport, Yongshu hospital, etc.

landforms

Yongshu Reef is a long oval shape, which is divided into southwest and northeast parts. The whole reef is 26 km long and 7.8 km wide, covering an area of 108 square kilometers (more than twice that of Meiji reef, and more than some of the six groups of reefs in Nansha, such as Gemini reef, Zhongye reef, Daoming reef, etc.). The shallow lake shape is not obvious, and the water depth is 14.6-40 m. The Reef is not below 0.5-1 m at high tide, but only exposed at low tide A little rock. Yongshu Reef is 560 nautical miles away from Yulin port, Hainan Island. The reef is northeast southwest, about 22 km long and 7 km wide. At high tide, the reef is not below the depth of 0.5 to 1 meter. At low tide, most of the reef is above the water. The main reef of Yongshu Reef is southwest reef, covering an area of 4.33 square kilometers.

When the original Yongshu Reef was at high tide, only a small reef emerged from the water. During reclamation, the reef remained unfilled, on the other side of the small harbor pool of the old reef.

climate

Yongshu Reef has a tropical marine monsoon climate with a monthly average temperature of 25-29 ℃ and an annual average rainfall of 2800 mm.

The salt content in the air is higher than that in the sea.

hydrology

The surface currents in the South China Sea are mainly affected by the northeast monsoon. During the northeast monsoon period (from October to March every year)

Comprehensive advantages

First, the Yong Shu reef is actually a large atoll with an area of up to 108 square kilometers. It is more than two times larger than the large atoll Meiji reef. It also exceeds the twin group reef and Zhong Ye reef. It is much larger than the available reefs of Taiping Island, the largest natural island in Spratly Islands. Once constructed, it can accommodate a large number of people. Two, it is isolated from the surrounding waters, which is favorable for garrison, protection and operation. As the command center (Vietnam takes the South Wei island as the center, Philippines regards the China Industrial island as the center), three, it is located in the northwest of the hinterland of the Spratly Islands, which can control the large surrounding waters.

In 1987 China set up a marine observation station of UNESCO and inspects more than 50 good reefs in Spratly Islands. After half a year's investigation, it was chosen because it is extremely precious and rare.

Main shipping Road

The reef, the Yong Shu reef, the "Zhu Bi reef", is a vast ocean in the West and a busy international shipping main route, which passes through the Zhongsha Islands.

The Singapore Strait - Taiwan Strait, or the Bashi Strait - Philippine Strait group, passes through the west of Yongshu Reef - Zhubi reef in a straight line.

Most of Spratly Islands is in the east or southeast of this line.

Therefore, the marine meteorological data of yongshujiao station in Nansha is of great value for international shipping, and the lighthouse is very useful for international shipping. Lighthouses in other areas are also useful, but there are fewer ships to navigate.

natural resources

fishery resources

The fishes in Yongshu Reef Area belong to the Indian Pacific tropical fauna, which can be divided into benthic fishes, intertidal fishes, reef swimming fishes and oceanic fishes. Coral reef fishes and tropical oceanic fishes account for the vast majority, accounting for about 90% of the total species. They are an important part of the marine fish fauna in China. Among them, 364 species are distributed in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, accounting for 68% of the total fish species; 140 species are distributed in the Pacific Ocean, accounting for 26.17% of the total fish species; 31 species are distributed in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, accounting for 5.79% of the total fish species.

mineral resources

There are a lot of valuable mineral deposits in the sea floor around Yongshu Reef, including iron, manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt, lead, zinc and other metal elements, zeolite, Coral Shell limestone and other non-metallic minerals, as well as hydrothermal deposits. The strong northeast monsoon blows a large amount of surface water to the southwest, thus forming a counter clockwise circulation in the South China Sea. Spring and autumn are the monsoon transition period, which is also the period of surface current alternation. In summer, it is the southwest monsoon period (from May to August each year). The surface circulation of the South China Sea is roughly opposite to that in winter. The circulation in the west of the north of the South China Sea is counter clockwise, while that in the southwest is clockwise.

United Nations Observatory

The United Nations wants to build a station

In March 1987, the fourteenth annual session of the Intergovernmental oceanic Commission of UNESCO discussed the joint survey of global sea level, and asked China to set up 5 ocean observation stations, of which one was built in Nansha and Xisha, and the other seventy-fourth was built by China at Spratly Islands. The survey data are shared. The establishment of the yongshujiao marine observation station will make the

Chinese PinYin : Hai Nan Sheng San Sha Shi Nan Sha Qun Dao Yong Shu Dao