200 tourists sailed aboard the cruise ship 'Coconut Princess' on September 2, 2014, from Sanya port for the Xisha Islands, in south China's Hainan Province. The cruise trip between Sanya and Xisha which costs 4,000 yuan (US$ 650/-) offers tourists a four-day, three-night cruise to the islands of Yinyu, Quanfu and Yagong in the  Xisha islands, which has more than 40 islets and reefs. 

Cruises to the islands, around 180 nautical miles away from the nearest port, got underway on a trial basis from Haikou, the provincial capital, in April 2013. The new Sanya-Xisha route is eight hours shorter and replaces that between Haikou and Xisha. The State Council announced in late 2009 that Hainan and the Xisha islands would be developed as a destination for international tourists. Sansha was designated a Prefecture in June 2012.