In the coral garden beneath the sea, the most attractive and startling thing is the hundreds of different types of fish. Angel fish, huge schools of them, swim about, darting here and there, then "dancing" in the most captivating way. Butterfly fish, he most numerous of all, always swim in pairs. "Clown fish" live together with sea anemones, cleverly using the latter as a protective umbrella to evade predators. Of course they also share their food with the sea anemones. Damselfish and grouper, among others, are very territorial and will not hesitate to attack intruders. The rich bio-resources and the vast area of the Xisha Archipelago complement each other so well£®it's no wonder people say "Xisha-one half seawater, the other half fish." In fact, without any interference from man, the natural world would live on and on according to its own laws.

On the coral reefs, every living thing seeks to grow and develop according to the principle of "the survival of the fittest." If there were just the corals. without other life forms, it would directly harm the thriving coral reef. These "seabed gardens"-the coral reefs-are an important link in the chain of ocean ecology, a food larder and breeding ground for marine life. These marine creatures are mutually complementary, together maintaining the balance, viability and development of the ecosystem. Between them they create the vitality and beauty of the Xisha Archipelago.

Of the 32 individual islands of the Xisha, the Bird Island deserves special mention. Countless numbers of birds are drawn to the Xi sha by the rich resources of marine life such as fish and shrimp: for them the Bird Island is paradise. Boobies, tern and gray-spotted birds love to mix with human beings.

The island is only l.4 square kilometers in area but is rich in vegetation cover; it stands out as the best-protected natural ecological island of all the Xisha group. It is also a sanctuary for the red-footed booby, whose population amounts to more than l00,000, constituting the largest single group of island residents. In the morning glow or the setting sun, if you sit on the pure-white sand beach, watching these birds darting around like snowflakes, listening to the waves beating against the sand, you will experience the sensation of being as vast and broad as the sea itself.

The red-footed booby is an exceptional flyer. Its light, honeycomb bones give it a reduced body weight for flying. It follows a highly regular routine, going out to sea for food in the morning, returning to the nest in the evening. Its fixed flight times and flight directions are a great boon to fishermen who rely on this bird to get their bearings when out at sea, Thus, the bird has a nice name: "the navigator."

The Xisha islands are on the sea route on the South China Sea and were part of the "Ocean Silk Road." As early as the Sui Dynasty(581-618), Chinese envoys sailed to what is now Malaysia by way of the Xisha islands. In the Tang Dynasty(618-907), the monk Yijing also went to India via the Xisha. The exploratory voyages by the Song-dynasty(960-1279)navy to the Xisha islands were recorded in the Song Emperor Renzong's "Imperial Preface" to the official histories. In fact, sovereignty of these islands was maintained by China throughout the Song Dynasty and the Yuan(1206-1368), Ming(1368-1644)and Qing(1644-1911)dynasties that came later. Ceramics and coinage from all these dynasties have been discovered here. The Solitude Soul Temple on Yongxing Island, the Earth God Temple and Queen Mother Temple on Jinqing Island and the Bird Island respectively are strong historical proofs of the fact that Chinese fishermen lived and worked on these islands.

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