China has had de facto control of the island and the rest of the archipelago since the Battle of the Paracel Islands in January 1974.

During the time when the Paracel Islands were under the direct management of the Vietnamese and the French colonial empire, many civilian and military buildings were built here for various purposes.

During World War II, the Japanese constructed many buildings with very thick walls in all four corners of the island.

By the time of the Republic of Vietnam, at first there was a battalion of marines tasked with protecting the island, which was later reduced to a company, while from 5 October 1959, there were only a 30-man marine regiment and security guards of the Quảng Nam Province Security Corps (later the local Quảng Nam South Vietnamese Regional Force) stationed on the island.

Since occupying the island in 1974, China has erected new buildings both for the military and for fishing.