[3] Subsequent developments have turned Sansha City (located on Xisha District's Yongxing Island) into a small town with over 1,400 residents, with a dual-use airport that has a 2,700 metres (3,000 yd) runway and two artificial harbors capable of docking sea vessels up to 5,000 tonnes.

[10] In March 1953, as talks were proceeding with the French on the handing over of Hainan and territories south of Guangdong to the People's Republic of China, the Chinese State Council authorized the establishment of a separate "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Authority" as a county-level administrative division on Woody Island (Yongxing Dao).

[11] In March 1959, this authority was upgraded to an administrative office in the name of "Guangdong Province Paracels, Spratlys, and Zhongsha Islands Revolutionary Committee".

The Neighborhood Committee began work on Woody Island the following day with an office at the Border Guards of the Paracels' Police Station.

[11] The prospect of the establishment of a "city" on Woody Island was first publicized on 19 November 2007 in a report by Mingpao, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, through a telephone interview with a Mr. Zhang of the Propaganda Department of Wenchang, Hainan.

In November 2016, the Hainan government started to allow large companies to register themselves in Sansha, by providing extensive tax benefits to them.

In practice, only the Yongxing Island Airport see scheduled commercial services, onboard Boeing 737 operated by Hainan Airlines.

[29] Days prior to the official establishment of the city in late July 2012,[4] Vietnam again stated its opposition and was joined in its protests by the Philippines.

"[31] The chair of the US Senate Foreign Relations East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, Jim Webb, also made a statement regarding Sansha and questioned whether the city's creation was a violation of international law.

[10] The centre of government for Sansha is located on Woody Island (Yongxing Dao) in the Paracels,[34] where about 1,000 Chinese (PRC) reside.

By January 2016, work was well advanced on developing a military base with a large harbour and a 2,644 metres (8,675 ft) runway, with the reclaimed land covering 558 hectares (1,380 acres).

[40] In late 2016, photographs emerged which suggested that Mischief Reef was armed with anti-aircraft weapons and a CIWS missile-defence system.

[41] In May 2018, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, said satellite images showed China had deployed new military weapon platforms to Woody Island, the largest of the Paracels.

5The claimed province of Taiwan no longer have any internal division announced by Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC, due to lack of actual jurisdiction.