evidence: Welcome to the Paracel Islands. [...] Two Chinese cruise ships have been back in service since December 9, running from Sanya, a port city in southern Hainan province, to the Paracel Islands – which the Chinese call Xisha – an archipelago in the disputed South China Sea that Beijing has laid territorial claim to. [...] The Paracel Islands, in the northwestern part of the South China Sea, consist of 130 small coral islands and reefs. China has occupied all of the area’s Islands since 1974, according to the CIA Factbook.