Sansha city is based on what is known in English as Woody Island, part of the Paracel Islandsalso claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. China took full control of the Paracels in 1974 after a naval showdown with Vietnam.
Though Sansha's permanent population is no more than a few thousand, mostly fishermen, its administrative responsibility covers China's vast claims in the South China Sea and its myriad mostly uninhabited atolls and reefs.
