Against the backdrop of a paradise sunset, residents collect shells and enjoy the sandy shoreline of Sansha Island. [Zhang Yunbi/China Daily]

As the ship sailed slowly, almost hesitantly, into the harbor of Yongxing Island, after an exhausting 15-hour trip from Wenchang, Hainan province, I was astonished by the dreamlike light-green morning sea stretching in front of me.

The spectrum of colors was more vibrant, more gasp-inducing than I had seen in the Maldives.

But, I had to remind myself, this was the Xisha Islands, two words that have frequently appeared in my daily news reports, yet for the first time I could truly appreciate their scenic lure.

But it wasn't just the natural setting that caught me by surprise.

When my colleagues and I walked down the 300-meter-long Beijing Road, surely the quietist road named after our capital 2,680 km distant, I found no fewer than four bank branches.

The stores lack for nothing, and there is even a branch of a famous chain selling spicy duck neck.

When having a drink outside a coffeehouse that night, among many relaxed residents, I developed an illusion, incongruous as it sounds, of still being on the Chinese mainland.

It was not long before I realized that I was on the largest island of Xisha and the location of the Sansha government.

A marine affairs officer pointed out "how quickly clouds move here" - so there is not much rain on the island. In its darkest corner meteors can be seen streaking across the sky about every 10 minutes.

People living here are proud of their home, and cherish it.

A fishing vessel captain told me they stop fishing from mid-May to Aug 1 every year to protect stocks.

Despite the long distance, it seems residents, both long-term and those more recently arrived to help build or guard the southernmost Chinese city, have developed a stronger attachment to the motherland.

I guess that is due to their awareness of the island's strategic significance for China, and the responsibilities on their shoulders.

Five-star red flags are hung at the gates of almost every building, from the school to the greengrocer's. I also saw a tiny one under a tree.

Fisherman Li Jinsan sang me a song he composed for the motherland when I interviewed him.

A soldier told me, when the first ray of sunshine arrives in the new year, national flags are raised at the same time on all islands administered by Sansha.

"At that time tears fill my eyes," he said.