At first glance, a road sign indicating the distance to New York and Bangkok, as well as other destinations, may seem out of place on tiny Yongxing Island, which hosts the city government of Sansha, but it has become a landmark in its own right.

Standing at the end of Beijing Road and in front of the Xisha Hotel, the brown, steel road sign points out the distances and directions to global destinations.

"Bangkok, 1,220 kilometers; New York, 13,601 kilometers; Sydney, 6,976 kilometers," its gleaming white letters inform.