46-year-old Chen Yihu and his son Chen Siyu go out to sea almost every day, despite the toil and hardship that fishing for a living often entails.
They have to travel quite a distance from their home port in order to find a place where the tide is not too high for safety reasons.
These days they also have to sail further out since the numbers and varieties of sea snails and fish they've traditionally caught along coastal waters have been declining over the past few years.
Chen Yihu says their decision to make the Xisha Islands their home base has helped their livelihood.
"I had been fishing in the Zhongsha and Nansha islands for many years before coming here to the Xisha Islands. And I decided to settle here as I found the water full of resources. We now can harvest some 20 kilograms of sea snails each day, earning some 200 yuan."
Since no soldiers or police are stationed in the Xisha Islands, most local fishermen in the community of Zhaoshu island have joined the militia to guard against any foreign fishermen entering the waters.
A number of them have been detained and have had their property confiscated by Vietnamese authorities for fishing in disputed waters.
Chen Yihu's wife, Huang Lianhua, says the establishment of the city of Sansha has brought them new hope for a better life in the future.
"The most inconvenient thing on the island is the shortage of drinking water and vegetables, as well as daily necessities. The new Sansha municipal government has promised to improve our living conditions. We are very grateful and looking forward to all the changes."
In 2012, dubbed China's youngest city, Sansha was officially established to administer all the islands in the South China Sea, including the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands and their surrounding waters.
