Re: PLA Pictures Thread 3
They are actually far from shores of mainland. The platforms yous see are actually little islands with platforms built on top of them.
When my mom was still in the navy I have had the privilege of visiting the "Nan Sha" and "Xi Sha" islands.
Some of them are like reefs or new born islands with just a little bit of them poking through the water, the rest are still underwater but makes the surround water very shallow.
As you can see from that linked image. The Geographic relations of the islands to Hainan island and mainland China.