[custom_adv] Hormuz Island has an area of 42 km2 (16 sq mi). It is covered by sedimentary rock and layers of volcanic material on its surface. The highest point of the island is about 186 metres (610 ft) above sea level. Due to a lack of precipitation, the soil and water are salty. [custom_adv] Specialists have helped cultivar white mangrove or Hara trees to grow in the climate. Due to the lack of fresh water, Iranian engineers have constructed a water pipeline from the mainland. There are many virgin beaches that go all around the island. [custom_adv] Bandar Abbas is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on the southern coast, on the Persian Gulf. The city occupies a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, and it is the location of the main base of the Navy. Bandar Abbas is also the capital and largest city of Bandar Abbas County. [custom_adv] Xinhua News Agency or New China News Agency is the official state-run press agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua is the biggest and most influential media organization in China, as well as the largest news agency in the world in terms of correspondents worldwide. [custom_adv] Xinhua is a ministry-level institution subordinate to the Chinese central government, and is the highest ranking state media organ in the country alongside the People's Daily. Its president is a member of the Central Committee of China's Communist Party. [custom_adv] Xinhua operates more than 170 foreign bureaux worldwide, and maintains 31 bureaux in China—one for each province, autonomous region and directly-administered municipality plus a military bureau. [custom_adv] Xinhua is the sole channel for the distribution of important news related to the Communist Party and Chinese central government, and its headquarters in Beijing are strategically located close to Zhongnanhai, which houses the headquarters of the Communist Party of China, the State Council and the office of the President. [custom_adv] Hormuz Island has an area of 42 km2 (16 sq mi). It is covered by sedimentary rock and layers of volcanic material on its surface. The highest point of the island is about 186 metres (610 ft) above sea level. Due to a lack of precipitation, the soil and water are salty. [custom_adv] Specialists have helped cultivar white mangrove or Hara trees to grow in the climate. Due to the lack of fresh water, Iranian engineers have constructed a water pipeline from the mainland. There are many virgin beaches that go all around the island. [custom_adv] The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points. [custom_adv] On the north coast lie, and on the south coast the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman. The strait is about 90 nautical miles (167 km) long, with a width varying from about 52 nautical miles (96 km) to 21 nautical miles (39 km).
