Antelope Reef is a small, teardrop-shaped island in the north-western corner of the South China Sea and, until recently, almost entirely underwater. But this year it has undergone a dramatic transformation. Millions of tonnes of sand have been dredged from the sea bed to create solid land. From being only a turquoise speck on the map, Antelope Reef now appears as a 6-sq-km (2.3-sq-mile) crescent of gleaming white sand, with a scattering of buildings in one corner. All in just six months. In the