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| The Hoang Sa Museum in the Central city of Da Nang to open to the public next month |
According to Le Phu Nguyen from the
Central city’s Internal Affairs Department, the museum, straddling the coastal
streets of Hoang Sa - Truong Sa - Vo Nguyen Giap in the Son
Tra Peninsula,
will display collections of artifacts and documents on Vietnam’s sovereignty over the
Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands.
The shape of the 1,300sq.m museum,
which was inspired by a seal made for the Hoang Sa Flotilla during the reign of
the Nguyen Dynasty’s King Minh Mang in 1835, was designed by contemporary
architects Tran Quoc Thanh and Nguyen Quang Huy and Japanese architect Fuminori
Minakami.
The design is an image of the 1835
seal, which made official the founding of the Hoang Sa Flotilla. It was a stamp
of authority for Vietnam’s
sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands,
recorded in ancient documents from previous centuries.
Nguyen said the department has
received collections of 150 maps published between 1618-1859, and 1626-1908. Of
which, many show evidence that the Paracel and Spratly Islands belong to
Vietnam, and 102 books published in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian,
Dutch, and the Han Chinese script showing the frontier of Southern China is
Hainan Island.
Nguyen also said the department
plans to display in the museum’s backyard a shipwreck rammed by Chinese boats
in Vietnamese waters off the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands in 2014.
Tourists and local residents can now
study the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands’ history with vintage documents, photos
and artifacts.
Ancient maps and documents published
during the Ming and Qing dynasties between the 16th and early 20th century show
that China’s
borders did not include the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Islands.
Last year, the Hoang Sa district
People’s Committee held a meeting of 12 people who lived, worked and fought for
the archipelago from 1959-1974. Hoang Sa was illegally seized by Chinese forces
on January 19, 1974.
Source: VNA