Sea-Island Festival proposed to celebrate Vietnam’s sovereignty

The central province of Quang Ngai has proposed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organize the first Festival for Sea and Islands of Vietnam on Ly Son Island, where a fleet to protect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) was set up over 100 years ago.
Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, director of the Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the first festival will be held in Quang Ngai in April 2012, on Quang Ngai’s 180th anniversary. The event will be held every two or three years after that, on Ly Son Island, Quang Ngai City, the Sa Huynh and My Khe tourist sites.
Vu also said that the festival will be held to promote tourism and economic development as well as to confirm Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, especially the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands.
According to the official, the core of the festival will be the ancient festival to honor soldiers of the Hoang Sa fleet on Ly Son Island, which is organized every April, besides the unique cultural activities of fishermen in Quang Ngai. This will also be a chance for exchange between coastal provinces, islands in Vietnam and coastal provinces and islands in neighboring countries.
Quang Ngai has a coast of 130km long and an island (Ly Son). In the early Nguyen Dynasty, a fleet comprising 70 soldiers was established in this area to send to the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Islands for patrolling and fishing. For over 4 centuries, most of this fleet’s members were Quang Ngai people, especially fishermen from Ly Son island. The operations of this fleet were noted in many historical books of the Nguyen Dynasty, for example Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le, Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi and others.
As the home of the Hoang Sa fleet, Quang Ngai has many historical and cultural relics related to the fleet, including temples worshiping famous soldiers.