Quang Ngai has inaugurated the Hoang Sa – Truong Sa (Paracel – Spratly islands) memorial to commemorate soldiers of the Hoang Sa flotilla under the Nguyen Dynasty.

Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Director, Dr. Nguyen Dang Vu, revealed that Quang Ngai has invested 14 billion dong (over $800,000) to build on Ly Son island.

The memorial includes a museum about the Hoang Sa Flotilla, the restored An Vinh communal house, a temple for flotilla captain Pham Quang Anh and a monument to the Hoang Sa Flotilla, which weighs 40 tonnes and is 4.5 meters tall.

Dr. Vu said that Quang Ngai would organize a festival at the memorial in early April 2010 with traditional rituals as well as folk arts and games.

“On this occasion, we will exhibit more than 100 items, photos and valuable documents about the Hoang Sa – Truong Sa flotilla,” Vu explained.

The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa flotilla was established during the Nguyen Dynasty to control and defend the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands.

Quang Ngai province has led the way in collecting hundreds of documents about the Hoang Sa-Truong Sa flotilla, including evidence from gravestones, Chinese documents preserved by many families on Ly Son island, plus historical documents published in local and foreign newspapers and magazines.

PV