Social Affairs
Archipelagos enter Vietnam Book of Records
Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos have been confirmed as record holders in the sea and island category of the Vietnam Book of Records, with the 2014 additions to the book announced in Ho Chi Minh City in May 29.
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Hoang Sa and Truong Sa have been confirmed as the archipelagos under Vietnam’s sovereignty which have had the most number of different names. For example, in the past, Hoang Sa was, at different times, also called Cat Vang and Con Vang, among others, while Truong Sa previously bore names including Van Ly Truong Sa and Dai Truong Sa.
They have also been recorded as the furthest archipelagos from mainland Vietnam and the ones with the largest areas, the greatest depths and the biggest numbers of stone islands.
The archipelagos are also the two that have been appearing most frequently on ancient and new maps of Vietnam and the world.
Other records relating to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa include the Hoang Sa Festival in Ly Son district, central Quang Ngai province, which is the only ancient folk festival depicting the hardships of maritime soldiers in safeguarding sovereignty over the islands.
Meanwhile, a book entitled “Viet Nam Quoc hieu va Cuong vuc – Hoang Sa, Truong Sa” (Vietnam’s official names and territories – Hoang Sa, Truong Sa) by Nguyen Dinh Dau contains the largest number of ancient and modern maps featuring the two archipelagos.
A record also goes to Dr. Nguyen Nha, born in 1939, who has conducted the largest amount of research on Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelagos.
