Spreading love for the country’s sea and islands

The event displays more than 50 literary works on the theme of the national seas and islands, presented across various forms such as prose, short stories, notes, and poetry.

Many of the works have won literature and arts awards from the Vietnam Writers’ Association, the Ministry of Defence, and the Naval High Command.

Works on display include Nguyen dynasty (1802 – 1945)’s royal documents asserting Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa archipelagos, coral rocks brought from Truong Sa, and hand-written letters sent from naval soldiers to their family members.

Notably, the exhibition is displaying 33 national flags, brought to the mainland from 33 islands on the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, and 36 photos featuring soldiers, the attachment between army and people, and national sovereignty over the seas and islands.

Visitors to the opening ceremony listened to the thoughts of writers and journalists, lucky enough to visit Truong Sa, recalling unforgettable memories of their working trips to the archipelago.

Dinh Plyh, a Bahnar ethnic man from To Tung commune, Kbang district, Gia Lai province said it was his first time to admire the national flags brought from the Truong Sa archipelago.

Through the exhibition, he also had a chance to read many interesting literary works on the ethnic groups’ love for the country’s seas and islands.

Meanwhile, Tay ethnic woman Nguyen Thi Xuyen from Dinh Hoa district, Thai Nguyen province said she couldn’t take off her eyes off the beautiful verses from the poetry collection ‘To Quoc Nhin Tu Bien’ (Fatherland Seen from the Sea) by poet Nguyen Viet Chien. She even came up with the idea of adapting the poems into her ethnic group’s Then folk singing in order to popularise the poems to a wider audience.

The exhibition was jointly held by the village’s management board, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Youth Club for the Homeland’s Seas and Islands, and the Vietnam Writers’ Association within the framework of the ongoing ‘A Little Spring’ programme, being hosted in the village throughout this March.

It aims to provide visitors, particular young people, with a deeper understanding of the country’s seas and island, inspiring their love and responsibility for safeguarding national sovereignty.

Poet Huu Viet, a member of the Vietnam Writers’ Association, enlightens visitors to the opening ceremony about memories from his trip to Truong Sa. (Photo: Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism)

Photos exhibited at the event. (Photo: Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism)

Photos exhibited at the event. (Photo: Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism)