Da Nang's Hoang Sa Islands District has launched a contest for designers to create a logo and slogan for the island’s museum – one of the most visited sites on the Son Tra Peninsula.

The Hoang Sa (Paracel) Museum

The district’s secretariat Le Phu Nguyen told Viet Nam News the logo contest will run from 30 September through October.

He said the contest’s organising committee will select the best three designs to grant awards and make the final logo announcement later this year.

The logo winner will walk away with a cash prize of 5 million VND (221 USD), while two runners-up will take 1million VND (44.2 USD) each.

Mr Nguyen said the logo contest aims to raise patriotism and awareness of the country’s sovereignty on the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, while creating a unique way for local and foreign tourists to recognise and remember the museum and the city when they visit.

Vietnamese and foreign competitors or groups can send their entries to email: nhatrungbay.hoangsa@gmail.com or Facebook: Nha Trung Bay Hoang Sa.

The museum, which was built on nearly 1,300sq.m along coastal streets of Hoang Sa-Truong Sa-Vo Nguyen Giap in the Son Tra Peninsula, has hosted 11,000 tourists, of which 300 were foreigners, between March and July of 2018.

The museum displays artifacts, documents and legal evidence of Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands

The shape of the 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 Vietnamese architects Tran Quoc Thanh and Nguyen Quang Huy and Japanese architect Fuminori Minakami in 2015.

The seal was a stamp of authority for Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes, recorded in ancient documents from previous centuries.

The museum displays a collection of 150 maps published between 1618-1859, and 1626-1908. Many show evidence that the Paracel and Spratly archipelagoes belong to Việt Nam, and 102 books published in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and the Han Chinese script show the frontier of Southern China is Hainan Island.

Mr Nguyen also said the district plans to display a shipwreck in the museum’s backyard. The vessel was rammed by Chinese boats in Vietnamese waters off the Hoang Sa Archipelago in 2014.

(Source: VNS/ DA NANG Today)