Prominent among the documents are a Chinese-made map published in Germany in 1885, which does not include Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.
Another map was provided by the Da Nang Committee of Education and Communication, featuring Hoa Long commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang. The map, published in 1969, included Hoang Sa archipelago.
Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Chairman of Da Nang Association of Historical Sciences Bui Van Tieng said that in recent years, Hoang Sa district People’s Committee has received many rare documents and objects from collectives and individuals from home and abroad.
The documents and objects have been carefully preserved and will be exhibited at Hoang Sa Exhibition House, which has been under construction since December 2015.
Among the donors is Tran Thang, who is now living in the US. Thang donated two atlases published by China in 1908 and 1933; and a collection of 150 ancient maps, which were published by Vietnam between 1618 and 1859, Western countries between 1826 and 1980, and China. All of the maps and atlases indicate that the southernmost point of China is Hainan Island.
The construction of Hoang Sa Exhibition House started on December 7 in Hoang Sa Street, Son Tra district, Da Nang with an investment of VND40 billion (US$1.78 million). The construction is scheduled to be completed by 2016.
The four-storey facility will be used to showcase a range of films on the process of establishing and exercising Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa throughout different periods in history
