The statue is made of bluestone from Thanh Hoa province consisting of two blocks with a height of nearly 6 metres and a weight of 26 tonnes.
The construction also includes a 3-tonne stone stele engraved in Vietnamese, Russian and English with a message 'On the visit to Ha Long Bay on January 22, 1962, President Ho Chi Minh and Russian astronaut Gherman Titov paid a visit to this island. President Ho Chi Minh named the island Titov to express Vietnam’s friendship with the Soviet people and their sentiments towards the Russian hero.'
Construction of the statue commenced two years ago with a total investment of around VND7 billion under the approval of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee on March 1, 2013.
Cosmonaut Gherman Titov was the second human to orbit the Earth as well as the first person to orbit the Earth multiple times and to spend more than a day in space.
He was the Chairman of Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Association from 1966-1991 and Honorary Chairman of Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association from 1992-2000. He was previously presented with the Labour Hero, Ho Chi Minh Order and Friendship Order of Vietnam.
Titov Island has a total area of 2.3ha, located in the centre of Ha Long Bay, roughly 11km southeast of Bai Chay wharf.
