VR3D exhibition on VN’s Spratlys and Paracel held

BẮC KẠN — An exhibition called Việt Nam’s Spratlys and Paracel-Historical Evidence using Virtual Reality 3D (VR3D) was held in Bắc Kạn City on December 29.

The exhibition was one of events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment.

Speaking at the event, Phạm Duy Hưng, deputy chairman of the Bắc Kạn Province’s People Committee, said Bắc Kạn was a mountainous province with no sea, and the authority and the locals here are fully aware of the significant role of the sea and islands.

“The exhibition is to introduce maps, documents, pictures and artifacts to promote the understanding of officials and locals about legal evidence that affirms Việt Nam’s sovereignty over Spratlys and Paracel,” Hưng said.

On display were a wide range of artifacts, which include documents of the country’s feudal dynasty related to the identification and protection of Việt Nam over Spratlys and Paracel; 65 maps showing the sovereignty of Việt Nam over Spratlys and Paracel, asserted by Việt Nam and some western countries since the 17th century; and images depicting cultural, economic and social activities in Spratly during the industrialisation and modernisation period of the country.

It also included a stamp collection with the image of Spratly and Paracel published in 1988 and studies of Vietnamese and international researchers on the country’s sovereignty over Spratlys and Paracel, from 1975 to now.

While the exhibition displayed physical evidence, it also used VR3D, by which visitors can explore a virtual 3D exhibition with even more artifacts, which a real exhibition cannot exhibit.

“By touching the artifact in the screen, visitors can explore all the information about it,” Nguyễn Đức Hoàng, lecturer at the Post and Telecommunication Institute of Technology and one of the developers of the application, said.

This application had been used in Hà Nam, Vĩnh Long Province, Cần Thơ City and was first used in Bắc Kạn, Hoàng said.

“The application not only gives museum visitors a new experience in exploring artifacts, but is also helpful and convenient as there is no need to transport artifacts to the place where the exhibition is being held,” Hoàng said. This is especially convenient for artifacts like debris or ships, Hoàng added.

“It is very interesting as we only need to click a button and all the information is available. It is also helpful because there are Vietnamese translations of the king’s documents, which were written in ancient Vietnamese language,” Nguyễn Hoàng Anh, an eighth grade student, said. — VNS