ĐÀ NẴNG — The island district of Hoàng Sa (Paracel) in Đà Nẵng City has launched a contest for designers to create a logo and slogan for the island’s museum – one of the most visited sites on Sơn Trà Peninsula.

The district’s secretariat Lê Phú Nguyện told Việt Nam News the logo contest will run from September 30 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 VNĐ5 million (US$221), while two runners-up will take VNĐ1million ($44.2) each.

Nguyện said the logo contest aims to raise patriotism and awareness of the country’s sovereignty on the Hoàng Sa (Paracel) and Trường 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: Nhà Trưng bày Hoàng Sa.

The museum, which was built on nearly 1,300sq.m along coastal streets of Hoàng Sa-Trường Sa-Võ Nguyên Giáp in the Sơn Trà 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 Việt Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa and Trường Sa islands

The shape of the museum, which was inspired by a seal made for the Hoàng Sa Flotilla during the reign of the Nguyễn Dynasty’s King Minh Mạng in 1835, was designed by Vietnamese architects Trần Quốc Thành and Nguyễn Quang Huy and Japanese architect Fuminori Minakami in 2015.

The seal was a stamp of authority for Việt Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoàng Sa and Trường 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.

Nguyện 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 Hoàng Sa Archipelago in 2014. — VNS