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Quan
Lạn Island
Quan
Lạn Island belongs to Bái Tử Long Bay; part of an island
range on the outside of the gulf of Bắc
Bộ. It has an area of 11
sq. km, and features eight populated hamlets. Quan Lạn Island
stretch toward East – West from the foot of Vân Đồn Range to
the Gót Mount with many high mountains to the east barring waves
and winds, protect the villages. The island is situated on an
important navigation route that
connects China, Japan, Thailand and Philippines to Vietnam. Along
two sides of the island are tens kilometres of sand beaches. This
is the endless resource for glass making which the sea gives to
man and it is also the extremely interesting tourism
Since
the 11th century, Quan Lạn had been one of the centres
of the ancient commercial port of Vân Ðồn, which was animated
and prosperous at the time. Today, there are still many vestiges
linked to the ancient commercial port. This also explains why the
island, lying deep in the sea, has the large pagodas and
archaeological sites seen today. On the island there is the Quan Lạn
Communal House built in the 18th century; exceedingly
beautiful and almost entirely preserved. Next
to it is Quan Lạn Pagoda (Linh Quang Tự), which is dedicated to
Buddha and God Liêu Hạnh. The pagoda also worships the statue
of old Hậu, a local person who made lots of contributions to the
construction of the pagoda. The statue features a gentle and
cheerful old woman, which adds an original character to the
pagoda. Beside Quan Lạn Pagoda lies Nghè Quan Lạn (Ðức Ông)
Shrine, which is dedicated to Phạm Công Chính, a local people
who participated in the historical Vân Ðồn battle against the
Yuan invaders. He was later honored as a god. Quan Lạn has many
valuable sea products such as octopuses, butterfish, mackerel,
holothurian, shrimp, and sái sùng.
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