Quang Ngai commemorates Hoang Sa sailors   Objects feature the Feast and Comemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldier (Source:VNA) A traditional ceremony commemorating sailors of Hoang Sa (Paracel) Flotilla, took place in An Vinh communal temple, Ly Son island district, central Quang Ngai province on April 28.  Also on the occasion, the district authorities received certificates recognizing “Le khao le the linh Hoang Sa” (Feast and Commemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldier) as part of the national intangible heritage and the An Vinh communal temple as a national historical site.  According to Vietnam’s feudal state history, the Hoang Sa Flotilla was set up when the Nguyen Lords began their reign in the south of the country. Thousands of sailors overcame roaring waves and storms to survey sea routes, plant milestones and erect steles affirming national territory in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, and mine marine resources ordered by Nguyen Lords. Their missions were full of dangers, and many of them never returned to land.  To pay tribute to the men enlisted in the flotilla, “Le khao le the linh Hoang Sa” has been observed through hundreds of years by families in Ly Son islands and many coastal areas in Quang Ngai.  Earlier on the night of April 27, the Quang Ngai provincial authorities also hosted a Feast and Commemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldier and opened a sea and island culture week in the province.  Addressing the event, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh stressed that the festival and relic sites in Ly Son island district are invaluable physical and spiritual heritages of Vietnam as they are associated with the establishment and activities of Hoang Sa Flotilla, which patrolled Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes throughout the past four centuries.  Local images as well as achievements made by the provincial Party Committee and locals were also introduced at the event.  The same day, a requiem for Hoang Sa sailors was also held in An Vinh communal temple with the participation of descendants of the sailors in Ly Son island.-VNA