Quang Ngai (VNA) - The centralisland district of Ly Son plans to restore a whale skeleton and an exhibitioncentre for whale skeletons with an investment of 10 billion VND (442,477 USD).

Vice Chairwoman of the district’s People’sCommittee, Pham Thi Huong, said the restoration project will bebuilt at Lang Tan Temple (Temple of the Whale) in the commune of An Vinh on LySon Island.

According to elderly residents of thecommune, the 24m-long skeleton - believed the longest such skeleton found inVietnam - was buried in the fishing village of An Hai nearly 300 years ago.

Islanders said the whale was found dead onthe beach, but was too heavy to carry to burial inland and fishermen dug a bighole to bury it on the beach. They surmised that the whale had died off HoangSa (Paracel) Island of Vietnam and drifted ashore on Ly Son Island.

Subsequently, local fishermen excavated theskeleton and placed it in a temple, where it was an object of worship. The LangTan Temple has been recognised as a national historical site.

However, some parts of the skeleton weredamaged over the years and not repaired due to lack of restoration technology.

The district’s vice chairwoman said anotherwhale skeleton was also found in the area, and the province will approve asupplementary fund of 4.1 billion VND (181,415 USD) for its restoration.

Whale temples, known as Lang Ong, are oftenseen in fishing villages, reflecting an old fishermen’s belief in the whale’spower to guard their lives at sea.

Fishermen also express respect for thegiant ocean mammals when they find it dead, and perform a respectful mourningceremony. They build a bamboo basket to carry it to a final resting place in atemple. They believe this dignified burial and worship confer luck on all thefishermen’s descendants, who still make their living from the sea.

Ly Son Island, 30km off the coast of thecentral province of Quang Ngai, is a tranquil destination with 21,000inhabitants, most of whom make their living from farming garlic and springonions, and fishing.

It was formed by five mountains, of whichfour are dormant volcanoes.

Centuries-old houses have been preserved,as has Am Linh Pagoda, built to worship the souls of sailors who died on longvoyages.

A local museum displays over 200 ancientdocuments and 100 exhibits that prove that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly)Islands belong to Vietnam.

In 2013, the Ministry of Culture, Sportsand Tourism recognised the islands’ Hoang Sa fest as an intangible culturalheritage.

Observed for hundreds of years by familieson the islands, the festival pays tribute to local men who enlisted in the HoangSa Flotilla to patrol the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in order to mineresources and defend the nation’s sovereignty over the area.

In previous centuries, the An Vinh communalhouse served as a recruitment centre for soldiers to protect the Hoang Sa andTruong Sa archipelagos from the Nguyen Dynasty in the 17th ce🍌ntury.-VNA