The commercial port of Van Don was officially created under the king Ly Anh Tong, in the 10 th Dai Dinh year (1149), and was initially called Farm of Van Don. Since then, Van Don became an important
The commercial port of Van Don was officially created under the king Ly Anh Tong, in the 10th Dai Dinh year (1149), and was initially called Farm of Van Don. Since then, Van Don became an important international commercial port of the country with a whole system of ports, of points of ship control, goods control, of tax collecting and of defence. Under the Ly and the Tran, Van Don has had rather prosperous residence quarters, quarters of exploitation and production with numerous historical and religious remains…
In fact,Van Don has become an economical entity which developed rather completely and which has been continuously active during nearly 7 centuries (from the middle of the XIIth to the end of the XVIIIth century). The commercial port of Van Don plays an extremely important economic and political role for the economical development, for the establishment and broadening of foreign relations under the Ly, Tran, Le, Mac. Beside the system of sea-ports, Van Don is closely tied to ports of the islands of the sea-shore and of the embouchures of rivers such as Yen Hung, Hoanh Bo, to the region of Van Ninh (Mong Cai), Cat Ba and to villages of weavers, of ceramics, and other handicraft villages of the Red River delta and even of China south-east. On this basis, Van Don and the sea and island region of the north-east of our country have become the meeting point of numerous trading ships coming from countries of the region as well as from the West.
While the country is developing, in the historical process of the struggle for the defence of the country, Van Don is an important military strategic position, ensuring the security of the north-east door of Vietnam - a region which is constantly hiding the danger of agression from the North (especially from northern feudalists). This has been proved in the victory of the Tran over the Mongolian agressors on the historical Mang river.
After a long period of activity, at the end of the XVIIIth century, Van Don loses gradually its role of exterior commercial port, and at the XIXth century, loses nearly completely this role.
On the 31st of May 2006, the Prime Minister has promulgated the Decision nr 786QD-TTg, ratifying the project of the “Economic and social development of the economic quarter of Van Don - Quang Ninh”. The main function of the economic quarter of Van Don is defined as follows: high quality sea and island touristic center, international airport, quality service center and international communication node. It is an “impulse” for the autority and the population of the province of Quang Ninh in general, for the island huyen of Van Don in particular to accelerate the economic development of the region.
To prepare for the project of global construction of the economic quarter of Van Don to be submitted to the approbation of the government, the authority and the population of the island huyen of n Don need the support of the government, of the ministries, of central anf local branches, of which the study and evaluation of the actual status of economic resources and of infrastructure conditions of the region are very necessary. In this spirit, the managing Committee of the sites of Quang Ninh, the Historical Department, the University of Social anf Human Sciences (National University of Hanoi) and the People’s Committee of huyen Van Don (Quang Ninh) have coordinated to organize the symposium: The commercial port of Van Don - history, economic potentialities and cultural relations. The symposium was organized in the two days: 11th and 12th July 2008.
This is the second symposium (the first was organized in 1986), with the participation of many researchers of the country and abroad. With more than 40 interventions, the symposium has contributed to clarify the potentialities, the conditions and natural characteristics (including the marine resources, relative to marine economic environment, the trading sea trips… ), and the socio-human characteristics (sea exploiting capacity, knowledge and experiences of sea-trips, knowledge of fish bands and sea resources, instruments and technics of building ships and rafts, sea cultural activities, festivities, manner of managing emigration currents… of the authority, the population of Van Don in its relations, compared to populations of other sea regions of the country) of Van Don in particular, of the north-east sea of Vietnam in general. Besides, through this symposium, questions on the activity and the economic and commercial position, on the cultural exchanges between Vietnam and the countries of the region have been cleared up. The role of central and local authorities in the position and foreign relations on sea, as well as the question of security defence and the determination of marine espace of the past dynasties, the policy of the Party and our State on the East Sea, in which the marine region of Quang Ninh and the commercial port of Van Don are also analyzed to better clarify.
In particular, the symposium has reserved a great number of interventions of researchers in History, Archaeology, Culturology in the determination of the territory and of the extent of the quarter of the ancient commercial port, whence to propose measures of preservation and upgrading of all the sites (including the ancient ports, the quarters of residence, the religious architectures, the field of great naval battles… ) in purpose of propaganda and education on the historical tradition and the characteristic cultural values of an economic center, of an important commercial port of the country and at the same time give an impulse to economic activities, particularly the exchanges of international cooperation with countries of the region and the whole world.
This symposium enjoys the interest of the population and the authoriries at all degrees, of pertaining services and branches, of the central and local medias. The symposium has received a great number of opinions supporting the project of global study of the actual status of the commercial port of Van Don, among which the archaeological excavation of large extent has the priority. It is a very necessary work to better determine the domain of distribution of the ancient commercial port, the extent and the structure of the ports as well as of the pertaining architectural works, in order to have a sufficient scientific basis to begin works of preservation, upgrading and valorization of the quarter of the commercial port of Van Don.
Certainly, after this symposium and other following works, the commercial port of Van Don in particular and the island huyen of Van Don in general will be the meeting place of visitors and investors from the country and abroad. Van Don will be a luminous point in the north-east sky of Vietnam in the strong and stable development of economy and cultural exchanges.
Vũ Quốc Hiền - Nguyễn Ngọc Chất