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Quan Lan Island belongs to
Bai Tu Long Bay; part of an island range on the outside
of the gulf of Bac Bo. It has an area of 11 sq. km, and
features eight populated hamlets.
Quan Lan Island
stretch toward East ??? West from the foot of Van Don
Range to the Got 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 Lan had been one of the
centres of the ancient commercial port of
Van Don, 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 Lan Communal
House built in the 18th century; exceedingly beautiful
and almost entirely preserved. Next to it is Quan Lan
Pagoda (Linh Quang Tu), which is dedicated to Buddha and
God Lieu Hanh. The pagoda also worships the statue of
old Hau, 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 Lan Pagoda lies
Nghe Quan Lan (Duc Ong) Shrine, which is dedicated to
Pham Cong Chinh, a local people who participated in the
historical Van Don battle against the Yuan invaders. He
was later honored as a god. Quan Lan has many valuable
sea products such as octopuses, butterfish, mackerel,
holothurian, shrimp, and sa sung.
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