Pearl of the East Sea

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - Binh Chau (Binh Son) is considered a pearl on the East Sea coast. This place not only has beautiful scenery, but also possesses many unique historical - cultural, geological and geomorphological heritages.

The old and new boat dock
Most of the current area of Binh Chau (Binh Son) commune, before 1945, was located in Chau Me Dong commune, Binh Son district. This is a peninsula jutting out into the East Sea, 135 nautical miles from Hoang Sa archipelago, the closest to the country's coastline. The name Chau Me echoes the names of the lands that were once administered by the ancient Cham people, such as Chau Lai (Chu Lai), Chau O, Chau Sa... To the north of Ba Lang An cape, there is a 36.4m high lighthouse, built in 1982. During the colonial period, the French navy used Ba Lang An as a starting point for ships supplying the Hoang Sa archipelago, where Vietnamese and French people had settled.

Binh Chau (Binh Son) sea is clear blue. Photo: ALEX CAO

Binh Chau's coastline is 17km long. Hundreds of years ago, there was a trading port connected to the Chau Me Dong River, where junks from many places gathered here on the sea trade route. Today, Binh Chau has Sa Ky port, located on the North-South waterway, connecting with Ly Son district. Binh Chau's fishing fleet has about 2,000 workers, more than 490 boats, and seafood output in 2024 is over 20,000 tons. Binh Chau fishermen fish far offshore in two traditional fishing grounds, Hoang Sa and Truong Sa. These are large-capacity vessels that often stay at sea for long periods of time, both exploiting seafood and contributing to protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland.

Bright future awaits

Binh Chau has an extremely rich and unique geological heritage, which is Ba Lang An Cape, located more than 10km from Sa Ky port, 15 nautical miles from Ly Son. At the foot of Ba Lang An Cape, submerged in seawater, there is an ancient volcanic crater about 30m2 wide, the earliest dating back about 11 million years. The crater remains are revealed at low tide, surrounded by colorful coral reefs hidden on sedimentary rocks.

The birthplace of talent
Chau Me Dong - Binh Chau used to have famous studious people such as Bachelor Dang Cong Nhuong and Bachelor Dang Cong Tuan. A Binh Chau native who participated in the fight against the French army in 1858 in Da Nang was Phan Khac Than (1798 - 1868). This is also the hometown of "Mr. Chau Me" Tran Ky Phong (1872 - 1941), a staunch patriot. Tran Ky Phong passed the bachelor's exam in the year of Mau Ty (1888), participated in the tax resistance movement (1908), and was exiled to Con Dao by the French colonialists. After being released from prison, he returned to his hometown to open a school. Teacher Tran Ky Phong taught many young people about communism, one of his students was revolutionary Nguyen Nghiem, who later became the first Secretary of the Quang Ngai Provincial Party Committee.

Binh Chau has Sa Huynh cultural relics and traces of Cham culture. The coastal area of Binh Chau has shipwrecks dating back 5-7 centuries. Chau Thuan Bien village, Binh Chau commune has fishermen who specialize in diving, working almost everywhere in the coastal islands of Vietnam. Here, almost every house preserves more or less ceramic artifacts salvaged from the sea, so it is also known as the "antique village". The Chau Thuan Bien village Cultural Heritage Association was also established in 2024.

In the past, Binh Chau had An Hai sand table (now in An Hai village), one of the 12 famous landscapes of Quang Ngai. Binh Chau also had Dam Toai tunnel which was recognized as a national relic; there were beautiful beaches such as Chau Tan, Ganh La Ngai... On the occasion of Doan Ngo festival every year, Binh Chau fishermen held a boat racing festival according to traditional customs, a unique cultural beauty, praying for calm seas and good fishing. Binh Chau had fishermen from An Hai village who came from the mainland to Ly Son island to open villages and establish hamlets in the 17th century, participating in Hoang Sa Team, leaving a strong mark in history.

Beautiful scenery in Ba Lang An, Binh Chau commune (Binh Son). Photo: DOAN VUONG QUOC

I just had an interesting meeting with Dr. Vu The Long in Ba Lang An. He is a long-time researcher in the fields of paleontology, anthropology, environment, history, culture, and an expert in tourism and cuisine. Dr. Vu The Long has been to Binh Chau many times to do research, is the co-author of a scientific document introducing the geology and geomorphology of Binh Chau, and is also the author of an elaborate thesis on Ba Lang An tourism in 2015. This time he went with a survey team and built data for a tourism project of a multinational corporation headquartered in Hanoi. "A bright future awaits Binh Chau land", Dr. Vu The Long told me with a big smile. I believe in him, believe in the land and people of Binh Chau, with its rare potential and advantages, will grow strongly.

LE HONG KHANH

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Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/van-hoa/202501/vien-ngoc-ben-bo-bien-dong-a6f219f/