Côn Đảo

Côn Đảo Huyện Côn Đảo Côn Sơn
District (Island)
Côn Đảo district
Côn Đảo National Park
Côn Đảo Location of Côn Đảo within Vietnam
Coordinates: 8°41′35″N 106°34′36″E
Country	Vietnam
Region	Southeast
Province	Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu
Capital	Côn Sơn
Area
• Total	76 km2 (29 sq mi)
Population  (2019 census)
• Total	8,827
• Density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indochina Time)

The Côn Đảo ("Côn-nôn Island") are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, in the Southeast region of Vietnam, and also a district (Vietnamese: Huyện Côn Đảo, lit. 'Côn Đảo district') of this province.

Geography

Situated about 185 km (115 mi) from Vũng Tàu and 230 km (140 mi) from Ho Chi Minh City, the group includes 16 mountainous islands and islets. The total land area reaches 75.15 km² (29.02 sq mi) and the local population is about 5,000.

Map of Côn Đảo

The islands are composed of magmatic rocks of different ages. Hòn Bảy Cạnh, Hòn Cau and Hòn Bông Lang are composed of Cretaceous microgranite rocks]. The northern part of Côn Đảo Island is composed of quartz diorite and granite - granodiorite of late Mesozoic- early Cenozoic age, and is partially covered by Quaternary marine sediments. The southern part of this island and Hòn Bà island are composed of the rhyolite and intrusive formations of unknown age. On the western slope of Côn Đảo Island, there exist groups of outcrops of diorite and microgranite penetrated by big quartz bands.

The island group is served by Con Dao Airport (IATA: VCS, ICAO: VVCS) situated on the largest island in the archipelago, Côn Sơn Island. Total size of Côn Đảo Airport is 3,792 m² (40,820 sq ft), with one runway 1,830 m (6,000 ft) long. It can handle 400,000 passengers per year. Currently, Vietnam Airlines (Operated by VASCO), Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Helicopters are three airlines operating flights to the island.

Ferry

A hydrofoil service from Vũng Tàu to Côn Đảo was started in February 2019. The service is a daily return and boasts that the ferry will operate year-round, regardless of the weather. Travel time is 4–5 hours, departing Vũng Tàu at 8am and returning from Côn Đảo at around 2pm.

Two ferries operate between Côn Đảo and the mainland. There is a daily overnight hour ferry service from Vũng Tàu which, in addition to bringing passengers, serves as the main source of importing goods to the islands. The ferry operates on a daily basis, however in winter months the service depends largely on weather conditions as the seas between Côn Đảo and the mainland can be rough.

In 2016, a ferry service primarily for passengers opened up between Sóc Trăng and Côn Đảo, shortening the length of the journey to three hours. With the addition of a fast ferry to the islands, the islands have experienced an increase in tourism fueled mostly by domestic tourists who view Côn Đảo as a sacred place due to its history.

List of islands

Côn Đảo Islands include 16 islands, with a total area of 76 km² (29 sq mi)

• Côn Lôn Island or Côn Sơn Island (French: Grande-Condore), Phú Hải, 51.52 km² (19.89 sq mi)
• Little Côn Lôn Island (Petite-Condore), or Hòn Bà, Phú Sơn, 5.45 km² (2.10 sq mi)
• Bảy Cạnh Island, or Bãi Cạnh Island, Phú Hòa, 5.5 km² (2.1 sq mi)
• Cau Island, or Phú Lệ 1.8 km² (0.69 sq mi)
• Bông Lan Island, or Bông Lang, Bông Lau, Phú Phong, 0.2 km² (0.077 sq mi)
• Vung Island, or Phú Vinh, 0.15 km² (0.058 sq mi)
• Ngọc Island, or Trọc Island, hòn Trai, Phú Nghĩa, 0.4 km² (0.15 sq mi)
• Trứng Island, or Đá Bạc Island, Đá Trắng Island, Phú Thọ, 0.1 km² (0.039 sq mi)
• Tài Lớn Island, or Phú Bình 0.38 km² (0.15 sq mi)
• Tài Nhỏ Island, or Thỏ Island, Phú An, 0.1 km² (0.039 sq mi)
• Trác Lớn Island, or Phú Hưng 0.25 km² (0.097 sq mi)
• Trác Nhỏ Island, or Phú Thịnh 0.1 km² (0.039 sq mi)
• Tre Lớn Island, or Phú Hòa 0.75 km² (0.29 sq mi)
• Tre Nhỏ Island, or Phú Hội, 0.25 km² (0.097 sq mi)
• Anh Island, or Trứng Lớn Island
• Em Island, or Trứng Nhỏ Island

Thứ phi Hoàng Phi Yến

Thứ phi Hoàng Phi Yến, or Imperial Concubine Phi Yến, is a controversial local legend from the Côn Đảo archipelago. According to the legend she was the concubine of Lord Gia Long (Nguyễn Phúc Ánh) and gave birth to a son known as Prince Cải, she advised Lord Ánh not to ask foreigners for help as that would make their victory less glorious and might cause issues in future, these comments caused Lord Ánh to be suspicious of her motives and to lock her up in a cave. Later when their toddler asked where his mother was he killed him. She grieved their son and later committed suicide as she was touched by a butcher during a vegetarian festival seeing it as "harming her honour as a concubine". This caused the villagers of Côn Đảo to hold a festival in her honour every year.

External links

• Con Dao photos
• The Kun Lun Shan islands are shown on sheet 11 of the Mao Kun map Wu Bei Zhi at the Library of Congress
• Vietnamese Sea and Islands – position Resources, and typical geological and ecological wonders. Publisher Science and Technology. Ha Noi, Editor: Nguyen Khoa Son, ISBN 978-604-913-063-2. In Vietnamese