Education generation: High school students look at an image of Truong Sa at the event Viet Nam's Sea and Islands through Books in Da Nang City. — VNS Photo Hoai Nam

DA NANG (VNS) — As many as 1,000 high school students participated in an exchange programme titled Viet Nam's Sea and Islands through Books in the central city on Thursday.

Three books describing the history, landscape and lives of islanders on Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos were introduced to students at the event.

The winning paintings from a contest for children to depict the country's sea and islands were displayed alongside ancient maps indicating that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos belong to Viet Nam.

Kim Dong Publishing House also debuted its sea and island-themed bookcase, which informs readers about the country's marine sovereignty.

The publishing house donated more than 37,000 children's books to 75 schools in Da Nang's districts of Ngu Hanh Son, Cam Le, Lien Chieu and Hoa Vang as part of the 1-million-book programme for disadvantaged children.

Early this year, Da Nang put on public display a collection of documents, maps and research results on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes.

The central city plans to include the study of maps, books and atlases on the two archipelagos in its high school curriculum.

The Hoang Sa and Truong Sa are two archipelagoes offshore Viet Nam. The closest point of the Hoang Sa Islands is 120 nautical miles east of the Re Island, a coastal island of Viet Nam. The closest point of the Truong Sa Islands is about 250 nautical miles to the east of Cam Ranh Bay in central Khanh Hoa Province. — VNS