Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese islands and seas arefeatured on a new wall calendar for 2023 launched by the NationalPolitical Publishing House recently. 

It includes 365 full-colour easy-to-tear pages that introduce and popularisethe image and information of the national islands and seas. 

This is the second among three unique block calendars launched by the house for2023. 

"We hope that it will provide useful information about the naturalresources of the national islands and seas," said Pham Minh Tuan,Director and Editor-in-Chief of the house.

"We will be happy if the calendar, through image and information,helps young people to know more about the national islands and seas and inspiretheir patriotism."

The calendar also introduces and popularises sea economy achievementsVietnam has gained in recent years, according to Tuan. 

The calendar is designed with a blue colour to symbolise the sea andpeace. 

Vietnam lies on the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula in a strip ofland shaped like the letter "S", with a long coastline of 3,260km comprising28 provinces, from Mong Cai in the northern province of Quang Ninh to Ha Tienin the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

Along the coastline, Vietnam has lots of beautiful beaches, more than 4,000islands and islets, which include about 3000 islands in the northeast regionand 40 islands in the north-central region, alongside Truong Sa (Spratly) and HoangSa (Paracels).

Tourism spots of the coastal provinces featured in the calendar will be a richsource for people who want to discover beautiful beaches.  

Award-winning photos at the national photo contests were selected to be printedin the calendar, including snaps of traditional festivals such as Nghinh Ong (whaleworshipping) and Cau Ngu (fish worshipping) and culturalcharacteristics of the coastal provinces. 

"The calendar is meaningful, not least because it raises awareness ofthe nation's islands and seas," said Nguyen Trung Khanh, director ofthe Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, at the launch of thecalendar. 

"It is important to inspire people to travel and contributeto tourism advertisement to attract domestic and foreign tourists."

Around 1,500 calendars will be presented to delegates at the 12th NationalCongress of the HCM Communist Youth Union in December.

The house plans to print an English and larger-size version to populariseVietnamese islands and seas abroad./.