Cồn Cỏ Special Administrative Region Đặc khu Cồn Cỏ Palao Harimao
Special administrative region
Satellite image of Cồn Cỏ Island.
Nicknames:  "The Jade" (Viên ngọc xanh) "The Outport of the East Sea" (Tiền đồn biển Đông)
Motto(s):  "Brighten the future" (Bừng sáng tương lai)
Country	Vietnam
Region	North Central Coast
Province	Quảng Trị
Establishment	October 1, 2004
Central hall	Km0+500, Cồn Cỏ Island
Government
• Type	Rural district
• People Committee's Chairman	Võ Viết Cường
• People Council's Chairman	Nguyễn Văn Thành
• Front Committee's Chairman	Nguyễn Lê Tài
• Party Committee's Secretary	Võ Viết Cường
Area
• Total	2.3 km2 (0.89 sq mi)
Population  (2023)
• Total	400[1]
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indochina Time)
ZIP code	48950[2]
Website	Conco.Quangtri.gov.vn Conco.Quangtri.dcs.vn

Cồn Cỏ (listen^ⓘ ; also known asTigris Insula in the maritime terminology) is aspecial administrative region ofQuảng Trị province in theNorth Central Coast region ofVietnam.

Although its nameCồn Cỏ means "the grass bund", but actually it originates from a wrong way ofHòn Hổ (Tigris Insula), what is the Annamese translation ofPalao Harimao inMiddle AgesChampa language. But anyway, no one has explained the exact cause of this name.

Cồn Cỏ is an island and is located 27 km to the east of Mũi Lay, what is the farthest place in the east ofQuảng Trị mainland.

Middle Ages

By recent archaeological work, in the Bến Nghè area of the island, there are rock artefacts believed to date to theStone Age, tens of thousands of years ago.^[3] In the first few centuries CE,Areca Tribes inhabited the island.

According to local legends, the lastCham residents left the island in the18th century to yieldKinh groups settling down. There were no conflicts that occurred, because thewater source and survival conditions in this island are inherently limited. Excavations undertaken in 1994 show that during the 17th and 18th centuries, the island was a stopover point for Vietnamese sea merchants.

During the time of theNguyễn dynasty, the island was used to imprison convicts, and some objects such as chains and metal clasps have been found there.

XX century

Due to its proximity to theVietnamese Demilitarized Zone, during theVietnam War, Tigris Insula was used as a base for North Vietnamese military forces.^[4]

On 14 March 1965 the island was attacked byRepublic of Vietnam Air ForceA-1 Skyraiders.^[4]

On 27 June 1972, North Vietnamese coastal artillery on Cồn Cỏ Island fired on US warships, includingUSS Blue Ridge, supporting a landing ofSouth Vietnamese Marines near theCửa Việt River.^[5]

AfterVietnam reunited (July 2, 1976), Cồn Cỏ Island was part ofVĩnh Quang commune,Vĩnh Linh rural district,Quảng Trị province. Because this area has a specialdefense andsecurity, it has not had any level of civil government. Instead, it was the direct management of a command of anavalbattalion ("bộ tư lịnh hải quân Cồn Cỏ", then "ban chỉ huy quân sự hải đảo Cồn Cỏ"). Besides, Cồn Cỏ Airport (phi cảng Cồn Cỏ) andaviation activities are under the control of theair force.

XXI century

According to Decree No. 174/2004/ND-CP of theGovernment of Vietnam, which was issued on October 1, 2004, Vĩnh Quang commune was renamedCửa Tùng township, but Cồn Cỏ Island was separated fromVĩnh Linh area to become intoCồn Cỏ Island District.

Since November 2015, Cồn Cỏ has been converted from the regulation of military island to civil island. This has allowed the normalization of commercial and tourism activities.

According to the orientation of the Provincial People's Committee, what was proposed in an interdisciplinary meeting in November 2024, Cồn Cỏ and the surroundingwaters will be a key economic zone (mô hình kinh tế trọng điểm) of the wholeQuảng Trị in the period from 2025 to 2035. Accordingly, the provincial authorities will deduct and invite investment to bring Cồn Cỏ Island into a port, which enjoys the regulations as acity : The Project of the Cồn-cỏ Super-port (Đề án Siêu cảng Cồn Cỏ).^[6][7][8] Also according to this resolution, the future of the inhabitants on the island must face a challenge : Both they want to develop a multi-service economy and to protect the ecologicalenvironment. In particular, the problem of electricity and soft drinks has not yet been properly solved.

Cồn Cỏ Island has an area of 2.3 km² (0.89 sq mi), the isometric form of hills, the highest peak of 63m. This is a young volcanic island, composed of basalt and basalt tuff stones of Neogene – Quaternary age.^[9]

Before it became its own district, the island was in the commune of Vĩnh Quang, inVĩnh Linh district of Quảng Trị Province. The island became a district through Decree 174/2004 NĐ-CP of October 1, 2004. Province officials held a ceremony to create the district on April 18, 2005.

As of 2023 the district had a population of 400.^[10] The district covers an area of 2.3 km², making one of the smallest districts in Vietnam. The district capital lies at Đảo Cồn Cỏ.^[11]

Because Cồn Cỏ area was quite high indefense, it was less known fordecades. Starting in the 2000s, only one service is called Cồn Cỏ Tourism with the function of bringing visitors to Cồn Cỏ and promoting its beauty to the outside.

Every year, every April is the beginning of the Cồn Cỏ tourist season. Tourists are taken to theisland to attend the memorial service for those who are still alive (lễ truy-điệu sống),^[13] a custom that is thought to have been existed for a long time. These are the people who are going to board a fishing boat in theocean or are about to go to thebattle. Their fate is considered to be very scary but also full of glory. Therefore, the memorial service is the way that relatives text them that they will never be forgotten.

Until the time ofCovid-19 pandemic, the most typical culturalwork on Cồn Cỏ Island was just Hoa Phong Ba Kindergarten and Primary School ("the stormy flower"), what was built all 5 billionVietnam dongs by the Petroleum Drilling and Drilling Corporation from 2011 to 2015. This was also known as one of the rare areas inVietnam almost no infection fromCovid-19.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCon Co Island.

• Palao Campa
• Lý Sơn
• Phú Quý

• Lịch sử, điều kiện tự nhiên và tiềm năng phát triển của đảo Cồn Cỏ
• Hải đảo tiền tiêu của Tổ quốc

17°10′N107°21′E / 17.167°N 107.350°E /17.167; 107.350

• Districts of Quảng Trị province
• Islands of Vietnam
• Landforms of Quảng Trị province
• Islands of the Gulf of Tonkin

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