Located in the Northeast of Quang Ninh province, Co To island district covers an area of over 47 km2. The district is inhabited by about 6,700 people in more than 30 large and small islands, in which 03 largest ones are Co To, Thanh Lan and Tran (aka Chan or Chang Tay). This is one of the outposts with a very important position in terms of politics, economy, defence, security and foreign affairs, etc. in the Northeastern sea of the country.
Co To has the ancient name of Chang Son (Chang Mountain). In the old days, it was a shelter for boats and fishermen in the Northeastern Sea, but at that time it was not inhabited because of pirate’s harassment. In 1832, Nguyen Cong Tru, the Governor of Hai An, asked the court to establish villages and communes and deployed people to manage the islands and guard against the enemy seawards. After peace was restored in the North (1954), our Party and State decided on the establishment of a district-level administrative unit on Co To islands. On May 9, 1961, President Ho Chi Minh visited Co To and this was the first place to erect a full body statue of President Ho Chi Minh when He was still alive.
The terrain in Co To consists of high mountains, low hills, narrow fields, sandy beaches, rocks and small bays, and phelarite land. Its main economic sectors are agriculture, forestry, fishery and tourism, in which fishing and seafood processing are dominant. Particularly, Co To's seafood is of high economic value compared to other places of the country, including species such as sea urchin, snapper, grouper, pompano, crab, etc. In addition, Co To also focuses on agricultural production with orange plantations on Thanh Lan island.
In recent years, infrastructure is being developed quite robustly in Co To, especially the national grid system, domestic water, roads, healthcare facilities, schools, etc. Currently, Co To focuses on developing tourism and this sector is becoming a spearhead in the economic structure, when this place is considered an attractive tourist destination with wild beautiful landscapes, clear water beaches and tropical forest ecosystems that are almost intact. The waters surrounding Co To are also considered the leading biodiversity area in Vietnam with the presence of many typical ecosystems of tropical seas, including concentrated coral reef ecosystems.
In the coming time, thoroughly grasping and effectively implementing the Resolution of the 8th Party Central Committee (7th tenure) on the Strategy for sustainable development of Vietnam's marine economy to 2030, with a vision to 2045 and the general development plan of Quang Ninh province, Co To is developed in the direction of integration with long-term vision and appropriate steps to ensure fast, effective and sustainable development. Accordingly, Co To will attract resources for focused investment and development of advantageous sectors; attach importance to synchronous construction of infrastructure; implement preferential and open mechanisms and policies to attract investors to develop production and business on the island. At the same time, it will take economic development as the basis to strengthen national defence and security, protect the area, and take national defence and security assurance as a premise for economic development; strive to turn Co To into "National eco-tourism sea and island resort" and also a very important outpost for national defence and security in the Northeastern sea of the country.
TRAN TOAN