Strange freshwater well in the middle of the East Sea
On Ly Son Island, less than ten meters from the sea edge, a freshwater well that has been always full of water for hundreds of years has "rescued" the people of Ly Son island district during the dry seasons.
 |
| The freshwater well dates back to the time of King Gia Long, who was fleeing to Ly Son Island when a god appeared in a dream and showed him where to dig the well. |
The well is called Xo La well (Dong village, An Vinh commune, Ly Son island district, Quang Ngai). Elders in Ly Son island district said that it also has another name, King Gia Long well, related to the story of its appearance.
 | ||
The well was built with stacked stone blocks, with a depth of over ten meters.
|
This is the only freshwater well on Ly Son island district located close to the sea edge, less than ten meters from the sea.
For hundreds of years, the well has always been full of fresh water. The presence of Xo La well has helped thousands of households overcome their thirst, because there was a time when the island district went for three months without a single drop of rain.
According to historical records, hundreds of years ago, when King Gia Long and some of his generals were being chased by the Tay Son army, they sailed to Ly Son Island to take refuge. During the dry season, the trees on the island withered due to lack of water.
The water brought on the warships was also exhausted, because they had to give the precious drops of water to the King, some generals and soldiers fainted from thirst. Faced with that situation, King Gia Long ordered his soldiers to dig wells to search for fresh water sources.
 |
| Daily work of islanders: fetching fresh water for family use. |
Hundreds of wells were dug all over the island but no underground water was found. Helplessly watching his soldiers gradually weaken due to lack of drinking water, King Gia Long prayed to the gods to quickly find a source of fresh water to save his soldiers.
One night, King Gia Long received a vision from the Immortal and the Xo La well was dug as instructed. The strange thing was that as soon as the soldiers placed the first pickaxe, clear water gushed from the ground.
With the precious water source, the generals were saved and the people on the island were blessed.
Thinking this was the "God's Well", before leaving the island, King Gia Long ordered the islanders to preserve this well.
For the people of Ly Son island district, the fresh water well is like a precious milk in the middle of the ocean.
Every day, households from communes in the island district bring plastic cans to get water from the well. The well water is cool and clear, can be drunk right away, and tastes as sweet as water from wells on the mainland.
Mr. Duong Van Ngoc, An Vinh commune, brings three plastic cans, each about 20 liters, to get water for drinking every morning. He said that without this well, the fresh water situation on Ly Son island would be very difficult, there would be periods when the whole island would be scarce due to lack of water.
The well is about several dozen meters deep. The well walls are rounded blocks of stone stacked on top of each other.
In recent years, the island district has invested in building a raised cement well wall, paving the well yard, and at the same time building a beautiful campus with a gate facing the sea.
Tourists who know about the magical well, no one misses it, all come to Xo La well to take souvenir photos.
According to Vietnam.net
