Abstract
We examine certain classical continuum long wave-length limits of prototype integrable quantum spin chains. We define the corresponding construction of classical continuum Lax operators. Our discussion starts with the XXX chain, the anisotropic Heisenberg model and their generalizations and extends to the generic isotropic and anisotropic gl_n magnets. Certain classical and quantum integrable models emerging from special "dualities" of quantum spin chains, parametrized by c-number matrices, are also presented.