ha long bay

HA LONG BAY
Ha Long Bay is known not only as a UNESCO World Heritage Site but also one of the world's most famous natural wonders. But few know that the Ha Long Bay Complex is comprised of two other beautiful pristine bays, Lan Ha Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay (hereinafter referred to as Ha Long Bay).

With many landscapes, rich and diverse fauna and flora with significant archeological and geological significance, marked with cultural and historical value and near the international gateway, Halong Bay is considered. It is one of the most famous places of Vietnam with foreign tourists.

Geographical location
Ha Long Bay is located in the west of the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam, about 170 km from Hanoi or 3.5 - 4 hours by car. Halong city center is located near the sea in the north of the bay. Ha Long Bay has a total area of ​​1,553 km2, including two famous bays, Bai Tu Long Bay to the east and Lan Ha Bay (where Cat Ba Island) is to the south.

Halong Bay is not only known to visitors for its millions of years of natural caves scattered across 1,969 large and small islands, but also famous for its rich vegetation and multi-species bitter.

History & Culture
According to the legend
There are many hypotheses surrounding the emergence of Ha Long Bay, perhaps more than any other Vietnam. But the most widely reported story is that all the big and small islands in Ha Long Bay (literally meaning the bay where the Dragon landed) are the pearls and jade released by the Mother Dragon. , Forming strong ramparts to help people fight foreign invaders. Each cave in the bay holds a mysterious story in itself. These are the colorful stories that reflect the spiritual life, the love of the Vietnamese as love couples, the desire to dream of rich, poor in life ...

Historical milestones
Many studies have shown that from 18,000 years ago people have been living on Ha Long Bay. Some sites of the Soi Nhu (Middle Stone Age) culture and Ha Long culture (the late Neolithic) are also found here.

In recent times, Ha Long Bay is also witnessed many important milestones of the history of Vietnam such as the naval battle of King Ngo Quyen defeated Nam Han troops in 938, Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan victorious troops Nguyen Mong was the third in 1288. Today, the vestiges of these battles are still in Dau Go Cave, one of the highlights of Halong Bay.

People & Culture
Halong City is divided into two main areas: Hon Gai cultural and political center and Bai Chay entertainment and tourist area. Currently, due to the development of infrastructure combined with visitors' needs, shopping should be operational, the function of these two areas is no longer clearly divided as before. In addition to these two areas, a small portion of the population still lives and makes a living entirely in floating fishing villages.

On religion, Buddhism is the main religion of the local people. In addition to the large temples in Ha Long City, there are many temples, temples and small shrines scattered on rocky mountains or in fishing villages on the bay. Every time they go out to sea, the fishermen stop here to pray for a safe and abundant trip.

Geological - geomorphological values
Ha Long Bay is known worldwide as a natural wonder of the world, but not many visitors know that the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has recognized Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage site for its price. Highlighted in two aspects of aesthetics and geology - geomorphology. Many studies show that the limestone mountains here have undergone more than 500 million years under a variety of conditions and environments to create a unique and rare landscape like today.

The majority of the islands in Ha Long Bay are the Fenglin karst, one of the rarest forms of karst formation. Most of the islands are constructed of towering, conical, towering or very steep cliffs. Independently located islands scattered over bays with a height of 50-100m and a height-to-width ratio of about 6: 1. Another karst form in Ha Long is Fengcong karst, with prominent features of high masses joining together to form a number of vertices, between which there are pits and funnels.

The beauty of Ha Long Bay is not only the harmony between heaven and earth but also the caves and caves that contain thousands of thousands of unique works of mother nature. Among them, the current host agencies still closed a large number of caves, caves for conservation purposes. Only a few are open to visitors. The caves that are popular with many tourists include: Thien Cung Cave, Dau Go Cave, Sung Sot Cave, Bo Nau Cave and Hanging Virgin.

Biological value
In Ha Long Bay, the islets are mostly low shrubs, while the large islands are home to many rare birds with unique tropical vegetation. Especially Cat Ba island