Ha Long Bay offers 3000 green limestone islands rising from the crystalline emerald water in the Gulf of Tonkin. The bay also have tens of stunning limestone caves above and under water, and the diverse eco-system which makes the bay listed as the World Heritage Site by the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).
To the north, Ha Long Bay Islands run close to the Chinese border; to the south the islands run along Hai Phong City. The total is about 1553 km2. The special zone claimed specially protected by the UNESCO is about 300 km2. The biggest island is Cat Ba 354 km2 with the inhabitants living on agriculture and fisheries.
Ha Long Bay's Legend
Ha Long Bay (Vinh Ha Long) in Vietnamese means "the Bay of Descending dragons". According the Vietnamese legend, the area was inhabited early by the Vietnamese who lived mainly on agriculture. There were a herd of dragons which brought about rain to water the paddy fields. Life was very peaceful and happy...
One day came the aggressors from the sea. They killed the people and looted the their villages. Their cries reached heaven and the dragons were sent down by the King of Heaven to help them. The dragons descended in the bay and spat out pearls which turned into limestone islands stopping the invaders' advance, they wriggled their tails to destroy the invaders' boats. Soon the invaders were defeated and peace was brought back to the country. The dragons remained in the bay to protect it forever.
The bay has two main areas: to the north was where the child dragons landed, hence the name Bai Tu Long Bay (or the Bay of the child dragons bowing to the mother); to the south was where the mother dragon landed which got it the name Ha Long Bay. Besides there's an area near Cat Ba Island called Lan Ha Bay (or " the Summer Orchid Bay") which got the name from the wild orchid flowers here in the summer.
Ha Long Bay's Geology
Researches proved that Ha Long Bay was created by the undulation proccesses which took place on the earth surface from around 300 million years off and on to 175 million years ago. The wave-like motions involved cracking, sinking and lifting some areas and the islands were created. There are water lines at top of some caves in the bay prove that it was underwater some time in the past. Some time Ha Long Bay was a fresh-water region; there're still vestiges of ancient rivers which ran in the middle of the bay area; at Me Cung Cave lots of fossilized shells of fresh water mollusc are still found.
Most mountain and islands of Ha Long Bay are of limestone with colors ranging from chalky white to black. Some are many stunning colorful caves on many islands. There many secret lagoons and lakes of which some can be accessed at low tides only. At high tides there opening is under water.
At most points in Ha Long Bay, the water depth ranges from 4 meters to 8 meters. Near the open water it may be 45 meters deep.
Ha Long Bay's Civilizations
The earliest civilization recorded in Ha Long Bay was around 3500 - 2000 BC and it was called Cai Be Civilization. This one seems to have connections with other civilizations in Vietnam of the time such as Dong Son, Hoa Binh, Sa Huynh, Oc Eo to create the golden period in the prehistoric times of Vietnam.
Ha Long Bay's Tourist Highlights
Ha Long Fish Market: Ha Long fish market is in Hon Gai Town with different kinds of seafood caught in Ha Long Bay. There are also different kinds of electronic goods nearby. From Bai Chay Town you can hire a Xe Om or taxi to get to Ha Long Fish Market via Bai Chay suspension bridge.
Dau Go Cave (Cave of Wooden Stakes): The stunning 3-chamber cave started being inhabited from the 3rd century A.D. In the last war against the Mongol invasion, General Tran Hung Dao used the cave as a timber store. The timbers were logged from Bai Chay Town (Ha Long City) and were brought into the cave where they were whittled into pointed stakes and tipped with steel. The stakes were then carried to Bach Dang River Mouth where they were driven into the river bed. At hight tide, the whole area of trap was hidden and at low tide they'd emerge from under water. When the trap was hidden at high tide, the Vietnamese used light boats with royal flags to lure the Mongol fleet into the trap area, at low tide, they attacked at the invaders from both sides of the river with fire and arrow bow. The whole fleet of over 40 000 troops were sunken to the river and killed in 1288 and Vietnam remained independence after 3 times being attacked and destroyed. Dau Go Cave is 30 minutes boat ride from the shore.
Near Dau Go cave (on the same island) is Thien Cung Cave (Cave of Heavenly Palace) with unreal rock formations which make it have a heavenly look. Visit both Dau Go and Thien Cung would take 1.5 hour.
Ti Tov Beach was where Ho Chi Minh and Ti Tov - a Russian astronaut had a swim while Vietnam was at war. The beach was named after the Russian one. At top of Ti Tov Island, there an observation tower which offers stunning panoramic view of Ha Long Bay.
Sung Sot Cave (the Cave of Amazement) and amazing it is. The cave is large of over 200 m long and it was under water during the glacier time. The ceiling still has the punching marks of water that time. It's quite a walk to this cave, though the reward is definitely worth it! |