Halong bay

A local legend tells the following tale of the origins of Ha Long Bay:

“Long time ago, the Viet people were attacked by foreign aggressors. The Jade Emperor sent the Mother Dragon and her band of Dragon Children to help the Viet people fight the invaders. While the enemy vessels were launching massive attacks against the mainland, the dragons descended in flocks from the sky. They spat out innumerable pearls which changed into jade stone islands the moment they touched the water. These islands linked together to form firm citadels that checked the enemy’s advance and smashed their vessels to pieces.

After the invaders were driven out, Mother Dragon and her Dragon Children did not return to Heaven but stayed on earth, right at the place where the battle occurred. The spot where the Mother Dragon landed was Ha Long, and where the Dragon Children came down was Bai Tu Long.”

Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was recognized is one of the new seven wonders in 1994 and 1999. It’s a popular travel destination, in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam.  Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cam Pha town, and part of Van Đon District. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Hạ Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphologic, climate, and cultural characters. Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km, including 1,960–2,000 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km with a high density of 775 islets.

The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Hạ Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species. Halong bay has many beachs and caves on the island and sea.. The most popular travel destinations for tourist are Surprising cave, Heaven cave, Catba, Titop, Soi Sim island, Vung Vieng and Ba Hang fishing floating village.. Each year, Halong bay welcomes 7 millions tourist from all over the world.