Located in northeast Vietnam, Halong Bay is one part of the Tonkin Gulf. It was called ‘the wonder standing in the heaven’ by a world cultural Celebrities-Nguyen Trai. In 1994, Halong Bay was recognized as the World natural heritage about the values of geomorphology by UNESCO.

Halong bay is known as the capital of Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. The city mainly lies on Bai Tu Long which is part of the Halong Bay. It is located about 160 kilometers northeast of Hanoi. According to the census in 2001, its total population is 185.288. Halong city is divided into 2 parts: East Halong and West Halong. The eastern part (Hon Gai), where the most official buildings and industry are concentrated, is connected by bridge with the western part (Baichay) which is considered to be more of a tourism attraction.

Halong Bay is one part of the Tonkin Gulf,including the sea area of Ha Long City, Cam Pha Town and part of Van Don island. The Bay has a total area of 1553 km2, including 1969 islands, of which 989 islands have name and 980 islands have no name. Islands of Halong Bay are divided into 2 types: limestone islands and schist islands which concentrated in two main areas of southeast (belonging to Bai Tu Long) and the southwest (belonging to Halong Bay). Because Halong bay is situated in the north, the weather has 4 seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Tourists can travel to Halong Bay whenever you want. It is the best choice if you choose to travel from April to October and from December to February. In the winter, tourists will have opportunities to enjoy a bit cold and foggy weather.

This place has many islands with the spectacular views and famous caves-this is central natural heritage of Halong Bay. The heritage area recognized by the world has total area of 434 km2 and 775 islands. It likes 3 vertices of a triangle: Dau Go Islet (in the west), Ba Dam Lake (in the south) and Cong Tay (in the east).

The magnificence of nature creates the beauty of Halong Bay. Halong was called “the wonder standing in the heaven” by a world cultural Celebrities – Nguyen Trai. Moreover,  Halong bay also associated with the development of national history and famous spots such as Van Don, Bai Tho Mountain and Bach Dang River.

In addition, the archaeologists research into the sites at Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu, Thoi Gieng, which proves that Halong is one of the cradles of humankind.  Besides, Halong focuses the biological diversity such as mangrove ecosystems, coral reef ecosystems, and tropical rainforest ecosystems. Furthermore, it has thousands of animal species, especially many rare animals that only found in this place. Discovering Halong Bay, tourists will feel like lost in fairyland; the island looks like the dragon which flies above the water (Dragon Island); the island seems to be an old man who sits to fishing (Ong La Vong islet). Moreover, there have Canh Buom Islet, Trong Mai Islet, Dinh Huong Islet…

In the heart of stone islands, there have the beautiful caves such as Thien Cung Cave, Dau Go Cave, Sung Sot Cave, and Tam Cung Cave that are really the castles of the heaven. With the special values, on December 17th 1994, in the 18th session of World Heritage Committee of UNESCO held in Thailand, Halong Bay was officially recognized as the World natural heritage. In November 2000, Halong Bay was recognized by UNESCO as the World natural heritage about the values of geomorphology. On April 27th, at the My Dinh national stadium (in Hanoi), Mr. Bernard Weber who founds New7Wonders, officially stated that Halong Bay became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. You can learn more Halong bay with travel guide, attractions, cruises, hotels…