Ha Long Bay (Heaven on Vietnam)

Ha Long is a large (150,000 ha/370,650 acre) bay to the northeast of Haiphong on the Gulf of Tonkin, in northern Vietnam, containing some 1,600 islands and islets. The islands range enormously in size. A few are sparsely inhabited. Most are rocky outcrops, and many of these have almost vertical slopes. There are many caves and grottoes sculpted by the sea from the stone. The most famous of these is the Hang Dau Go, a large, three-chambered cave that is “the place where the dragon descended into the sea.” The dragon is said to have created the bay and the islands by flailing its tail.

The port city of Hong Gai is situated on the bay. The many archaeological sites that have been found there and along the northeastern coast of Vietnam, have been collectively named the “Ha Long Culture,” a culture that thrived in that region during the Neolithic Period.

In 1962 the North Vietnamese government named Ha Long a national scenic spot and a historical and cultural relict. The bay was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.