Halong Bay Realistic

Introduction of Halong Bay
Ha long Bay covers a total area of 1,553 sq. km, including 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. There are two kinds, limestone and schist, which are concentrated in two main zones: the south-east (belonging to Bai Tu Long Bay), and the south-west (belonging to Ha long Bay). The average geological age of the islands is between 250 and 280 million years old.

The densely concentrated zone of stone islands, grottoes and caves, world famous for its spectacular scenery, forms the central zone of Ha Long Bay, which has been listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. This protected site covers an area of 434 sq km, comprises 775 islands and forms a triangle: with the Dau Go Island (Driftwood Island) to the west; the Ba Ham Lake (Three Shelter Lakes) to the south; and the Cong Tay Island to the east. The regions immediately surrounding the area were classified as a national site by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1962.

Geography of Halong Bay
Situated in the northeast region of Vietnam, Ha long Bay is a part of the Gulf of Bac Bo, and comprises Ha long City, the township of Cam Pha and a part of the island district of Van Don. To the south-west it borders the island of Cat Ba, to the east is the sea and the mainland follow a coastline of 120km. It stretches between the 106°58 and 107°22 eastern meridians and the 20°45 and 20°50 northern parallels.

Climate of Halong Bay
Ha long Bay is located in a tropical and temperate zone. The four distinct seasons are most evident in a year. The annual average temperature is 22, 8°C. The average temperature in summer is 26, 4°C and the hottest temperature is 40°C. The annual average rain fall is 2,005.4 mm. The period from May to October receives the more important rainfall. The winter lasts from 4 to 5 months. Between the main two seasons are a shorter spring and autumn. The period from August to October is typhoon season.

Fauna and flora of Halong Bay
It is also a region of highly concentrated biological diversity with many varied ecosystems of salt water-flooded forests, coral reefs and tropical forests, featuring thousands of diverse species of animal and plant life.

The Values of Biological Diversity of Halong Bay
Halong Bay has a very complicated structure with its meandering coastline and many river mouths. Rich and diversified sources of food for many species of plants and animals are also found here. In particular, the bay, partitioned by thousands of large and small islands, creates areas of water with an average and stable sea level. Meanwhile, the climate in Halong Bay is also very stable, with an average temperature of between 19°and 25°C, and an average heat radiation rate of 17 kcal/ sq. cm/ month. It sees an average rainfall of 2,000 to 2,200 mm/a year. These favorable conditions have seen the development of many varied ecosystems.

Results of scientific research show that Halong Bay features ecosystems of a tropical ocean region, such as: salt water flooded forests, coral reefs and tropical rain forests. In the sea surrounding Halong, coral grows in many places, but is densely concentrated on the eastern and southern sides, far from the mainland. The coral forests of Halong Bay are a wonderful sight, with many extraordinary shapes and diversified colors. When the tide flows, the coral moves with the water, pumping as rhythmically as a heartbeat. At the same time, the reefs are residence to a great number of species: fish (107 varieties), water plants, algae and transitory animals and plants.

The salt water-flooded forests also offer especially interesting scenery along the coastline of Halong Bay. These forests are chiefly concentrated in the zones of Tuan Chau, Cua Luc and Ba Che. Many species of salt water-flooded plants, the most diversified collection in North Vietnam, are found here. The tropical rain forest ecosystem also features a rich quantity of species. This is the residence of various rare and precious creatures: deer, weasels, squirrels and in particular, white-tabby and red-haired monkeys. At the same time, there is a system of small caves along the sea, which are the living and development places for many animals and plants: seaweed, water plants, algae, fish and shrimp. Deeper into the water, there are also many species of shrimp, fish (almost 1,000 species), abalone and other sea specialties.

History of Halong Bay
Ha long Bay has been called by the great national poet Nguyen Trai: "a wonder of the earth erected towards the high sky." It is also a place closely linked to Vietnam's history with such famous geographical names as: Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port); Poem Mountain (with engravings of many poems by emperors and other famous people of the past); and Bach Dang River (the location of three fierce naval battles fought against foreign aggressors).

This is not all; Ha long has been proven by scientists to be one of the first cradles of human existence in the area, with such archaeological sites as Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu and Thoi Gieng.

Value of Geology of Halong Bay
The most remarkable geological events of Halong Bay's history in the last 1,000 years include the advance of the sea, the raising of the bay area and the strong erosion that has formed coral and pure blue and heavily salted water. This process of erosion by seawater has deeply engraved the stone, contributing to its fantastic beauty. Present-day Halong Bay is the result of this long process of geological evolution that has been influenced by so many factors. Some of the most remarkable are: the formation of the limestone layer more than 1,000m thick during the Carboniferous and Permian periods (240 to 340 million years ago); and the development of the Halong depression during the Neogene period (10 to 26 million years ago). The erosion process forming the limestone plain was most active in the Quaternary Pleistocene epoch (11,000 to 2 million years ago).

It is because of all these factors that tourists now visiting Halong Bay are not only treated to one of the true wonders of the world, but also to a precious geological museum that has been naturally preserved in the open air for the last 300 million years.

Natural Beauty of Halong Bay
Speaking of Halong, one must above all talk of the beauty of its water and sky. In a relatively small area (1,553 sq. km), there are 1,969 islands rising from the sea. Seen from above, Halong Bay resembles a light blue handkerchief dotted with emerald gems; sometimes clustered together, sometimes isolated. The clever artistic hand of creation has made thousands of stone islands simulating familiar personages or animals. Like the constellations of the night sky, it's possible to find a familiar form in every island of Halong Bay: one brings to mind a pair of chickens bobbing on the spacious water (Trong Mai Islet); another is like a giant tortoise with half-closed and sleepy eyes (Rua Islet); another is like an old monk joining his hands in prayer to Buddha, with his face turned to the sea (Ong Su Islet); yet another is like a giant incense-burner standing in the middle of the sea which used to pray heaven and earth (Dinh Huong Islet). It is a safe bet that many other islands bearing familiar forms remain undiscovered in the mysterious bay.

The sea of Halong is deep blue water throughout all four seasons. In spring, sailing amidst the waves, the stone islands look to be bobbing on the water. As summer, approaches and the sun are setting on the far horizon, they appear to awake in unison and rise from the blue depths. The whole bay is bright red, and then turns to blue as the crests of the waves run together towards the shore. Orchids and fig trees, growing from fissures in the stone, bloom with snowy flowers. As a boat makes its way through this forest of islands by ways of meandering channels, sometimes stone seems to be spread in front of you; forming a wall heeding further progress. Once nearer, the wall appears to crack open as if letting your boat pass. The scenery disappears behind you as yet another panorama opens to your view.

The winding route seems to be endless, but the beauty of Halong Bay does not consist only in the forms of its mountains, islands and the color of its waters, but also in its infinitely rich system of grottoes and caves; concentrated mostly in the middle of the UNESCO-protected area. Thien Cung (Heavenly Palace Grotto) bears a modern and refined trait, while Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto) is ample and grandiose and Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto) appears deeply secretive. There are many beautiful examples, closely linked with legends and popular tales, such as: Trinh Nu and Trong Grottoes (Virgin and Male Grottoes) and the Fairy Grotto Lake (Dong Tien Lake). Each is a grandiose and refined natural architectural creation.

At sunset, when the mountains' shadows stretch out long across the bay, the water turns grey-blue, before suddenly transforming to a crimson red as the last of the sun's rays reach the far away islands. For one short instant, the whole scene mingles into one color, and then all light is extinguished. After the moon climbs into the sky, the sea seems to be coated with silver, with the lights of Halong City reflected on the surface of the water. It seemed that every island, cave and beach in Halong closely linked with the legend and popular tale of love, of the heroic song for safeguarding country ... Visiting Halong Bay is a good chance to witness the romantic and attractive love story, which happened only in the legend. The 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage of worldwide importance. And Halong Bay is honor recognized as a world natural heritage once again for the geographical and geomorphologic values.

Cultural and Historical Value of Halong Bay
The beauty of Halong Bay consists in its mountains, water, clouds, caves and grottoes. Many, however, do not realize that Halong was also the cradle of an ancient people who helped create the present Halong culture.

At the end of 1937, a Swedish archaeologist named Anderson, together with two French archaeologist sisters named Conani, journeyed for months through Halong Sea. They climbed mountains, visited caves and explored the coastline, finding many stone artifacts: axes, grinding tables, sewing needles and jeweler. They called the culture that formed these remnants "Ngoc Vung" In the months and years following, Vietnamese archaeologists continued their research and made many excavations; discovering more archaeological sites, such as Dong Mang, Xich Tho and Soi Nhu. Through an area of some hundreds of square kilometres, they discovered many stone artifacts and pieces of broken designed pottery.

Throughout its development, Halong has had a particularly important position; being situated on the communication routes between China, Japan and Thailand. Gradually, it became the centre of cultural and commercial exchanges between these countries and ancient Vietnam. The book Comprehensive History of Dai Viet reads: "In the second month of the spring of the year of Ky Ty, the 10th year of the reign of Ly Anh Tong (1149), the commercial port of Van Don was established." In the long period overlapping the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties, Van Don was a place of busy commercial and cultural exchanges between Vietnam and its South-East Asian neighbors. A remaining vestige of the ancient commercial port is Cai Lang Wharf (Quan Lan).

Van Don is also a site that witnessed glorious feats of war against the invasion of the Yuan-Mongols aggressors. It was here that the enemy, General Truong Ho, had an entire fleet of food supply boats set ablaze by Tran Khanh Du. Closely linked to this animated commercial centre were many religious architectural constructions; built to meet the requirements of both traders and the population that practiced Catholicism and Buddhism.

Tourism potential of Halong Bay
While exploring the bay, it's hard not to feel lost in some legendary world of stone islands. There is an island resembling a man standing and looking towards the mainland.

Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water. Yet another island, La Vong, resembles an old man fishing, and was named after a famous Chinese mandarin who abandoned his position to become a fisherman. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Trong Mai Islet (Cock and Hen Islet), which look like a pair of chicken lovingly playing with each other above the sea; and the Dinh Huong Islet (Incense Burner Islet), which all bear astonishing resemblance to their namesakes. The forms of the islands change incessantly, depending on the angles of lighting and from where they're viewed.

At the core, are wonderful caves and grottoes such as: Thien Cung Grotto (Heavenly Residence Grotto), Dau Go Grotto (Driftwood Grotto), Sung Sot Grotto (Surprise Grotto) and Tam Cung Grotto (Three Palaces Grotto). With such special values, at the 18th Session of UNESCO's Council of World Heritage held on 17 December 1994 in Thailand, Halong Bay was officially placed on the list of the World Natural Heritage. In 2000, UNESCO recognized it as the World Heritage for the second time for its geographical and geomorphologic values. This confirms the global premier value of Halong Bay.