Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular travel destination in Quang Ninh Province, includes some 1600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars.
The name Hạ Long means “descending dragon”. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes. Halong Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bai Tu Long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba Island to the southwest. These larger zones share a similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters.
Halong Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, in the northeast of Vietnam, is 165 km from the capital of Hanoi. Covering an area of 43400ha and including over 1600 islands and islets, most of which are uninhabitated and unaffected by humans, it forms a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars and is an ideal model of a mature Karst landscape developed during a warm and wet tropical climate. The property’s exceptional scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest.
The outstanding value of the property is centered around the drowned limestone karst landforms, displaying spectacular pillars with a variety of coastal erosional features such as arches and caves which form a majestic natural scenery. The repeated regression and transgression of the sea on the limestone karst over geological time has produced a mature landscape of clusters of conical peaks and isolated towers which were modified by sea invasion, adding an extra elemant to the process of lateral undercutting of the limstone towers and islands.
Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Dau Go (Wooden Stakes cave) is the largest grotto in the Halong area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th-century French graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuan Chau and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants, as well as tourist facilities including hotels and beaches. There are a number of beautiful beaches on the smaller islands.
A community of around 1600 people live on Halong Bay in four fishing villages: Cua Van, Ba Hang, Cong Tau and Vung Vieng. They live on floating houses and are sustained through fishing and marine aquaculture (cultivating marine biota), plying the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Many of the islands have acquired their names as a result of interpretation of their unusual shapes. Such names include Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi Islet (fighting cock), Khi Islet (monkey), and Mai Nha Islet (roof). 989 of the islands have been given names. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes, monkeys, and lizard also live on some of the islands.
All elements necessary to sufficiently protect the outstanding scenic and geological values of the Halong Bay property are included within the boundaries of the property and its size and area provide sufficient integrity for the large scale geomorphological processes to operate unhindered. It benefits from being completely surrounded by a large and extensive buffer zone with both the size and area providing sufficient integrity for the large scale geomorphic processes to operate unhindered.
Located within an area of high tourism, marine transport, fisheries and the daily activities of people living and conducting their business on Halong Bay, management of the area, instituted since inscription of the property, applies strict regulation and control of activities in an attempt to minimize impacts on the integrity of the property. There is a continuing challenge to improve the integrity and quality of the environment. The natural scenic features, geomorphology, landform values and cultural heritage along with key features such as islands, caves and grottoes remain intact and the property retains a high level of naturalness despite the long history of human use in the area.
