Halong Bay Vietnam History

Halong Bay VietNam is a important part of the culture and history of Vietnam. It’s a big part of life in northern Vietnam. Halong Bay, also known as Vinh Ha Long, means "Bay of the Descending Dragon".  HaLong Bay VietNam  includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars.

Location of HaLong Bay VietNam

Halong Bay is located in northeastern Vietnam, from E106°56′ to E107°37′ and from N20°43′ to N21°09′. The bay stretches from Yên Hưng district, past Halong city, Cẩm Phả town to Vân Đồn district, bordered on the south and southeast by the Gulf of Tonkin, on the north by China, and on the west and southwest by Cát Bà island. The bay has a 120 km long coastline and is approximately 1,553 km² in size with about 2,000 islets. The area designated by UNESCO as the World Natural Heritage Site incorporates 434 km² with 775 islets, of which the core zone is delimited by 69 points: Đầu Gỗ island on the west, Ba Hầm lake on the south and Cống Tây island on the east. The protected area is from the Cái Dăm petrol store to Quang Hanh commune, Cẩm Phả town and the surrounding zone.

History of HaLong Bay

500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Halong Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it “rock wonder in the sky”. In 1962, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Halong Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Halong Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criterion vii, and listed for a second time according to criterion viii.

Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000–7000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7000–5000 BC and the Halong culture 5,000–3,500 years ago. Halong Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mount, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.