Geography Situated
in the north-east region of Vietnam, Hạ Long Bay
is a part of the Gulf of Bắc Bộ, and comprises
Hạ Long City, the township of Cẩm Phả and a part
of the island district of Vân Ðồn. To the
south-west it borders the island of Cát Bà, to
the east is the sea and the mainland follow a
coastline of 120 km. It stretches between the
106º58 and 107º22 eastern meridians and the
20º45 and 20º50 northern parallels.
Topography
Hạ 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 Bái Tử Long Bay), and the
south-west (belonging to Hạ 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
Hạ 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 Ðầu Gỗ
Island (Driftwood Island) to the west; the Ba
Hầm Lake (Three Shelter Lake) to the south; and
the Cống Tây 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.
Climate
Hạ 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 22,8ºC. The average temperature
in summer is 26,4ºC and the hottest temperature
is 35,7ºC. The annual average rainfall 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.
History
Hạ Long Bay has been called by the great
national poet Nguyễn Trãi: "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: Vân Ðồn (site
of an ancient commercial port); Poem Mountain
(with engravings of many poems by emperors and
other famous people of the past); and Bạch Ðằng
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 Ðồng Mang, Xích Thổ, Soi
Nhụ and Thoi Giếng. 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.
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, Lã Vọng, 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 Trống Mái Islet (Cock and Hen
Islet), which look like a pair of chicken
lovingly playing with each other above the sea;
and the Ðỉnh Hương 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: Thiên Cung Grotto (Heavenly Residence
Grotto), Đầu Gỗ Grotto (Driftwood Grotto), Sửng
Sốt 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, Hạ Long 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 Hạ Long Bay.
Source: halong.com |