Declared a "natural heritage site of worldwide importance" by UNESCO in 1994, their description aptly says it all : "Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence. The site's outstanding scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest."
Scientists have established, from archaeological sites, that Halong was one of the first cradles of human existence in the area. And history reveals that Halong Bay was the setting for local naval battles against Vietnam's coastal neighbors. On three occasions, in the labyrinth of channels between the islands, the Vietnamese army stopped the Chinese from landing. During the Vietnam War, many of the channels between the islands were heavily mined by the United States Navy, and some mines still pose a threat to shipping today.
Halong Bay means "Bay of the Descending Dragon" in Vietnamese. Legend has it that a family of dragons descended from heaven to help locals by spitting jewels and jade into the sea forming a natural fortress against invaders from China. These precious stones are now the lush green outcrops in the bay. And, according to another legend, a great dragon who lived in the mountains ran toward the sea, and while doing so, its tail gouged out valleys which later filled with water leaving only bits of land over the surface, hence the many islands and islets.
The two bigger islands, Tuan Chau and Cat Ba, have permanent inhabitants and tourist facilities, including hotels and beaches. There are a number of wonderful beaches on the other smaller islands. Several of the islands are hollow with enormous caves & grottoes. Almost half of the islands (989) have been named, many of them according to their shape.
The waters of the bay are host to a great diversity of ecosystems including offshore coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes, monkeys, and iguanas also live on some of the islands.
Main web site http://www.halongbay-vietnam.com/
The best sites with details about the caves & grottoes: http://www.vietscape.com/travel/halong/index.html
http://www.vietnamtourism.com/e_pages/heritage/halong.asp
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Since this is my last Vietnam journal in the series, here’s some interesting "demographics":
- Population: 83.7 million (July 2005 est.) ; 21% urban and 79% rural
- population is still unbalanced at 51.5 % females and 48.5 % males (The war and economic migration has produced a dearth of adult men, especially in the age group 35 to 64 where there are 117 women for every 100 men.)
- 32 % of all households are headed by women, 41% are widows
- women make up 53% of the farming population
- 29% of the population is under 15 years of age, 65% are 15-64, only 5.6 percent are over 65.
- Religion: Buddhists 83%, Christians 8% Roman Catholic 7%
- Literacy rate: 94%, male: 96.9%, female: 91.9%. The literacy rate for women over 25 years old is 15% lower than for men in that age group.
- Life expectancy at birth 70.35 years, males 67.86 years, females 73.02 years
- agriculture employs 71% of the labor force; 70% of all households earn their livelihood from agricultural production.
- the country’s per capita income is about $550 a year, and rising incrementally. They still live on less than $2 a day, but are aiming for three.
- Vietnam has become one of the world's top rice producers; it became rice-exporting country in 1989
- because of deforestation, forests cover a mere 20% of total land area (compared to 42% in 1943); forest areas are state owned; 65% of the forestry workers are women.
- the Vietnamese government recognizes 54 ethnic groups; ethnic Vietnamese account for 86% of the nation's population but inhabit less than half of Vietnam; ethnic minorities inhabit the majority of Vietnam's land (albeit the least fertile parts of the country); 2.3 million are ethnic Han Chinese (Vietnamese of Chinese ancestry), the 2nd largest minority group. Restrictions on economic activity following reunification in 1975, and the subsequent deterioration in Vietnamese-Chinese relations sent chills through the Chinese-Vietnamese community. In 1978-79, some 450,000 ethnic Chinese left Vietnam by boat as refugees (many officially encouraged and assisted) or were expelled across the land border with China.
- Vietnamese is the official language of the country. It was heavily influenced by Chinese so a great part of the Vietnamese vocabulary is Chinese. Since the early 20th century, the Vietnamese have used a Romanized script introduced by the French. Prior to that, Chinese characters were used.
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