Halong bay

Coordinates: 20 ° 51 '  N , 107 ° 9'  E

Halong bay​

Vietnam

Ha Long Bay
UNESCO world heritage
National territory:	Vietnam
Type:	nature
Criteria :	vii, viii
Reference No .:	672bis
UNESCO region :	Asia and Pacific
History of enrollment
Enrollment:	1994  (session 18)
Extension:	2000

The Halong Bay ( Vietnamese : Vinh Ha Long ) is an approximately 1,500 square kilometers large area in the Gulf of Tonkin in the province of Quang Ninh in the north of Vietnam . According to official information, limestone rocks, mostly uninhabited islands and rocks, sometimes several hundred meters high protrude from the water in 1969. The limestone plateau that houses the bay is slowly sinking. In 1994 , UNESCO declared the bay a World Heritage Site .

etymology

The name Vịnh Hạ Long ( Hán Nôm : 泳 下 龍 ) means "Bay of the submerging dragon" in contrast to Thang Long (ascending dragon, the old name of Hanoi). According to legend, the bay was created by a kite who lived near the sea in the mountains. As he ran to the coast, his tail made deep furrows in the land that was inundated by the sea after the kite plunged into the water.

geology

Karst carts as the ubiquitous form of weathering of limestone and dolomite in Halong Bay

Geologically, today's bay was created by a cone karst that was drowned in the Holocene . Some of the grottos and caves, like some beaches, can only be entered at low tide. Many of them are green, overgrown with plants, on the larger ones there is sometimes dense jungle . In the caves such as B. Hang Trống (drum grotto) and caves such. B. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Cave of Wooden Poles ) there are bizarre stalactites and stalagmites . Sometimes the forces of nature have formed veritable passages through the rock.

location

Halong Bay is located in northeast Vietnam in an area that extends from 106 ° 56 'to 107 ° 37' east longitude and from 20 ° 43 'to 21 ° 9' north latitude. The bay stretches from the Yên H Distrng district through Hạ Long City and Cẩm Phả to the Vân Đồn district, it borders on the Gulf of Tonkin in the south and southeast and on China in the north. In the west and southwest the area is bounded by the island of Cát Bà. The bay has a 120 km long coastline and almost 2000 islands on an area of ​​1553 km². The area designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is still 434 km² with 775 islands.

The largest island with 354 km² is Cát Bà , on which around 12,000 islanders live mainly from fishing, oyster farming and increasing tourism . The largest elevation is over 330 m. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was the starting point for many so-called boat people to flee .

During the Indochina War and the Vietnam War , some of the islands and large caves on them were converted into reception centers for refugees and the sick and as supply depots. For example, there was a hospital in a cave on Cát Bà, which temporarily accommodated up to 300 people.

Tourism and transport

Halong Bay is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Vietnam.

At the end of December 2018, the Van Don International Airport was opened near Halong Bay .

Accidents with ships

In 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2011 there were fatal accidents due to the poor safety standards of the outdated wooden ships. In 2006, 13 people died in a strong storm, several ships overturned - something similar happened in 2002. In 2009, two British and one French tourist died, as well as the local guide. On February 17, 2011, eleven tourists from the United Kingdom , Australia , France , Japan , USA , Russia , Sweden and Switzerland, as well as their Vietnamese guide, died when their tour boat sank. Another disaster occurred on May 8, 2011, when a Hại Long Co Ltd excursion boat with 28 French tourists on board capsized off the island of Do Cạn . However, all boat occupants could be saved.

Picture gallery

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  floating village

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  Bat grotto

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  Ha Long Bay

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  Islands and rocks seen from the outside ...

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  ... and from within

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  cave

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  typical junk

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  bizarre rock formation

and display information about the image

Panoramic picture in Halong Bay, taken on Monkey Island

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Nhiều thuyền chở khách ở Hạ Long 'rất cũ'. In: BBC.co.uk , accessed November 13, 2017
2. ^ Sunk in 60 seconds: 'Dream Voyage' tourist boat that killed two American women was sucked underwater in just one minute. In: Dailymail.co.uk , February 18, 2011, accessed November 13, 2017
3. ↑ Vietnam tourist boat sinking kills 12 in Halong Bay. In: BBC.co.uk , accessed November 13, 2017
4. ↑ 'He was having the time of his life': Mother pays tribute to British backpacker killed when tourist boat sank in Vietnam beauty spot. In: Dailymail.co.uk , February 18, 2011, accessed November 13, 2017
5. ↑ Việt Nam News, edition May 11, 2011, p. 3

Web links

Commons : Vịnh Hạ Long  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Vịnh Ha Long  - travel guide

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
• Halong bay. Bizarre Inselwelt From the documentary series Treasures of the World (2001)