Vietnam Travel Guide » Halong Bay

Halong Bay’s new status to be announced

luonghuyen — Tue, 08 May 2012 06:57:28 +0000

A ceremony to announce Ha Long Bay as one of the world’s seven new wonders of nature will be held in Hanoi on April 27 and in northern coastal Quang Ninh province on May 1.

In Hanoi on March 30, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that the New 7 Wonders Foundation will bring two steles with the name of Ha Long Bay to the event to be installed in Hanoi and Quang Ninh province.

The ceremony will be attended by ambassadors of six countries who are the owners of the world’s other six new wonders of nature.

They are the Amazon in South America, Iguazu Falls of Argentina and Brazil , Jeju Island of the Republic of Korea , Komodo National Park of Indonesia, Puerto Princesa Underground River of the Philippines , and Table Mountain of South Africa.

Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh Province has been recognised twice as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, notable for its breathtaking landscape and geographical values.

The 1,553-sq.km bay is dotted with 1,969 islands, which collectively offer an exquisite example of karst formation in tropical and humid conditions. The long evolution and erosion of the bay has produced pyramid-shaped karst towers that gave the bay its unique beauty.

One distinctive feature of Ha Long Bay is its abundant cave system formed between 11,000 to two million years ago.

The bay accommodates temperate ecosystems suitable for many species of marine animals, in addition to its great cultural and historical value.

Scientists have shown that Ha Long was inhabited by three successive cultures between 3,000 and 18,000 years ago: the Soi Nhu, Cai Beo and Ha Long groups.

Switzerland casts bronze plaques of Ha Long Bay

thuytrang — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:55:44 +0000

In preparation for the Official New7Wonders of Nature inauguration ceremonies, Switzerland is casting two bronze plaques of Ha Long Bay.

The plaques, 1.2m high and 1m wide, weighing around 100kg each will be sent to Vietnam before the holding of ceremonies in Hanoi on April 27 and in Ha Long City on May 1 with special art performances.

They will be placed in Hanoi and at the Bai Chay tourism site in Ha Long.

The NewOpenWorld Organisation has sent a sample of the plaque to Vietnam for consideration, hoping that Vietnam will invite representatives from 6 other countries which have wonders of nature to attend the ceremonies to share experience in protecting and preserving wonders of nature.

Ha Long Bay was officially recorgnised as one of five new world wonders of nature but two wonders of Indonesia and South Africa have remained to be crosschecked.

Source: VOV

Free tickets to Ha Long Bay during holidays

thuytrang — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 04:25:47 +0000

Entry to Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh will be free to all visitors from April 28 to May 1, as a way of saying thank you to visitors for voting the Bay as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

The free visits to the World Heritage site are being offered during Ha Long Tourism Week and the national holiday on the anniversary of the liberation of the south (April 30) and May Day, which always see a huge number of tourists.

Visitors to Ha Long Bay this year will also have the chance to enjoy a number of new changes at the site and improved services.

In the first three months of 2012, the newly-recognised wonder of the world attracted almost 420,000 visitors, of which 70 percent were overseas tourists, up by 19 percent over the same period last year.

During the peak of the 2011 Ha Long Tourism Week, Bai Chay Port handled 16,000 visitors to the Bay on May 1 alone.

Source: VOV

Gala night celebrates Ha Long Bay – a new seven wonders of nature

huongbui — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:09:33 +0000

In evening of 12th November 2011, a gala was organized at Cach Mang Thang Tam Square, in the front of Hanoi Opera House to honor Ha Long Bay as one of the new seven wonders of nature after 4 – year voting campaign.

The event was organized by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) in order to review success of Ha Long Bay during the last 4 years of voting campaign and show gratefulness to community for their support to Ha Long Bay.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister Ho Anh Tuan said since the global vote for New7Wonders of Nature was launched in August 2007, Ha Long Bay has received active support of people throughout the country, oversea Vietnameses, international community, and media. It has been recognized twice by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1994 and 2000 and now it is listed among the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Ha Long Bay has contributed to promoting a positive image of Vietnam to the world.
During 4 years, the campaign to collect votes for Ha Long Bay was organized by many ways such as photo competitions, writing competitions, bicycle tour, live broadcasts, cultural exchanges and art performances…

MoCST called organizations, and individuals, people throughout the country, oversea Vietnameses, and international community, who supported Ha Long Bay in the voting campaign, will continue to express their love and responsibility to protect and promote the sustainable value of Ha Long Bay through programmes, campaigns and specific actions so that Ha Long keeps on shining.
Director General of International Cooperation Department (MoCST) Nguyen Van Tinh informed that in the letter sent to Standing Committee for the Voting campaign for Ha Long Bay, Chairman of the New Open World organization Bernard Weber emphasized that Ha Long Bay has been officially recognized as a fair and deserving member of the unique historic voting campaign. He said these results are provisional, based on the first count of votes, and they will be checked, validated and independently verified before the final results can be confirmed.
In the gala, dragon dances and art performances were held to celebrate the victory.

Hong Thanh (TITC)

Malaysian tourism minister proposes helicopter tourism for Ha Long Bay

huongbui — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:03:33 +0000

Malaysian Tourism Minister Dato Sri DR. Ng Yen Yen suggested launching helicopter tourism services in Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province.
She made the proposal at a meeting with Nguyen Van Tuan, Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and provincial officials on November 7.
She added that Malaysian budget airlines AirAsia will offer flight from Kuala Lumpur to Danang next month and Ha Long may be its next destination, so helicopter services will help to boost the provincial tourism sector.
According to the minister, Quang Ninh should also open specialised parks and sea museums to serve travellers.
Pham Minh Chinh, Party Committee Secretary of the province, introduced the advantages of the area to his guests, particularly for tourism development in Ha Long Bay. He, however, noted that Quang Ninh’s tourism industry still faced difficulties related to infrastructure and human resources, and expected co-operation with international partners, including Malaysia, to help further tapping the area’s tourism potential.
The Malaysian minister said, tourism is among five key economic areas in Malaysia. It creates over one million jobs and contributes 25% to the country’s GDP annually.
Ha Long Bay has been named on the most recent shortlist of the 10 new natural wonders of world by the New Open World Corporation, four days before the poll ends.
Eamonn Fitzgerald, who is in charge of the New Open World Corporation, said the list could change in the remaining days of the campaign before the final list was released November 11.
The Vietnamese Tourism Promotion Centre has mobilized 300 volunteers to join online forums to urge members to vote for the bay.

Source: Dtinews

Overseas Vietnamese in Belgium vote for Ha Long Bay

huongbui — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:47:55 +0000

Many staff members of the Vietnamese embassy and representative offices in the European Union along with Overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese students gathered in Brussels on October 25 to vote for Ha Long Bay as one of seven new natural wonders of the world.

The Vietnamese ambassador to Belgium, Pham Sanh Chau, said this was the third time in the last five months they had come together to vote for Ha Long Bay.

Launched on October 11, the final stage of the vote will close on November 11.

The list of seven new natural wonders with an overwhelming majority of the votes will be announced on November 11, 2011.

Ha Long Bay has been twice recognized as a World Natural Heritage site by UNESCO.

Source: CPV

Overseas Vietnamese in Cambodia vote for Ha Long Bay

huongbui — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 02:39:43 +0000

In response to the campaign for Ha Long Bay, on October 28, Vietnamese students studying at Royal University of Phnom Penh in Cambodia also voted for Ha Long Bay through the internet.
Besides, they also introduced the natural beauty and culture and historical importance of Ha Long Bay, which has been twice recognized as a world natural heritage by UNESCO.
“Vietnamese students are honoured when Vietnam has such a beautiful wonder of nature. The Vietnamese student association has positively responded and called upon friends and international students in Cambodia to vote for Ha Long Bay as one of the new seven natural wonder of the world,” Phan Dinh Bac, a third-year student from the Royal University of Phnom Penh, said.
Previously, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia has also organized to vote for Ha Long Bay.
Ha Long Bay is now one of 28 candidates for the new seven natural wonders of the world title.

Source: CPV

Ha Long – Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2011 to be the biggest ever

haidang — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:02:17 +0000

People’s Committee of Quang Ninh Province coordinated with related agencies to hold a press conference to announce the program of Ha Long – Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2011 on April 1, 2011.

Accordingly, the Ha Long – Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2011 will take place from April 28 to May 2, 2011 at the Bai Chay and Tuan Chau tourist areas and in the centre of Ha Long City with attractive culture, sport and tourism events.

The main activities will include the seminar on voting campaign for Ha Long Bay to become one of the seven natural wonders of the world, contest of the best MC on Ha Long Bay, music and poetry night on Ha Long, gastronomy festival, international beach volleyball final round, Open Quang Ninh tennis tournament, classical music concert in the Dau Go Grotto and Quang Ninh international trade fair.

Especially, the high-tech and unique light art performance which is held for the first time in the Ha Long – Quang Ninh Tourism Week with the theme “Miraculous Ha Long by night” and last about 90 minutes will bring surprises to visitors.

The Ha Long Carnival which will be held at 8:00pm on May 1 at the Bai Chay Tourist Area will be the highlight of the tourism week, including three parts: opening ceremony, art performances on stage, carnival parade and masquerade festival. Notably, this year the Ha Long Carnival is expected to show more cultural features of each locality in the province such as the tutelary god procession of Tra Co Communal House in Mong Cai City and Tien Cong (the founding fathers) procession of Yen Hung District…

Besides, there will be culture, sport and tourism activities to respond the Ha Long – Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2011 in tourist centers as the cities of Mong Cai, Uong Bi. The organising board has also invited art troupes from Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan (China) to perform at the festival.

The Ha Long – Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2011 is not only an important event to promote the image, cultural values and landscapes of Quang Ninh Province, but also contributes to enhance competitive capacity of tourism in the province. This is also a good chance to strengthen the promotion for Halong Bay, and create the support from a large number of international visitors to vote for Ha Long Bay to get the New7Wonders of Nature title.

Ha Long Bay welcomes more maritime visitors

haidang — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:45:39 +0000

The five-star cruise liner SuperStar Aquarius with 2,200 foreign tourists and crew aboard docked at the world’s natural heritage, Ha Long Bay, in the northern province of Quang Ninh on April 3, 2011.

The visitors, mostly from China, were scheduled to tour around the Bay, drop by the Vung Vieng fishing village to get insight into the local fishermen’s life, and get involved in other artistic activities.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Quang Ninh welcomed about 2 million visitors in the first quarter of this year, including over 600,000 foreign visitors, and earned VND 913 billion in revenues, a year-on-year increase of 6 percent.
(Source: Vietnam Plus)

Over 4,000 European tourists visit Halong Bay

haidang — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:25:50 +0000

More than 4,000 foreign tourists visit Halong Bay by cruise ships from February 2 to March 3, according to Trinh Dang Thanh, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Arcadia carrying 2,000 passengers docked at Halong Bay on February 28, 90% of them are British and the rest Australian.

Another cruise ship, Seabourn Sojourne, arrived at Cai Lan Port on March 1, carrying 400 tourists. Later the same day, Costa Classica with 1,400 European passengers on board also came on a tour of Halong Bay and will head for Hanoi one day later.

The Princess Daphne is scheduled to bring 350 Australian tourists to the bay on March 3.
(Source: VOV)