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 Halong 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. |
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Introducing Halong Bay
 Halong Bay Vietnam is one of the world's natural wonders and is the most beautiful tourist destination of Vietnam. Halong Bay features more than one thousand awesome limestone karsts and islands of various sizes and shapes along the 120km coastline of Bai Chay Beach.
Its waters are host to a great ersity of ecosystems including offshore coral reefs, freshwater swamp forests, mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes, and sandy beaches. The folk tale has it that the dragons descended from heaven to help locals by spitting jewels and jade to the sea, forming a natural fortress against invaders; these precious stones are represented by the lush green outcrops. Several islands boast beautiful grottos and caves with contiguous chambers, hden ponds and peculiar stone formations. The bay is about 170 kilometers northeast of Hanoi and 3,5 hours by road.
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Geographical Of Halong Bay
 Halong Bay is located in the Northeast of Vietnam, belonging to QuangNinh Province. To the west and northwest, Halong Bay stretches from Yen Hung District, and includes the large urban areas of Halong City and Cam Pha Town, as well as Van Don Island District. To the south and southeast, it is adjacent to the western Tonkin Gulf and to the west and southwest lies Cat Ba Island in the province of Hai Phong. On the world map, Halong Bay borders to China in the north and in the east it is adjacent to the East Sea.
In 1962, the Ministry of Culture and Information classified Halong Bay as a National Landscape Site, covering an area of 1,553 km2 with 1,969 islands. Halong Bay has been recognized twice by UNESCO as a World Heritage Area for its universal values of landscape, geology and geomorphology, respectively in 1994 and 2000, an area of 434 sq. km including 775 islands.
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Weather All Year Round
 Climate
Halong Bay climate is featured humid tropical charactor, including two distinct seasons: hot, humid with much rainning in summer and cold, dry in winter. The average temperature ranges from 150 - 250°F with annual average rainfall of 2,000 - 2,200mm/year. Halong Bay has a typical tidal time (tidal amplitude ranges from 3.5 - 4.0m. The degree of salt in the sea water ranges from 31 - 34.5% in the dry season and decreases in the rainy season.
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Culture
 "Halong" is literally translated as "Bay of Descending Dragons." Prior to the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Halong Bay, old historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc Thuy or Van Don. Not until the late 19th century did the name of Halong Bay appear on a French Marine Map. The Hai Phong News, a French newspaper of the time, had an article, Dragon appears on Halong Bay, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant named Lagredin, captaining the Avalanse reported seeing a huge sea snake on Halong Bay. This was also witnessed by many of the crews. Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the name of Halong Bay is not known.
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