Halong Bay, Most Beautiful Bay on Earth
Halong Bay was World’s Natural Heritage listed by UNESCO at the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Phuket, Thailand on December 17th, 1994) for its outstanding universal aesthetic value according to the criteria explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. On December 2nd, 2000 at the 24th meeting of Committee of the World Heritages in Cairns, Australia, Ha Long Bay was admitted as a World Heritage Site for its outstanding geological and geomorphological value according to the criteria of that Convention.[1] Ha Long Bay was introduced to nominate by New Open World Foundation as World’s 7 Natural Wonder.The bay consists of a dense cluster of 1969 limestone monolithic islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation, which rise spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes Cave) is the largest grotto in the Ha Long area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th century French graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuần Châu and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants. Both of them have tourist facilities, including hotels and beaches. There are a number of wonderful beaches on the smaller islands. Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks.
