|
|
Ba
Ham
Lake |
|
 Situated
on
the
south-west
side
of
Hạ
Long
Bay,
Ba
Hầm
Lake
is
found
on
Ðầu
Bê
Island
(Calf
Head
Island)
in
Lan
Hạ
Bay.
This
island
is
part
of
the
range
of
islands
at
the
farthest
end
of
Hạ
Long
Bay,
bordering
the
immense
zone
Long
Châu
Sea.
Ba
Hầm
Lake
is
situated
in
the
middle
of a
narrow,
rectangular
area,
with
the
all
four
sides
enclosed
by
vertical
cliffs.
The
lake
is a
system
comprising
three
wide
and
round
pits,
linked
together
by a
narrow
and
meandering
tunnel.
Stalactites
hang
from
the
ceiling
in a
myriad
of
strange,
coloured
forms.
The
silence
is
disturbed
only
by
the
sounds
of
the
boat’s
oars.
On
the
island
are
many
species
of
plants
such
as
orchids,
benjamin
figs,
banyans
and
cycads,
which
blossom
throughout
the
year.
It
is
also
the
home
of
yellow-haired
monkeys,
birds,
flying
squirrels
and
bats.
Under
the
deep
blue
surface
of
the
water
are
the
animated
lives
of
shrimp
and
fish.
Although
25
km
from
the
shore,
it
has
long
been
considered
an
ideal
tourism
zone.
The
entrance
is a
open
semi-circular
hole
in
the
flat
stone
wall
on
the
north-west
side
of
the
island,
4 to
5 m
above
the
sea.
 Starting
from
the
entrance,
tourists
enter
the
first
tunnel,
which
boasts
a
forest
of
stalactites
and
stalagmites
in
different
shapes
and
various
colours.
They
fall
down
the
water
surface
like
the
roots
of
banyan
or
ficus
trees.
The
deeper
one
pushes
into
the
tunnel,
the
darker
it
becomes.
The
river
is
deep
yet
so
clear
that
one
can
see
shoals
of
fish
swimming.
Some
100
m
from
the
entrance
one
finds
a
shaft
of
light
coming
from
the
roof
of
the
tunnel,
which
reveals
different
kinds
of
orchids
clinging
to
the
cliff,
cycads
growing
here
and
there,
trúc
duôi
gà
(a
kind
of
reed
with
cock’s
tail-liked
yellow
leaves)
flourishing
in
clumps.
In
the
southeast
cliff
of
the
second
tunnel
there
grows
an
old
carambola
tree,
which
bears
fruits
all
year
round.
Tourists
can
find
groups
of
monkeys,
flying
squirrels,
or
silver-headed
parrots
gathering
in
its
branches.
Lying
one
cliff
away
from
the
second
one,
the
third
tunnel
is
home
to
various
species
of
bats
and
butterflies.
Amidst
the
tranquil
atmosphere,
you
feel
like
boating
in
an
abyssal
well
walled
by
mountains.
Ba
Hầm
Lake
is
one
of
the
beauty
spots
of
Hạ
Long
Bay. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Halong Bay
Beauty of
Nature |
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
Halong Bay
Userful
Information |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Ha
Long Bay is located in the
northeastern part of Vietnam and
constitutes part of the western bank
of Bac Bo Gulf, including the sea
area of
Ha Long Bay City and Cam Pha
Town and part of Vân Don island
district. It abuts Cat Ba Island in
the southwest. Toward the west is
the shore with a 120 km-long
coastline. It is located within
106o58’-107o22’ east longitude and
within 20o45’- 20o50’ north
latitude. The site is 1553 sq. km
with 1969 islands of various sizes,
of which 989 have been named.
The islands in
Ha Long Bay are mainly limestone
and schist islands most lying in the
two main areas: the southeastern
part of Bái Tu Long Bay and
southwestern part of
Ha Long Bay . These islands
represent the most ancient images of
a geographical site having a
tectonic age of from 250 million to
280 million years. They are the
result of many times of rising and
lowering processes of the continent
to form a karst. The process of
nearly full erosion and weathering
of the karst created the unique
Ha Long Bay in the world. In a
not very large area, thousands of
islands with different forms look
like glittering emeralds attached to
the blue scarf of a virgin. The area
where many stone islands concentrate
has spectacular scenes and
world-famous caves and is the center
of
Ha Long Bay Natural Heritage,
including HaLong Bay and a part of
Bái Tu Long Bay.
The area is recognized as the World
Natural Heritage that is the area of
434 sq. km with 775 islands. It
looks like a giant triangle with Ðầu
Go Island (in the west), Ba Hom Lake
(in the south) and Cong Tây Island
(in the east) as its three angle
points. The nearby area is the
buffer area and areas classified as
national beauty spots in 1962 by the
Ministry of Culture and Information.
 Viewed
from above,
Ha Long Bay looks like an
extremely vivid huge drawing. This
is a wonderful and skilful
masterpiece of the Creation and of
nature that turns thousands of dumb
soulless stone islands into
fantastic sculptural and artistic
works of various graceful shapes,
both familiar and strange to human
beings. Thousands of islands
emerging uneven in the fanciful
waves look strong and magnificent
but also mild and vivid. Amidst
these islands we feel as if we were
astray in a petrified legendary
world. There are many names given to
islands according to their shapes
and forms. This one looks like
somebody heading toward the shore:
Hòn Ðuu Nguoi (Human Head Island);
that one looks like a dragon
hovering above the sea surface: Hòn
Rông (Dragon Island); another looks
like an old man sitting fishing: Hòn
Lã Vong; some look like big sails
struggling amidst the wind to set
off for the sea: Hòn Cánh Buom (Sail
Island); then two islands look like
a pair of chicken lovingly playing
with each other above the sea: Hòn
Trong Mái (Male and Female Chicken
Island); and amid the vast sea
stands an island like a big incense
burner like a ritual offering to
Heaven: Hòn Lo Huong (Incense Burner
Island). All are so real that people
are taken aback by them. Those stone
islands have experienced
unpredictable changes over time and
they take different shapes from
different angles of view. Here, we
come to realize that they are not
dumb inanimate things but are vivid
and soulful.
Inside the stone islands are various
breath-taking caves, such as Thiên
Cung, Ðau Go, Sung Sot, Trinh Nu,
Tam Cung and others. These are
really magnificent palaces of the
Creation on earth. Long ago,
Ha Long Bay has been called by
the great national poet Nguyễn Trãi:
“a wonder of the earth erected
towards the high sky”. Many men of
letters from all over the world have
been taken aback at the grandiose
scenery of Hạ Long. They seem to get
puzzled and incompetent as their
treasure of vocabulary is not rich
enough to depict the splendor of
this place.
 Ha
Long Bay is also attached to
glorious pages of Vietnamese
history, with famous sites such as
Vân Ðồn, a bustling trade port in
the 12th century, charming Bài Thơ
Mountain, and not very far away from
here is the Bạch Đằng River which
witnessed two famous naval battles
of the Viêt’s ancestors against
invaders. Also, Hạ Long is one of
the cradles of human kind with the
glorious Hạ Long culture in the late
Neolithic age, discovered at such
archeological sites as Ðộng Mang,
Xích Thổ, Soi Nhụ and Thoi Giếng.
Ha Long Bay is also home to
great biodiversity with typical
eco-systems like mangrove forest,
coral and tropical forest. It is
also home to thousands of plants and
animals of numerous species, for
example shrimp, fish and squid. Some
species are particularly rare and
can be found no where else.
With such special values, at the
18th Session of UNESCO’s Council of
World Heritage held on 17 December
1994 in Thailand, Hạ Long Bay was
officially placed on the list of the
World Natural Heritage. In 2000,
UNESCO recognized it as the World
Heritage for the second time for its
geographical and geomorphologic
values. This confirms the global
premier value of
Ha Long Bay .
|
