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Thien Cung Grotto |
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 It
is situated on the
south-west side the
bay, 4 km from the
wharf outside of Ha
Long City. The way
to Thiên Cung is a
perilous one,
covered on both
sides by thick
forest. After
entering a narrow
gate, the grotto’s
130-meter-long girth
opens up. Getting in
we are more
astonished in front
of the very animated
and splendid beauty
which is made from
stalactite. On the
east wall of the
grotto, there is a
grandiose and
imposing picture
with characters of
tales.
Going out of the
Thiên Cung Grotto,
we have a sensation
of just watching a
unique, meticulous,
interesting fine-art
museum which is made
by nature, get out
of the imagine,
ability and
intellect of man.
This grotto is
recently discovered,
one of the most
beautiful grottoes
in Hạ Long Bay.
Legend has it, that
beautiful young lady
named Mây (cloud),
caught the eye of
the Dragon Prince
and he fell in love
with her. They were
betrothed, and their
wedding lasted seven
days and seven
nights in the very
centre of the
grotto.
In honour of the
wedding, small
dragons flew about
through the
stalactites and
stalagmites,
elephants danced
together happily,
snakes twined
themselves around
trees and two stone
lions danced with
their manes flowing
in the wind. A large
elephant, smartly
dressed, waited for
the bride and the
groom. The genies of
the south and north
stars also came to
attend the banquet,
and the atmosphere
was definitely
animated and lively.
All these scenes
have been seemingly
fossilized in the
grotto.
 In
the centre are four
large pillars
supporting the "roof
of heaven.” From the
base to the top,
many strange images
seem to live in the
stone: birds, fish,
flowers and even
scenes of human
life. On the north
wall of the grotto a
group of fairies
seem to dance and
sing in honour of
the wedding. Under
the immeasurably
high roof,
stalactites make a
natural stone
curtain. Somewhere
there is the sound
of a drum beating,
but it is actually
just the noise made
by the wind blowing
through stone.
Arriving at the last
partition of the
grotto, a natural
gushing stream of
water babbles
throughout the year.
Here are three small
ponds of clear
water. Legend has
it, that this was
where Mây bathed her
100 children,
bringing them up
wisely and happily
into adolescence.
One path meanders
out of the grotto;
it was the way Mây,
together with 50 of
her children, took
to harvest new
lands. The 50
remaining children,
together with their
father, were left to
build the native
land. Left behind by
the mother was the
natural stream
described above.
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Halong Bay
Beauty of
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Halong Bay
Userful
Information |
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 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 .
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