Quang Ninh is a coastal province in Northeast Vietnam, it is far from Hanoi about 153km to the northeast. This is the main coal mining province of Vietnam and has Ha Long Bay as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and also one of the new 7 wonders of nature. With the advantage of being a coastal province possessing two-thirds of the country's islands and two large island districts, Van Don and Co To, Quang Ninh is now developing in the direction of tourism as a focus combined with environmental protection and seas & Island.
1. Ha Long Bay – the nature world wonder
Ha Long Bay is said to be a magic land of natural sea bay beauty, set amidst rocky limestone cliffs. Halong Bay attracts flocks of tourists and locals alike ever since UNESCO’s recognition of its nature. Halong Bay is one of those beautiful places that boast an overwhelming atmosphere and wide array of natural sights and mythical attractions.
Historical name: Literally, “Ha Long” means "Bay of Descending Dragons." Before the 19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive. In this term, there is a mysteriously legendary tale as follows:
“Long ago, in the first founding days, the Viet people were attacked by foreign aggressors. The Jade Emperor sent the Mother Dragon and her band of Child Dragons to help the Viet people fight the invaders. While the enemy vessels were launching massive attacks against the mainland, the dragons descended in flocks from the sky. They spat out innumerable pearls which changed into jade stone islands the moment they touched the water. These islands linked together to form firm citadels that checked the enemy’s advance and smashed their vessels to pieces. After the invaders were driven out, Mother Dragon and her Child Dragons did not return to Heaven but stayed on earth, right at the place where the battle occurred. The spot where the Mother Dragon landed was Ha Long, and where the Child Dragons came down was Bai Tu Long. The place where their tails violently wagged was called Long Vi, the today’s Tra Co Peninsula with its soft sandy beach stretching a series of kilometers.”
With a reputation as one of the 7 World Natural Wonders, visitors to Halong Bay not only admire the natural beauty of more than 1,900 limestone islands, large and small, but also experience exciting activities. like sleeping on yachts, cruising a boat, ...
1.1 Dau Go Cave
Dau Go Cave is one of the most beautiful caves in Vietnam, located on Dau Go Island in Ha Long Bay, about 6 km from Bai Chay Tourist Port.
1.2 Sung Sot Cave
Sung Sot Cave is located on Bo Hon Island, in Ha Long Bay, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh. This is one of the most beautiful caves in Vietnam.
1.3 Thien Cung Cave
Thien Cung Cave is located in Dau Go Island, located right near Dau Go Cave, Ha Long Bay, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh. Thien Cung Cave is known as the most beautiful cave in Ha Long Bay with a wide area of cave, covered inside the cave with thousands of layers of stalactites with mysterious but extremely attractive shapes.
1.4 Hang Tien Ong
Tien Ong Cave is located on Cai Tai Rock Island, Ha Long Bay, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh. Although Tien Cave is beautiful but not many people know it, it still retains almost its inherent beauty.
In addition to the glitter stalactite layers, Tien Ong cave is also said to be the first place where Vietnamese ancient people lived in Vietnam. There are still many vestiges of ancient Viet people such as knives, axes, shells, snails ...
1.5 Hang Trinh Nu - Hang Trong
Trinh Nu and Hang Trong caves are two caves lying close to each other on Bo Hon Island, Halong Bay, Halong City, Quang Ninh. These two caves are associated with a sad and tragic love story
1.6 Kim Quy Cave
Kim Quy cave is located on Dam Nam island, belonging to the population of Ha Long Bay, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh. The cave is associated with the legend of the ancient Golden Tortoise.
1.7 Labyrinth Cave (Dong Me Cung)
The Me Cung Cave is located on Lom Bo Island, in Ha Long Bay, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh. Inside the cave is a "maze" made of mysterious stalactites, with all strange shapes, where it is like a stone lion, a rock bear, the place is like a "royal garden" with trees. Great stone ... Enter the maze cave, visitors feel so fascinated with the beauty of this cave that they do not want to leave.
2. Bai Tu Long Bay
2.1 Quan Lan island
Quan Lan is one of the beautiful islands still retaining the pristine character up to now. It features the Bai Tu Long Bay area - smooth waves, clear blue water, beaches with fine white sand and shallow water.
2.2 Minh Chau island
Minh Chau is a small island in Bai Tu Long Bay, Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province. It attracts tourists with long white sand beaches, fresh air, almost untouched wilderness, this place always has a special attraction for those who want to get away from the busy town and enjoy the Beautiful moments with nature.
2.3 Van Don island
From Thien Nga island to the sea for an additional 15 km, you will find a series of pristine beaches full of white sand, smooth, tens of kilometers long on a chain of islands Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung. These beaches are comfortable and hundreds of meters wide from the shore, the water just right to the chest depth.
2.4 Bai Tu Long National Park
Bai Tu Long National Park is not only a terrestrial biosphere reserve, but also a place to protect Vietnam's coastal marine life.
3. Visit Tra Co - explore the Northeastern pole of the country
Located in the extreme northeastern part of the country, Tra Co is famous for the longest coastline in Vietnam - more than 17km. The beach here is rated by tourists as one of the most beautiful Quang Ninh beaches in the North: on the banks of sand dunes of 3 - 5m high, surrounded by immense casuarina forest, towering in the distance. mountains and mangrove ecological forests, ... all create a poetic and lyrical feature for this sea.
Besides activities on the beach, visitors can also visit many tourist attractions such as Tra Co Church, Tra Co communal house. Especially, if you travel to Tra Co in late May - early June, do not forget to join the festival of Tra Co communal house - a unique cultural activity of the folk people in the Red River Delta.
4. Co To Island
Co To Island is an extremely beautiful island located off the coast of Bai Tu Long Bay, Van Don District, Quang Ninh Province. On the island, there are many beaches and beautiful scenes, including: Hong Van beach, Van Chay beach, Bac Van beach, Co To Lighthouse, Co To Island
5. Tuan Chau Island
Tuan Chau Island has been famous at home and abroad and is considered an indispensable destination for tours to pick up and drop off passengers on Ha Long Bay.
6. Bai Chay
Bai Chay has an artificial beach, located along Ha Long Bay, sandy beaches with a length of more than 1000m and 100m wide. This is a beach that attracts a lot of tourists in the season of sea travel. The topographic feature is a low hills running gently toward the sea, lasting more than 2 km, embracing ancient pine trees, interspersed with separate hotels and villas. In addition, this is also one of the two pick-up and drop-off places to visit Halong Bay
7. Bai Tho Mountain
Bai Tho Mountain is a beautiful limestone mountain in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province. On this mountain, there are Chinese poems of Le Thanh Tong carved in stone in 1468 and Trinh Cuong in 1729. These poems have given names to the mountain.
8. Binh Lieu - A backpacking place in Quang Ninh
As a mountainous district in the Northeast, tourists in Binh Lieu, Quang Ninh, have the opportunity to admire the hills and mountains, white foam waterfalls, terraced fields, small villages or blossoming roads. white mop flowers.
Some prominent Quang Ninh tourist destinations here are: Cao Ba Lanh peak, Cao Xiem peak, Dinh Luc Na, Hoanh Mo border gate, Song Mo A waterfall, Khe Van waterfall and especially on the border road. borders China with a field of white mop flowers.
9. Mong Cai international border gate
Mong Cai international border gate is located in Hoa Lac ward, Mong Cai city, Quang Ninh province. This is the place of trade with Dongxing border gate in Dongxing city, Guangxi province, China.
Spiritual tourist destination in Quang Ninh
1. Ba Vang Pagoda
Located on the middle of Thanh Dang mountain, Ba Vang pagoda is the place to worship the Three Jewels and the largest single wooden drum in Vietnam. Not only meaningful in terms of spirituality, this place is also a beautiful tourist destination in Quang Ninh with charming scenery - in front of the river, leaning against the mountain, flanked by lush green pine forests, very suitable for sightseeing.
2. Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Monastery
To Quang Ninh, we cannot help but mention Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Monastery - the ideological capital of Vietnamese Buddhism. It is a relic complex consisting of 11 pagodas and hundreds of am, towers, statues, ancient trees scattered over an altitude of 1,000 meters above the sea level in the Dong Trieu mountain range.
3. Cai Bau Pagoda - The most beautiful coastal temple in Quang Ninh
Cai Bau Pagoda, also known as Truc Lam Giac Tam Zen Monastery, is considered to be the most beautiful coastal temple in Quang Ninh with its back against the mountain and the sea front. Due to being far from the city center, visitors to the temple are usually not too crowded, visitors can completely relax the scene, offer incense without worrying about crowding.
4. Loi Am Pagoda
Loi Am Pagoda is located on the back of Loi Am mountain, 503 m high - the highest mountain in the hills along Ha Long Bay. The temple is famous for being associated with many Vietnamese anecdotes and history from Le Thanh Tong to the anti-French period. Tourists come here not only to burn incense but also to enjoy the beautiful mountains - a miniature ecotourism area.
In addition to the sea and spiritual places, Quang Ninh tourists can visit famous lands such as Cam Pha, Uong Bi, Tien Yen ...
1. Grilled Squid (chả mực) - The first dish in the list of Quang Ninh specialties
Grilled squid seemed to be a simple dish everywhere, it became a "culinary monument" in Ha Long because the squid here has a sweeter taste and is "meticulous" by the worker. Enjoy the squid rolls you will feel the bold taste, the crunchy and lumpy texture of the squid in each piece.
2. Shrimp shrimp (ruốt tôm) - Specialties suitable for children
Ha Long specialties that are suitable to buy as gifts are Quang Ninh shrimp meat rolls, famous for its soft aromatic filaments, not as chewy as pork shrimp. Especially this dish has a higher nutritional value than normal shrimp, so it is suitable for children.
3. Hoanh Bo pickled sticky wine - Ha Long specialties for men
Imbued with the very strange aroma of Hoanh Bo leaves, made from the best local sticky rice, Hoanh Bo pickled sticky rice is Ha Long specialties for tourists who love wine, especially men. In particular, pickled sticky rice soaked Hoanh Bo can just sip on the drinking table, has a stimulating effect on digestion.
4. Fresh seafood
Traveling to Ha Long beach, you cannot miss seafood dishes. Because the seaport is right in the center of the city, Ha Long almost always has fresh seafood. In all kinds of seafood, you should not miss 7 specialties of Ha Long: pistachios, crabs, snails, oysters, superficial, shrimp and sea sam.
5. specialties Ha Long enjoy on the spot:
5.1 Squid spring rolls - Ha Long special dish for breakfast
Squid roll cake is a special Ha Long specialties - just fast, light and economical for your breakfast. The combination of spring rolls with spring rolls brings surprises to diners: the crispy feeling of spring rolls with hot spring rolls and dipping sauce to bring a special taste unforgettable.
5.2 Vermicelli with shrimp paste
One of the tourist experiences in Ha Long for you is that if you go in the fall or winter, in the chilly air, you will have a chance to sit down and sizzle with a bowl of hot steamed rice vermicelli, enjoying the sweet and sour taste with the aroma. The newly caught surface will be great.
5.3 Ha porridge - A local dish of the locals
Ha porridge is a specialty dish in Ha Long. Con Ha is just as small as a nail and has an affordable price when processed into a porridge that will have a high nutritional value.
Ha smooth porridge with seafood sweetness and smells of fragrant rice, along with the flavor of laksa leaves, coriander. Fresh mussel, chopped meat is washed, marinated with pepper, fish sauce and then fried with onion to both increase flavor and deodorize fishy smell. After the fragrant eight rice is cooked, people put it in and boil it until it is congee. When eating, you add a little scallion, pepper to smell up and definitely have to eat with quẩy.
5.4 Loi Am BBQ chicken
The reason for calling it Chicken Yin is because this specialty of Ha Long is only at the foot of the mountain of Loi Am Pagoda, about 15km from the center of Ha Long city. Chicken here is chicken hill so meat firm, grilled eat so rich aroma, just look at the nursery to see and stimulate the taste.
5.5 "Nodding" cake - Ha Long specialties for those who like to snack
Humpback cake is a delicious and strange specialty. The reason why the name of the cake is “nodding” is because the cake is long, soft when holding in the hand like a person drowsiness, with many fingers, when diners eat, they also have to nod and nod to compliment. Since then, the name "nodding" cake was born just humorous and interesting for people to eat.
The nodding cake looks almost similar to the Pho, but the way to make the crust is like rolling rice paper. Humpback buns served with a special sauce made from chicken fat with minced meat, fried onions, fish sauce, chili, or humiliation (Tien Yen specialty). The combination of the light sweetness of glutinous rice, the soft and chewy feeling when chewing the cake together with the flavor of greasy meat sauce will bring an unforgettable culinary experience for diners.
5.6 Sam sea
Seaweed is currently not artificially grown, moreover, restaurants often buy sea shells that are caught by fishermen in the early morning. So visitors will enjoy the source of seafood completely natural and fresh.
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