Thien Duong cave

Thien Duong Cave in the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO-recognised world natural heritage site in the central province of Quang Binh, has become a favourite destination of domestic and foreign tourists.

After visiting the cave, many people recognised its irresistible magic, saying that this is really the most beautiful wonder of the Creator on earth.

Thien Duong was labelled the world’s most beautiful and magnificent cave when it was discovered by scientists from the British Cave Research Association in 2005.

Located in the middle of the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, about 4 km west of the Ho Chi Minh Road, the cave, which is believed to be formed hundreds of millions of years ago, is surrounded by underground streams and rocky mountains.

Thien Duong Cave is 30-100 metres wide, with the widest point measuring 150 metres. With a length of over 36 km, it is considered the longest dry cave in Asia.

After crossing an old forest, visitors see the entrance to the cave shaded by century-old trees and are then dazzled by the mysterious beauty of stalactite pillars, each dozens of metres in diameter, and grandiose rock arches, which are works made by the enchantment and sudden inspiration of the Creator over the past millions of years.

The Truong Thinh Group, the operator of Thien Duong Cave, has invested VND tens of billions in a tourist project that aims to “draw visitors from all over the world”.

Quang Binh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that since the beginning of this year, Thien Duong Cave has attracted more than 10,000 domestic and international visitors.

The coming months till November will see hectic activities to promote Ha Long Bay across the country.

The programs include “Ha Long Bay in the heart of Hanoi”, children photo and painting contests on Halong and a bike trip across national heritage sites in which 300 volunteers will participate.

According to information on the website www.new7wonders.com, the Seven Natural Wonders of the World will be announced on November 11.

Ha Long Bay is the only heritage site in Vietnam to be selected on the shortlist of 28 wonders and recommended for the 7 natural wonders of the world.

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Source: The Saigon Times

Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province has attracted more than 2.5 million visitors over the past 11 months.

Ha Long Bay has been listed among the top ten destinations by boat, according to the world’s leading tourism magazine, Lonely Planet in the UK.

Visitors can sit in the boats to discover the beauty of Ha Long Bay, and paddle a kayak to visit small caves and grottos. Ha Long Bay currently has nearly 500 tourist boats and attracts millions of visitors each year.

Other destinations in the list include the fjords in Norway, the Amazon River in South America, Franklin River in Australia, Quetico Provincial Park in Canada, backwaters of Kerala in India, Milford Sound in New Zealand, the Greek islands, Disko Bay in Greenland and the Galapágos Islands in Ecuador.

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Halong Bay has been recognized twice by UNESCO as a World Heritage site for its universal values of landscape, geology and geomorphology, respectively in 1994 and 2000.

On cruising trip, is it time to appreciate the wonders of Halong Bay including an exploration a magnificent cave and then navigating through the stunning limestone scenery of the bay.

The permanent beauty of Ha Long is created by three factors: stone, water and sky. Ha Long’s island system is multicolored with a variety of shapes and can be regarded as a water-color, a work of art. The islands, scattered all round, have different shapes which provoke the imagination: Dinh Huong (Incense Burner) implies spiritual significance, Ga Choi (Fighting Cocks) the symbol of Viet Nam tourism, Con Coc (Toad) recalls the passage of time, waiting thousands of years to seek justice in Heaven. There are islands that resemble a resplendent throne; a Vietnamese mother’s curved back carrying her child, a roof, an old man, a human head and so on.

Within the bigger islands are great attractions. Dau Go Cave (Wooden Stakes) dazzles the senses with many huge stalactites hanging poised in mid air and stalagmites growing majestically upwards. Then there is Thien Cung Grotto (Heavenly Palace) with its small, narrow entrance, but inside looking like a marvelous palace, and many other caves each has its own attractions and beauty.

Ha Long’s sea is always the same, blue, smooth and still. Ha Long has its own beauty by seasons. In spring, buds of trees burst on limestone islands. In summer, it is cool and clean with many sparkling sun rays reflecting from the sea’s surface. In autumn, especially at night, moonlight illuminates the mountains so they appear like gold, inlaid into the earth. In winter, with pervasive frost, Ha Long is glamorous as “a floating flower basket on smooth wave” (by writer Nguyen Tuan).

Karst geomorphologic value

Ha Long Bay is a mature karst landscape developed during a warm, wet, tropical climate. The sequence of stages in the evolution of a karst landscape over a period of 20 million years requires a combination of several distinct elements including massive thickness of limestone, a hot wet climate and slow overall tectonic uplift.

Halong Bay is undoubtedly not only a national but also a world nature, a magnificent work of Natural Creator. People who are admirers of natural beauty should stand up, pack their luggages, and right away pick up a flight to Ha Long, or else they will soon feel regretful!

Book Vietnam cruises now to enjoy the beauty of this wonder on Earth, Halong bay!

Vietnam held a ceremony on January 22 to officially receive certification from UNESCO for the Saint Giong Festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hanoi’s municipal government and the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO helped to organise the ceremony in Phu Dong, Gia Lam district.

UNESCO gave a notification for the festival in both the Phu Dong Temple, and Soc Son Temple (in Soc Son district) on November 11, 2010.

The ceremony drew the participation of UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam, Katherine Muller Marin, from 400 to 500 officials and between 7,000 and 8,000 locals.

The ceremony featured the important traditional parts of the Saint Giong Festival, staged by people of the villages.

The performance including about 500 people featured Mua co (literally translated as dancing with flags), as well as two traditional games, Cuop chieu, and Keo chu.

Source: dtinews.vn

Collected by Vietnam hotel

Hidden in rugged Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park near the border with Laos, the cave is part of a network of 150 or so caves, many still not surveyed, in the Annamite Mountains.

Son Dong Cave in Quang Binh province was discovered in 2009 by the British Royal Cave Society in the World Natural Heritage Area of Phong Nha Ke Bang, with 150metres long and measures a towering 200metres in height – seven times as high as the vaulted ceiling of York Cathedral.

The cave was originally discovered in 1991 by a Vietnamese Jungle man called Ho Khanh. However Mr Spillane said no-one had entered if before because ‘it emitted a frightful wind and noise which was due to a large underground river’.

Immediately, the vast cave in Vietnam began to attract attention from international media such as BBC, CNN, AP and AFP. A stunning photo taken by photographer Carsten Peter in May, 2010 showed a section of Son Doong with a width of about 90 m and a height of almost 243 m.

The British Royal Cave Society confirmed the world’s largest cave has a length of nearly nine kilometres.

The UNESCO-recognized natural heritage site of Hoi An town, in the central province of Quang Nam, welcomed and gave a gift to the fourth millionth visitor of 2010.

The town government gave this special gift to Amelia, a native from Australia, on December 7.

he Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) sent an offical document to Việt Nam’s representative bodies in oversea about the campaign to vote for Hạ Long Bay as a new world’s natural wonder.Accordingly, during the final voting stage, Hạ Long Bay has continously been among destinations earning highest voting rate.

Thus, the MoCST proposed the Việt Nam’s representative bodies, Embassies, media agencies, economic and cultural organisations, pupils and students associations and Vietnamese communities in oversea to put active effort into promotion of Hạ Long Bay, calling for international votes.

Furthermore, The MoCST also sent to these bodies many pictures, documents of Hạ Long Bay as well as instruction for voting steps.

The final voting result will be informed in November 2011.

Hạ Long Bay (Bay of the Descending Dragon), around 165 km from Hà Nội, covers more than 1,550 sq.km with 1,969 islands, including a protected area covering more than 430 sq.km dotted with 755 limestone and schist islands believed to be between 250 and 280 million years old. The bay has been recognised as the world natural and geographical heritage site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

Hạ Long Bay is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign tourists who can travel there by roads or waterway. To vote for Hạ Long bay, twice recognised by the UNESCO for its landscapes and geological values, please visit the website www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees.

Source: Quangninh.gov

The seminar is part of a communication project funded by the German Development Cooperation to protect the park.

“Environment protection and tourism development cannot contradict each other. We support Vietnam through new communication initiatives that will be joined by the local community to protect the environment,” said Constanze Esenwein, a representative from the German Embassy.

The participants discussed their attempts to promote environmental protection in the community.

The project will focus on delivering brochures, organising exhibitions and screening documentaries to help the community learn about environmental protection.

Tourists will be responsible for protecting the diversity of fauna and flora in the park, said Constanze.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is located to the north of the Truong Son mountain range in the central province of Quang Binh, one of the world’s two largest limestone regions.

The over 200,000ha park includes beautiful formations, grottoes and caves, and boasts lush forests covering 95 percent of the land.

According to initial statistics, the tropical forest in the park houses 140 families, 427 branches, and 751 species of plants, of which 36 are endangered and listed in the Vietnam Red Book.

The forest is also home to 381 species of four-legged invertebrates. Sixty-six species are listed in the Viet Nam Red Book and 23 others in the World Red Book.

Source: VNA

Dai Noi, which is divided into the Hoang Thanh (Hue royal citadel) and Tu Cam Thanh (forbidden citadel), is the largest most-important heritage building in the ancient capital. It was started in 1804 and finished in 1833. There are 100 different constructions inside the palaces but most of them were destroyed by natural disasters and wars. UNESCO has contributed money to restore parts of the citadel.

Hue was the capital of Vietnam during the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945). The city which is 1,066 kilometers north of HCMC has a distinctive geography, history, culture, architecture and culture. Nowadays, Hue attracts tourists to its temples and royal tombs that were acknowledged as World Heritage by the UNESCO in 1993.

The Saigon Times Daily’s photo-journalist Kinh Luan captures some of the romantic city’s history and natural beauty that Vibeke Jensen, head of the UNESCO office in Vietnam, was speaking about, when she said Hue was “One of the few places in the world that has both global-value tangible and intangible heritages.”

The 400 meter-long Trang Tien Bridge across Huong River was designed by architect Gustav Eiffel in 1897 and finished after two years. In the war time, the bridge was destroyed twice. Built on the banks of Huong River in 1601, Thien Mu is the city’s most famous pagoda. Lord Nguyen Hoang Lord named it Thien Mu after a legend about a woman who fell from heaven to announce a time of prosperity. Poetic Huong river and majestic Ngu Binh Mountain in the background are icons of hue. People say they are as solemn and as unobtrusive as Hue people.