Posted by admin on September 28, 2011 under News | 
Ha Long Bay has received a certificate to participate in the final round of voting for the honour of being named as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
Bernard Weber, Chairman of the New Open World organisation, which is hosting the vote, handed over the certificate to Quang Ninh province on Sept. 27.
Weber said Ha Long Bay’s natural beauty made a strong impression on him the first time he visited the site. He also promised to vote for Ha Long to become a new natural wonder of the world.
According to Pham Minh Chinh, Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee Secretary, many methods for voting will be utilised in the final stages, including via SMS message.
He said Quang Ninh province will invest in tourism infrastructure and services and take measures to protect the environment in Ha Long Bay with the aim of turning the site into an attractive destination for domestic and foreign visitors.
The final result of the voting campaign for the New 7 Wonders of the World will be officially announced on November 1.
Source: VNA
Posted by admin on August 26, 2011 under Halong Festivals, News |
The first National Comedy Festival for northern provinces officially kicked off on August 25 at the Palace of Việt Nam-Japan Culture in Hạ Long city by the Việt Nam Stage Artists Association in cooperation with the Quảng Ninh Department of Culture Sports and Tourism.
The event attracts nearly 700 comedians from 22 professional troupes of drama, cai luong (Reformed Theatre), cheo (Traditional operetta), tuong (Classical drama) and circus.
The Organising Board will select the best works for the “Comedy Gala” night held on August 31st with participation of famous artists including Meritorious Artist Hồng Vân, Hoài Linh, Xuân Bắc, Tự Long, etc.
Besides, some outstanding performances will be selected for later event to mark the Việt Nam Stage Day in Hà Nội on September 7th.
The first National Comedy Festival for northern provinces will last until September 1st.
According to the organising board, the first National Comedy Festival for southern provinces is expected to be held in November, 2011 in Ho Chi Minh City./.
(Source: QNP)
Posted by admin on August 17, 2011 under Halong Festivals, News |
Comedy troupes nationwide will have an opportunity to take part in a comedy festival this month.
Lots of famous performers around the nation will gather at the festival such as Xuân Bắc, Tự Long, Chí Trung, Quang Thắng, Quốc Trượng, Vân Dung, Hồng Vân, Anh Vũ, Hoài Linh, Thúy Nga, Việt Hương, etc. Those performers judged the most creative will receive medals.
According to the Việt Nam Stage Artists Association, troupes in the northern area will perform on stage in Hạ Long city, Quảng Ninh province from August 25 to September 1 while southern groups will perform in November.
“We chose Quảng Ninh because the province attracts thousands of tourists and local people have great interest in arts performances,” association president Lê Tiến Thọ said.
Up to now, 22 northern troupes have already registered for the festival to be organized in Quảng Ninh, according to the deputy head of the organizing committee Trần Nhượng./.
(Source: QNP)
Posted by admin on July 20, 2011 under News |
Thanks to its unique value, Ha Long Bay may be recognized as the World’s Geological Park, said specialists in the annual conference on heritages sites, biosphere reserves and global geological parks in Việt Nam on July 19.
According to experts, Ha Long Bay has outstanding global geological value. The total area of Ha Long Bay is 1,553 sq. km with 1969 islands of various sizes, of which 989 have been named. Most of the islands on Ha Long Bay are limestone and were formed over 500 million years ago, and are massed in the southeast and southwest. The schist islands scattered in the southeast have an average height of between 50-200m, and have a rich covering of flora.
The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The process of nearly full erosion and weathering of the karst created the unique Hạ Long Bay in the world.
In addition, historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistoric human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago.
According to the Head of Ha Long Bay Management Board Ngô Văn Hùng, the system of interesting and magic caves, lakes and bays is one of the important features that help Ha Long Bay to become a global geological park.
Within the islands of the Bay there are hundreds of beautiful caves of different shapes and sizes, including many famous names such as Thiên Cung, Đầu Gỗ, Sửng Sốt, Tam Cung and Bồ Nâu, etc. Some of them are archaeological sites retaining tangible archaeological evidence, such as Đầu Gỗ, Bồ Nâu, Sửng Sốt, Soi Nhụ, Tiên Long, Mê Cung and Trinh Nữ caves.
Thus, Quang Ninh is planning to build a geological park in Ha Long Bay which is expected to be admitted to the UNESCO Global Geo-parks Network (GGN) in the near future, said Mr. Hùng./.
(Source: QNP)
Posted by admin on July 9, 2011 under Halong Festivals, News |
The 14th Trà Cổ Festival was organized from June 30 to July 6 (or from the 30th day of the fifth lunar month until the sixth day of the sixth lunar month) in Móng Cái city.
The procession of the King to the sea
Trà Cổ Communal House was built nearly 600 years ago to commemorate the tutelar genies of the village. The festival held every year also aims at memorizing the merit of the tutelary genies of the village and prays good lucks to villagers.
This year’s festival included a wide range of traditional and attractive activities. The festivities began with the procession of the King to the sea accompanied by an armed troop, an orchestra, a strong and young man chosen by the village people holding the flag and carrying palanquin.
After the ritual procession, there were agricultural contests, such as a pig-breeding competition. The animals receive intensive care many months before from their masters in hopes of getting the first prize.
A cooking contest was held from June 3-5. After the contest, the best cooks acquired fame throughout the village.
The festivities ended on June 6 with a flower dance. In this rituals, the people prayed to the genies to allow them to catch more fish, to have good lucks to their trading activities and to have prosperous lives./.
(Source: QNP)
Posted by admin on June 13, 2011 under News |
The Vietnam Institute of Archeology in cooperation with Hạ Long Management Department has discovered a vestige of an ancient pottery port at Trinh Nu grotto, Halong Bay.
According to Associate Professor-Doctor Trình Năng Chung, some vestiges of a pottery port belong to the Van Don ancient commercial port system existing in this area between 14th and 18th century has been found in the area of Trinh Nu grotto.
Previously, archeologists, in 2000, also found the vestiges of pre-historic people of Ha Long culture at this grotto.
About 15 km south of Bai Chay Beach, the Trinh Nu Grotto or Virgin Grotto is situated on the island range of Bồ Hòn in the system comprising the Sung Sot Grotto, Dong Tien Lake and Luon Grotto. It is also an attractive destination for tourists to Halong Bay because of its beauty and romatic legend.
Source: QN Gov
Posted by admin on June 9, 2011 under News |
The Ha Long Bay Management Department in collaboration with the Fauna and Flora International (FFI) has opened an exhibition on the EcoBoat, an environmental education program on the bay’s Thien Cung Cave, reports VietnamPlus.
Thien Cung Cave
To showcase Ecoboat’s outstanding performance in the last six years, the exhibition displays poems and paintings featuring a wide range of activities launched by the program to help create a forever green, clean and beautiful bay.
Established in 2005 by the Ha Long Bay Management Department and the Fauna and Flora International (FFI), the EcoBoat serves as a floating school that educates children about the values of Ha Long Bay as well as a call to preserve the world heritage site.
Students join many practical activities such as exploring values and potentialities of Halong Bay, socio-economic development effects on ecological system, biological significance of the marine reserve, as well as joining in planting trees on mangrove forests, evaluating water quality or collecting garbage on the beach and having fun on the beach, swimming, fishing, making camp fires and cruising around the bay.
The program, funded by the UK’s Darwin Initiative, has carried out a total of 136 trips with the participation of over 4,000 members since April 2006.
The exhibition contributes to the campaign to garner votes for Ha Long Bay as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, and raises public awareness about environmental protection of the world heritage site.
Source: Saigon Times
Posted by admin on June 6, 2011 under News |
The Vietnam Record Book Center (Vietkings) has sent the file of the Bronze Pagoda to the Asian Record Book Center to nominate it as the biggest bronze-made pagoda in Asia.
The pagoda was named in the Vietnam Guinness Book of Records as the biggest bronze-made pagoda in Vietnam.
The pagoda was built in Le Dynasty (1428-1527) in Thuong Yen Cong Commune, Uong Bi City, Quảng Ninh Province, has long been an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination. It is situated on the peak of Yen Tu mountain at the height of over 1,086 meters.
With the total area of 20 square meters, the four meter high pagoda was cast in 60 tons of pure bronze, at a cost of VND 21.2 billion (US $1.32 million) by experienced artisans from the northern province of Nam Dịnh.
Located 130 km northwest of Hà Nội, Yen Tu has been an important Buddhist pilgrimage site since the 10th century. It used to be a center of Vietnamese Buddhism where the Truc Lam school of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism originated in the 13th century.
At the end of the 13th century, after defeating the Mongolian invaders, King Tran Nhan Tong abdicated in favour of his son and left for Yen Tu to live as a religious acetic, eventually founding the Zen Buddhist sect.
Source: QN Gov
Posted by admin on June 2, 2011 under News |
The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) on May 30 asked universities and schools across the country to launch a plan on promoting Halong Bay‘s selections as one of the world’s new seven natural wonders.
Accordingly, these educational institutions will encourage their students to vote for Hạ Long Bay at the address www.travelandculture.vn or the mail address at icd-info@travel.vn in Vietnam or the official voting platform at www.new7wonders.com.
This is also one of the main activities that MOET will undertake in the summer of 2011.
In order to become one of the new 7 wonders of the world, the bay needs to collect 60 million votes. Thus, Quang Ninh province in particular and Vietnam in general have conducted a huge advertising campaign for the bay to attract as many votes as possible.
Posted by admin on May 25, 2011 under News |
Ha Long, Vietnam’s world natural heritage, gained the highest growth in votes in the poll for the seven new world natural wonders on www.new7wonders.com last month.
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| Ha Long Bay |
The bay currently takes the lead in the poll, followed by South Korea’s Jeju Island.
On www.new7wonders.com, Ha Long Bay always took the lead in the last several days.
In May, Vietnam promoted its advertisement and canvas for the bay with many activities held in Vietnam and abroad.
Vietnam and South Korea have joined hands to vote for Ha Long Bay and Jeju Island. On website http://www.jeju-halong.com, the Vietnamese page, there are over 2,500 votes for the two landscapes.
The poll for the new seven world natural wonders is now in the last stage, with 28 candidates. The winners will be announced on November 11, 2011.
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. The Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistoric human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago.
In 1962, the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism designated Ha Long Bay a ‘Renowned National Landscape Monument’.
Ha Long Bay was first listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, in recognition of its outstanding, universal aesthetic value. In 2000 the World Heritage Committee additionally recognised Ha Long Bay for its outstanding geological and geomorphological value, and its World Heritage Listing was updated.
In 2009, the New 7 Wonders Foundation, which runs the New Seven Wonders of the World programme, including Halong Bay on its list of nominations as one the World’s 7 Natural Wonders.
Source: DTI News
