Ha Long Bay officially named new world wonder

 

The New 7 Wonders named the finalists on November 11, 2011, including the Amazon in South America, Viet Nam's Ha Long Bay, Iguazu Falls of Argentina, Jeju Island of the Republic of Korea, Komodo National Park of Indonesia, Puerto Princesa Underground River of the Philippines, and Table Mountain of South Africa.

The campaign for the title provided a good chance to introduce Ha Long Bay as a unique destination of Viet Nam to the world and build up and advertise the brand name of the Vietnamese tourism sector.

It also connected people all over the world in a bid to preserve and promote values of heritages of humankind.

In 2011, Ha Long Bay welcomed 6.6 million of travelers, including 2.5 million foreigners, revealed Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh Province.

In the first quarter of 2012, Hạ Long Bay received 2.4 million of visitors, a year-on-year increase of 20%, with 428,000 foreigners, up 16%.

Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh Province has been recognized twice as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, for its breathtaking landscape and geographical value.

The 1,553-sq.km bay is dotted with 1,969 islands, which collectively offer an exquisite example of karst formation in tropical and humid conditions. One distinctive feature of Ha Long Bay represents in its abundant cave system formed about 11,000 to two million years ago.

The long evolution and erosion of the bay has produced pyramid-shaped karst towers that gave the bay a unique beauty.

The bay accommodates temperate ecosystems suitable for many species of marine animals, in addition to its great cultural and historical value.

Scientists have shown that Ha Long was inhabited by three successive cultures between 3,000 and 18,000 years ago.