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Bay
of the Descending Dragon
There is a Vietnamese fable about
the creation of Halong Bay. It says that the gods, seeing
an invading Navy approaching the bay, sent down dragons to
drive off the invaders and protect the local people. The gigantic
behemoths smashed up the rocks around the bay with their tails
and stopped the attack - leaving behind over three thousand
rocky islands and outcroppings straggled across the bay. Science,
however, says that the limestone and dolomite karsts were
created by the twin powers of wind and seawater eroding the
rock over a period of millions of years - which sounds almost
as impressive as the dragon theory.
Whichever you choose to believe, the rocks of
Halong Bay, scattered over 1,500 square km, are a remarkable
natural wonder, which is why UNESCO was prompted to name it
one of its World Nature Heritage sites in 1994. Several of
the karsts are hollow and are riddled with caves and grottoes,
some of which have been turned into Buddhist shrines, while
others are studies in the wonderment of nature alone. From
outside the different shapes and sizes of the karsts and islands
have inspired local fisherman to give many of them names for
the animals and objects they most closely represent. Crocodile,
Dragon, Elephant, Fighting Cock, Head of Buffalo, Neck of
Horse, Black Cloud and Teapot, among others, can
The area has also played host to two major Vietnamese
sea victories, in the 10 and 13th centuries, against large
Chinese navies of several hundred vessels. As the navies approached
the estuary to the Bac Dang River, their ships were wrecked
upon thousands of submerged, iron-tipped, spikes - like the
teeth of a dragon.
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