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Tam
Cung Grotto |
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 The
Tam Cung
Grotto or
Three-palace
Grotto is
situated in
the centre
of Hạ Long
Bay, 5 km
from Sửng
Sôt Grotto
to the
northeast.
The grotto
itself is
divided into
three parts;
after
threading
the stone
cracks, you
find the
first
chamber.
Many
beautiful
forms can be
garnered
from the
rocky
shapes.
Continuing
on to the
second
chamber, the
bumpy way
leads to a
spring with
fresh water.
The last
room
contains
further
incredible
stone
depictions.
Tam Cung
Grotto lies
in Mây Đèn,
a luxuriant
island
nearly
isolated
from other
islands. Mây
Ðèn’s cliffs
are
extremely
vertical,
while its
forest is
flourishing.
 Entering
its first
chamber, one
can hear the
sound of
t’rung or
stone
musical
instrument
from near
and far.
Pushing
further
inside,
tourists
meet a
“fairy”
whose white
beard flies
in the wind
climbing the
mountain.
High in the
wall of the
chamber
there stand
three
statues
representing
prosperity,
happiness
and
longevity,
looking down
at the
earthly
world. From
the ceiling
falls down a
stalactite
which
resembles
the bud of a
hydrangea
among a
garden of
stone
flowers.
Going
through a
narrow
passage, one
comes to a
natural
museum of
lively
animals,
including
lions,
seals, even
god of the
sea. In the
middle of
the second
chamber lies
a stream
murmuring
all year
round,
making the
two
surrounding
cliffs
rustle. In
the last
chamber,
tourists can
find an
imposing
bas-relief
in which are
carved
elaborate
strange
images,
lying layer
after layer
in a
harmonious
layout. One
can figure
out flowers,
bamboos,
stone
curtains, or
sleeping
elephants.
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Halong Bay
Beauty of
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Halong Bay
Userful
Information |
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 Ha
Long Bay is located in the
northeastern part of Vietnam and
constitutes part of the western bank
of Bac Bo Gulf, including the sea
area of
Ha Long Bay City and Cam Pha
Town and part of Vân Don island
district. It abuts Cat Ba Island in
the southwest. Toward the west is
the shore with a 120 km-long
coastline. It is located within
106o58’-107o22’ east longitude and
within 20o45’- 20o50’ north
latitude. The site is 1553 sq. km
with 1969 islands of various sizes,
of which 989 have been named.
The islands in
Ha Long Bay are mainly limestone
and schist islands most lying in the
two main areas: the southeastern
part of Bái Tu Long Bay and
southwestern part of
Ha Long Bay . These islands
represent the most ancient images of
a geographical site having a
tectonic age of from 250 million to
280 million years. They are the
result of many times of rising and
lowering processes of the continent
to form a karst. The process of
nearly full erosion and weathering
of the karst created the unique
Ha Long Bay in the world. In a
not very large area, thousands of
islands with different forms look
like glittering emeralds attached to
the blue scarf of a virgin. The area
where many stone islands concentrate
has spectacular scenes and
world-famous caves and is the center
of
Ha Long Bay Natural Heritage,
including HaLong Bay and a part of
Bái Tu Long Bay.
The area is recognized as the World
Natural Heritage that is the area of
434 sq. km with 775 islands. It
looks like a giant triangle with Ðầu
Go Island (in the west), Ba Hom Lake
(in the south) and Cong Tây Island
(in the east) as its three angle
points. The nearby area is the
buffer area and areas classified as
national beauty spots in 1962 by the
Ministry of Culture and Information.
 Viewed
from above,
Ha Long Bay looks like an
extremely vivid huge drawing. This
is a wonderful and skilful
masterpiece of the Creation and of
nature that turns thousands of dumb
soulless stone islands into
fantastic sculptural and artistic
works of various graceful shapes,
both familiar and strange to human
beings. Thousands of islands
emerging uneven in the fanciful
waves look strong and magnificent
but also mild and vivid. Amidst
these islands we feel as if we were
astray in a petrified legendary
world. There are many names given to
islands according to their shapes
and forms. This one looks like
somebody heading toward the shore:
Hòn Ðuu Nguoi (Human Head Island);
that one looks like a dragon
hovering above the sea surface: Hòn
Rông (Dragon Island); another looks
like an old man sitting fishing: Hòn
Lã Vong; some look like big sails
struggling amidst the wind to set
off for the sea: Hòn Cánh Buom (Sail
Island); then two islands look like
a pair of chicken lovingly playing
with each other above the sea: Hòn
Trong Mái (Male and Female Chicken
Island); and amid the vast sea
stands an island like a big incense
burner like a ritual offering to
Heaven: Hòn Lo Huong (Incense Burner
Island). All are so real that people
are taken aback by them. Those stone
islands have experienced
unpredictable changes over time and
they take different shapes from
different angles of view. Here, we
come to realize that they are not
dumb inanimate things but are vivid
and soulful.
Inside the stone islands are various
breath-taking caves, such as Thiên
Cung, Ðau Go, Sung Sot, Trinh Nu,
Tam Cung and others. These are
really magnificent palaces of the
Creation on earth. Long ago,
Ha Long Bay has been called by
the great national poet Nguyễn Trãi:
“a wonder of the earth erected
towards the high sky”. Many men of
letters from all over the world have
been taken aback at the grandiose
scenery of Hạ Long. They seem to get
puzzled and incompetent as their
treasure of vocabulary is not rich
enough to depict the splendor of
this place.
 Ha
Long Bay is also attached to
glorious pages of Vietnamese
history, with famous sites such as
Vân Ðồn, a bustling trade port in
the 12th century, charming Bài Thơ
Mountain, and not very far away from
here is the Bạch Đằng River which
witnessed two famous naval battles
of the Viêt’s ancestors against
invaders. Also, Hạ Long is one of
the cradles of human kind with the
glorious Hạ Long culture in the late
Neolithic age, discovered at such
archeological sites as Ðộng Mang,
Xích Thổ, Soi Nhụ and Thoi Giếng.
Ha Long Bay is also home to
great biodiversity with typical
eco-systems like mangrove forest,
coral and tropical forest. It is
also home to thousands of plants and
animals of numerous species, for
example shrimp, fish and squid. Some
species are particularly rare and
can be found no where else.
With such special values, at the
18th Session of UNESCO’s Council of
World Heritage held on 17 December
1994 in Thailand, Hạ Long Bay was
officially placed on the list of the
World Natural Heritage. In 2000,
UNESCO recognized it as the World
Heritage for the second time for its
geographical and geomorphologic
values. This confirms the global
premier value of
Ha Long Bay .
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