With its majestic natural landscape, outstanding global values in terms of aesthetics, geology, geomorphology, the stature and value of Ha Long Bay are continuously honored with world titles, especially with 3 times being recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage. This is an honor and pride for Quang Ninh province, but also an extremely heavy responsibility in protecting, preserving and maintaining the values that the heritage bay possesses.
Exactly 30 years ago, on December 17, 1994, at the 18th Session in Phuket, Thailand, the World Heritage Committee recognized Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage with outstanding universal aesthetic value according to the criteria of the International Convention for the Protection of the World's Natural and Cultural Heritage. Ha Long Bay became the first heritage of Vietnam to be recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage.
Then, on December 2, 2000, at the 24th Plenary Session in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, the World Heritage Committee continued to recognize Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage for the second time according to the criteria of geological and geomorphological values.
On September 16, 2023, in the capital of Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the boundary of the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay of Quang Ninh province was approved by the World Heritage Committee to extend to Cat Ba Archipelago of Hai Phong City. This event has made Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago the first World Natural Heritage in Vietnam with a boundary located on the territory of two provinces. This is also the third time that Ha Long Bay has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage.
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[/caption]With its unique values, Ha Long Bay has been recognized three times by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage.
Regarding national titles, in 1962, Ha Long Bay was ranked as a National Monument by the Ministry of Culture and Information, now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. On August 12, 2009, Ha Long Bay was ranked as a Special National Monument by the Vietnamese Government. On July 8, 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded the title of Vietnam's Leading Tourist Area to Ha Long Bay.
With an area of 1,553km2, Ha Long Bay is a convergence of nearly 2,000 large and small islands, creating a beautiful, majestic, eye-catching, enchanting landscape that captivates people. Ha Long Bay contains many rocky islands with strangely beautiful shapes, such as: Hon Ga Choi, Dinh Huong, Con Coc..., along with hundreds of caves with extremely special and magical scenery created by nature such as: Sung Sot Cave, Thien Cung Cave, Dau Go Cave, Bo Nau Cave, Me Cung Cave, Luon Cave...
With its unique aesthetic value blending the sea and rocky mountains, along with its own geological values, typical evidence of geological evolution and natural tectonic movements, a system of rocky islands, caves, saltwater lakes, caves, ancient underground caves..., Ha Long Bay is one of the destinations that domestic and foreign tourists love to visit. The proof is that in 30 years of becoming a World Natural Heritage, Ha Long Bay has welcomed nearly 60 million domestic and international tourists.
In particular, the heritage bay has been honored by many major newspapers, famous travel magazines, television channels, and organizations around the world. Typically: On April 27, 2012, the New Open World Organization awarded the title of New World Natural Wonder to Ha Long Bay; in March 1997, it was honored as the most beautiful bay in the world; the famous travel platform Tripadvisor selected it as the most popular destination in the world; the famous American travel website The Travel honored it as the most visited natural wonder in the world; the American Forbes magazine ranked Ha Long Bay among the best destinations; the famous international magazine Condé Nast Traveler also included Ha Long Bay in the list of the most beautiful destinations in the world...
During the three decades of Ha Long Bay becoming a World Natural Heritage, Quang Ninh has identified the heritage bay as a treasure bestowed by nature. The province has always made efforts and responsibilities to synchronously implement many pioneering and breakthrough solutions to prioritize the management, conservation and sustainable development of the heritage. In particular, the province has prioritized the conservation and preservation of the heritage, closely linked to the focus on selective, sustainable and comprehensive development of the heritage economy; focusing on developing green and sustainable tourism, effectively exploiting and promoting the values and potentials of Ha Long Bay, thereby preserving the heritage for future generations.
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