Halong Bay - 30 years as a World Natural Heritage

In the past 30 years, Halong Bay (Quang Ninh) has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage three times.

At the 18th Session in Phuket, Thailand in 1994, the World Heritage Committee recognized Halong 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.

Halong Bay became the first heritage of Vietnam to be recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage.

Then, in 2000 at the 24th Plenary Session in Cairns, Queensland, Australia, the World Heritage Committee continued to recognize Halong Bay as a World Natural Heritage for the second time according to the criteria of geological and geomorphological values.

In September 2023, in the capital of Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the boundary of the World Natural Heritage Halong 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 Halong Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago the first World Natural Heritage in Vietnam whose borders lie on two provinces. This is also the third time that Halong Bay has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage.

Regarding national titles, in 1962, Halong Bay was ranked as a national scenic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information, now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In August 2009, Halong Bay was ranked as a special national monument by the Government.

In July 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism awarded the title of Vietnam's Leading Tourist Area to Halong Bay.

Favorite destination
With an area of 1,553km2, Halong Bay is a convergence of nearly 2,000 large and small islands, creating a beautiful, majestic, eye-catching, enchanting landscape that captivates people's hearts.

Halong Bay contains many strangely shaped rocky islands, such as: Ga Choi, Dinh Huong, Con Coc... Along with that are 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 unique aesthetic values blending the sea and rocky mountains, along with its own geological values, typical evidence of geological evolution and natural tectonic movements, the system of rocky islands, caves, saltwater lakes, caves, ancient underground caves...

Halong Bay is one of the favorite destinations for domestic and foreign tourists. As evidence, in the 30 years since becoming a World Natural Heritage, Halong Bay has welcomed nearly 60 million domestic and international tourists.

In particular, the heritage bay is honored by many major newspapers, famous travel magazines, television channels, and organizations around the world.

The famous American travel website The Travel honored Halong Bay as the most visited natural wonder in the world. The American magazine Forbes ranked Halong Bay among the best destinations. The famous international magazine Condé Nast Traveler also included Halong Bay in the list of the most beautiful destinations in the world...

During the three decades since Halong Bay became 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 management, conservation, and sustainable promotion of the heritage.

In particular, the province prioritizes the conservation and preservation of heritage, closely linked to the focus on selective, sustainable and comprehensive development of heritage economy; focusing on developing green and sustainable tourism, exploiting and promoting the values and potentials of Halong Bay effectively, thereby preserving the heritage for future generations.

Private Halong Tours combines different activities for you to enjoy while having the cruise trip such as visit a cave, go kayaking, relax on the wild beach...