Halong city
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8 Aug
posted by adminCategories: Halong Information
Tags: cat ba island, gulf of tonkin, halong bay, halong bay vietnam
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Halong city is one of the
fastest developing cities in north east Vietnam. Ha Long City is
not likely to win prizes for its architecture or facilities, but
it is by no means the hell-hole portrayed in the ‘Lonely Planet’
travel guide.
The city is the provincial capital of Quang Ninh province, and
was created in the nineties by amalgamating Bai Chay, a tourist
area, with the much larger industrial and commercial area of
Hong Gai. The considerable differences between the two elements,
and their separation by a busy vehicle ferry crossing the Cua
Luc estuary, made them uneasy bedfellows at first, but time and
the imminent construction of a bridge is bringing them together.
Surprisingly, the tourist area of Bai Chai is the less
attractive area for the serious traveller. Ha Long City's market
The long seafront suffers from uncontrolled and inappropriate
development, and apart from the hotels, restaurants and souvenir
shops (mostly poor quality), and the Royal Park, a long seafront
development with few distinctive attractions, there is little
reason to spend much time there. Almost invariably, we recommend
our clients to spend the night on a well-equipped boat on Ha
Long Bay
Of course, Ha Long City’s fame is its location facing the World
Heritage Area of Ha Long Bay. The main access point is a purpose
built wharf to the west of Bai Chay. Its location means that the
large numbers of day-trip visitors by-pass Ha Long City
altogether, thus depriving the local community of much-needed
income. If time permits, a visit to Hong Gai is worthwhile.