Hon Gai

Across the Halong Bay, Hon Gai has a much mor bustling, workaday feeling that some find more interesting. Bai Chay Bridge which connects both points. Hon Gai, which means “coal mine” in Vietnamese, is known for its open-pit mining in the surrounding hills, as well as its coal warehouses. When the French launched their final successful campaign in the north, they seized Hon Gai in 1883 so safeguard the coal mines. Despite its association with the coal industry, Hon Gai has turned into a bustling area with new shops, hotels and houses.
Near the Hon Gai ferry dock is the 106 meter high Poem Mountain (Nui Bai Tho), named after King Le Thanh Tong who etched a poem about its beauty into the rock in 1486. At the foot of the mountain, the gaudy Long Tien Pagoda (Chau Long Tien), guarded by statues of fierce armoured soldiers, was builts in 1941 and is dedicated to the popular General Tran Hung Dao of the Tran Dynasty.