Admire the largest "natural painting" in Vietnam

Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve, Gia Van Commune, Ninh Binh Province is a remaining intact inland wetland in the Red River Delta. With an area of 2,736 hectares, of which 3/4 is rocky mountains, 1/4 is wetland.

Van Long possesses its own unique wetland ecosystem and underground hydrology rarely seen in the Indochina region, including rivers, shallow lakes and rich wetland vegetation, with specific ecology creating an extremely unique natural landscape.

Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve is a key national tourist area, holding two records from the Vietnam Record Book Center in 2010: "Place with the largest number of Delacour's langurs" and "Place with the largest natural picture" - the picture of Meo Cao Mountain.

This place is surrounded by a system of towering limestone mountains, featuring about 1,000 beautiful caves and typical vegetation of the limestone mountain ecosystem. This is the main habitat of the Delacour's langur, one of the globally endangered primates and only found in Vietnam.

Mr. Tran Quang Vinh in Phu Tho shared: Ninh Binh has many beautiful landscapes, however in Van Long the space is extremely peaceful, the unique system of towering limestone mountains, many caves combined with the swamp landscape make me feel like I am lost in an incredibly beautiful ink painting.

Mr. Tran Xuan Quang, Thap Ninh village, Gia Van commune said: We, the local people, always join hands to implement measures to protect the environment and preserve the wild beauty of Van Long. For over 20 years, no households have arbitrarily cut down trees, taken ornamental stones or illegally hunted animals in the Van Long lagoon area.

Today’s achievements are the result of the great efforts of the local people. There are few places where the community is united and actively participates in conservation work for decades like in Van Long, so many organizations and research groups from many countries around the world come here to study and gain experience.

In 2019, Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve was honored to be recognized as the 9th Ramsar site of Vietnam and the 2,360th Ramsar site in the world. By June 2022, it was approved and certified by the Global Green List Committee (IUCN) as the first Green List of Vietnam and Southeast Asia. This is the clearest evidence of the conservation results achieved as well as contributions to global biodiversity goals.

Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve has unique biodiversity with 457 species of higher plants (8 species listed in the Red Book), 39 species of animals (12 rare animals, including the White-rumped Langur with the largest population in Vietnam).

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/du-lich/chiem-nguong-buc-tranh-tu-nhien-lon-nhat-viet-nam-158598.html