Officials and staff of the Ha Long Bay Management Board planted trees in the Thien Cung Cave area.
Accompanying Heritage
On December 17, 1994, Ha Long Bay was officially recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site. Alongside the immense pride and the opening of new prospects for Quang Ninh province, this event also highlighted the urgent need for a specialized agency to manage and preserve the heritage, befitting its status as a World Heritage Site.
Arising from this need, on December 9, 1995, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province officially decided to establish the Ha Long Bay Management Board, with the function of assisting the Provincial People's Committee in state management of conservation, exploitation, and promotion of the value of the Ha Long Bay Heritage Site. The Ha Long Bay Management Board is entrusted with the responsibility of coordinating with departments, agencies, and localities to implement solutions for protecting and preserving the outstanding global value while sustainably exploiting and promoting the potential and strengths of the heritage site; building a management model that meets the requirements of the International Convention on the Conservation and Promotion of Heritage; and creating the image of a responsible, friendly, and professional heritage site.
From its early days, the Ha Long Bay Management Board embarked on building management mechanisms according to international standards, despite initial uncertainties. Mr. Nguyen Cong Thai, former Deputy Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board from 1995 to 2016, shared: "In the years 1995-2000, when the Ha Long Bay Management Board was first established, conditions were very challenging. There were few staff members, only 12 officials and workers, yet they had to manage a vast area of over 1,553 km², with dispersed resources; pressure from uncontrolled tourism exploitation in the heritage site; and an incomplete legal framework… However, with determination and innovative thinking, the leadership team and the staff of the Board laid important foundations for the modern management, conservation, and promotion of heritage values as we see today."
Officials from the Ha Long Bay - Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board, in coordination with relevant authorities, organized a garbage collection effort in Ha Long Bay.
To effectively manage and control socio-economic activities in the Bay, minimizing negative impacts on the heritage site, the Ha Long Bay Management Board has proactively advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue numerous policies and mechanisms, promptly improving the effectiveness of management work. It has also advised the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Council to issue specialized resolutions on the management, conservation, and promotion of Ha Long Bay's value. Simultaneously, playing a proactive and positive role, the Board has taken the lead in coordinating with provincial and central agencies, departments, and localities to propose many groundbreaking and effective solutions, creating fundamental changes in the management, conservation, and promotion of the Ha Long Bay Heritage site.
Thousands of continuous patrols; dozens of environmental parameters monitored; dozens of scientific projects developed on biodiversity conservation, coral reef restoration, and habitat destruction control. From small actions such as collecting garbage in the bay, inspecting tourist boats, and guiding fishermen to large-scale programs, the Board actively coordinated with relevant departments, agencies, and localities to advise and organize implementation, such as: Relocating fishing village households in the Bay to live on land since 2014, ensuring social security and welfare for the people; prohibiting fishing in the strictly protected area of the heritage site since 2018; implementing planning for aquaculture sites outside the strictly protected area; ending the loading and unloading of bulk goods such as clinker, cement, and wood chips in the Bay; The inclusion of the limestone mountain forest ecosystem in Ha Long Bay, covering a total area of over 5,000 hectares, into the special-use forest system and the establishment of a nature reserve have ensured strict protection of the ecosystems in Ha Long Bay. All of this has created a model heritage area that consistently meets the high standards of the World Heritage Committee.
Cruise ship operators are implementing a program called "Say No to Single-Use Plastic Waste in Ha Long Bay".
Geological conservation is a priority not only on the water's surface but also within the caves. Since 2010, the Ha Long Bay Management Board and the Institute of Geological Sciences and Minerals have been conducting conservation work on more than 10 typical caves and islets in the heritage area with special scientific value, including Thien Cung, Dau Go, Sung Sot, etc.; and have discovered 23 new caves in Ha Long Bay, including those with aesthetic and scientific value such as Dinh Thu Cave, Cong Dam Cave, and Huou Cave. Each stalactite and stalagmite in the caves is inspected, recorded, numbered, and strictly protected. Thanks to this, the beauty of the heritage site remains intact.
Furthermore, environmental protection of the heritage site has always been a top priority, with efforts aimed at improving and ensuring the environment of Ha Long Bay and creating new breakthroughs; attracting many projects on environmental protection in Ha Long Bay. These include the Ha Long Bay Environmental Protection Project funded by JICA, the "Enhancing Wastewater Treatment Capacity at Dau Go Island, Ha Long Bay" project by the Japanese Government through the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam; controlling pollution at the source; and replacing styrofoam buoys with sustainable floating materials at floating structures in the Bay. Waste collection and wastewater treatment have also received focused attention, with concentrated resources and equipment to protect the heritage site's environment. Particularly since 2019, the "Say No to Single-Use Plastic Waste in Ha Long Bay" program has contributed to a 90% reduction in single-use plastic waste in the Bay.
Tourists explore the caves in Ha Long Bay.
Through a persistent effort to preserve and promote its heritage, in 2000, Ha Long Bay was recognized for the second time by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its geological and geomorphological value. Particularly, from 2007 to 2011, the Bay Management Board actively carried out numerous campaigns to promote and honor the heritage, campaigning for Ha Long Bay to be voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, spreading the image of Ha Long Bay to the world.
Positioning a high-end tourism brand.
Looking back 30 years, tourism services in Ha Long Bay were simply sightseeing boat trips, visiting some caves, and swimming; activities were scattered and small-scale, with low service quality. Today, tourism products and services have become increasingly diversified, improving service quality and enhancing the visitor experience. The Bay Management Board and businesses have focused on expanding the tourism space, extending the length of visitors' stays, reducing pressure on the heritage area, and developing additional routes, destinations, and tourism products and services with 8 sightseeing itineraries and 5 clusters of overnight accommodations; experimenting with discovery cruises on 3 separate routes. In particular, the night market cruise products offer culinary experiences combined with enjoying music and exploring the coastal beauty at night. Expanding tourism products based on preserving and promoting the historical and cultural values of fishing villages, archaeological sites, and biodiversity in Ha Long Bay always attracts the attention and affection of tourists.
International tourists taking photos in Ha Long Bay.
In addition, the Board has actively coordinated with relevant departments and agencies to advise on the management of tourism service activities in the Bay, the management mechanism for tourist boats in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay, aiming to reduce the number, increase quality, safety and efficiency of operation, and improve fire safety standards for tourist boats.
The Board also focused its investment resources on upgrading, repairing, and improving infrastructure at tourist attractions and overnight accommodation points in Ha Long Bay, applying information technology in collecting entrance fees to ensure safety, aesthetics, and satisfaction for tourists.
The Committee has focused on promoting and publicizing Ha Long Bay through various diverse methods, including: creating dedicated sections on the heritage site in local newspapers and radio stations, erecting large promotional billboards, establishing a separate website about Ha Long Bay in two languages, creating a fan page about Ha Long Bay; and publishing dozens of publications. Simultaneously, the Committee has strengthened its links with the Club of World Heritage Sites in Vietnam to connect information and promote the values and potential of the Ha Long Bay Heritage site.
In addition, the Board has advised the province to maintain close contact with international organizations such as the World Heritage Committee, the World Heritage Centre, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)... Through this, many exchange activities with countries in and outside the region in the fields of economy and culture, especially in the field of heritage management and conservation, have been implemented, and many programs and projects have been funded and carried out, gradually integrating Ha Long into international activities on the protection of world heritage.
Mr. Pham Dinh Huynh – Deputy Head of the Ha Long Bay – Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board – shared: The past three decades have been a journey for the Management Board in making Ha Long Bay a world heritage site highly regarded internationally for its management capacity. Many recommendations from UNESCO have been seriously implemented by the Bay Management Board, such as reducing tourism load, strengthening monitoring, protecting biodiversity, restoring coral reefs, and managing fishing village communities… International experts from Japan, IUCN, UNDP, UNESCO… have continuously surveyed and positively evaluated Ha Long Bay's heritage management model. This is also a reference destination for many international delegations to learn from. From international conferences on heritage, sustainable tourism, and climate change, Ha Long Bay and the Bay Management Board are always mentioned as an example of how Vietnam fulfills its responsibility to a global heritage site.
During her visit to Quang Ninh in late May 2025, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, assessed: "We highly appreciate Quang Ninh province's efforts in addressing environmental challenges and in managing and preserving the Ha Long Bay Heritage site. It is evident that since its recognition as a World Heritage site, Quang Ninh province has made significant efforts to preserve and promote the unique values of Ha Long Bay. This is extremely valuable, because Ha Long Bay is not only a heritage site of Vietnam, but also a heritage site of the whole world."
Thanks to these efforts, over the past 30 years, the World Natural Heritage site of Ha Long Bay has increasingly become an attractive destination, drawing domestic and international tourists, opening up tremendous prospects for the socio-economic development of Quang Ninh province. Over the past 30 years, the number of visitors to Ha Long Bay has reached over 60 million, generating over 9,500 billion VND in entrance fees. Ha Long Bay has been honored with many prestigious titles such as: World Natural Heritage site, special national monument, new natural wonder of the world, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago International Geological Heritage site, leading tourist area in Vietnam, leading tourist destination in Vietnam…
Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hanh shared with Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the World Heritage Center, about solutions for preserving the Ha Long Bay Heritage site.
2025 marks a turning point for the Ha Long Bay Management Board. On November 1st, 2025, the Ha Long Bay – Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board will be officially established through the merger of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the Bai Tu Long National Park Management Board, and the Management Board of Historical Sites and Scenic Spots under the Quang Ninh Department of Culture, Sports & Tourism. With the two World Heritage sites of Ha Long Bay and Yen Tu managed under a single agency according to this new model, the conservation mindset and the connection between nature, culture, and history will be elevated, converging the journeys of the two World Heritage sites, from the mystical blue bay to the sacred Yen Tu mountain. A unified, modern, and professional management model will open up new development opportunities, while maintaining a focus on conservation and promoting the value of the heritage.
It is evident that the past three decades represent a long enough journey to affirm the dedication and intelligence of countless generations of officials and staff of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, now the Ha Long Bay - Yen Tu World Heritage Management Board. They are the guardians of the beauty of each rocky island, the bearers of the image of Ha Long Bay to the world, driven by responsibility and unwavering love. And that journey continues daily through the voyages that transport officials and staff to various tourist sites to carry out their duties, preserving and promoting these values; so that Ha Long Bay continues to shine, not only in the hearts of Vietnamese people, but also in the hearts of friends around the world.
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/hanh-trinh-30-nam-bao-ton-va-phat-huy-gia-tri-di-san-thien-nhien-the-gioi-vinh-ha-long-3387550.html
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