Explore Vung Vieng fishing village on Ha Long Bay

Photo caption — Tourists visit the gate of Vung Vieng fishing village

According to statistics from the Ha Long Bay Management Board, in the first 7 months of the year, Vung Vieng fishing village welcomed 39,049 visitors, including 37,144 international visitors, accounting for more than 95%. Vung Vieng is also known as one of the most beautiful fishing villages in the world by many international travel magazines.

Vung Vieng Fishing Village is directly managed by the Ha Long Bay Management Board and the Van Chai Ha Long Tourism Service Cooperative is the unit that invests in infrastructure to organize service activities for tourists. Coming to Vung Vieng fishing village, tourists can go from Tuan Chau tourist port, about 20 km away.

After a 30-minute boat ride, a small, peaceful fishing village nestled among limestone mountains appears before your eyes. As soon as you step onto the Ha Long Bay Management Board's Control Station, fishermen and tour guides will give you a brief introduction to Vung Vieng fishing village.

Accordingly, before 2014, this floating village was home to 30 households and more than 300 fishermen for many generations. Since ancient times, local fishermen have chosen this area to establish a fishing village because it is sheltered from the wind and surrounded by high limestone mountains, thus avoiding storms. In the past, in addition to buying food from the mainland, fishermen also caught seafood around the village to serve their livelihood needs.

Since 2014, in order to help fishermen have a more stable life, the local government has asked people to move to the mainland to live. Fishermen are provided with houses and jobs to help their lives become better and more stable.

Currently, in Vung Vieng fishing village there are about 30 floating houses but no fishermen live there. However, during the day, they still come here to fish and do small-scale aquaculture to both make a living and perform for tourists.

Mr. Vu Van Hung, Deputy Director of Van Chai Ha Long Tourism Service Cooperative, shared that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors to the fishing village decreased and they were mainly foreign visitors. On average, the village welcomes more than 100 visitors per day. To attract and retain more visitors, it is necessary to diversify services, open more attractions, beaches, and experiences for visitors.

Vung Vieng area is considered a place of wild and peaceful beauty. Coming here, visitors will kayak or take a bamboo boat with fishermen rowing along the clear blue waters, on both sides are rocky mountains with beautiful shapes and lush green trees. In particular, along the route are rafts and huts of the locals creating a lyrical and peaceful scene. In addition, visitors can go up to the seafood rafts of the locals to take check-in photos, learn about fish and snail farming here or experience fishing and catching seafood with fishermen; and enjoy the seafood caught here.

A unique scene in Vung Vieng fishing village is a giant stone arch created by nature, with a gap in the middle of a mountain, where small boats can pass through. The image of a giant stone arch shaped like a village gate in the middle of the ocean is placed right at the entrance to welcome visitors.

Mr. Praveen Reddy, a tourist from India, shared that this was his second time coming to Ha Long, the environment and atmosphere here have improved a lot. This time, his family visited Vung Vieng fishing village. It was wonderful to explore the place and the life of fishermen in this fishing village in the heart of Ha Long Bay. According to him, the heritage is not only beautiful scenery but also the culture and life of fishermen in the heritage area are also the resonance points to create its uniqueness. Ha Long Bay is wonderful, he and his family will continue to explore many more places here.

Mr. Lennon, a tourist from Brazil, was impressed by the beauty of Vung Vieng fishing village. He said: "I saw many positive reviews online about Vung Vieng fishing village. Indeed, when I came here, I found this place to have a surprising beauty that I had never seen before. Thanks to Vung Vieng, I want to explore more interesting places in Ha Long Bay, and at the same time take many beautiful photos to show off to my friends."

Mr. Vu Van Khuyen, a fisherman in Vung Vieng fishing village, shared that his family has been attached to the fishing village since the early days, witnessing many ups and downs of the fishing village. Every day, many visitors come to visit the fishing village, mainly foreigners. They like to kayak or go by bamboo boat to explore the fishing village. They also like to go to the aquaculture rafts to watch the process of raising and feeding fish.

According to the Ha Long Bay Management Board, since April 2016, the pilot project of sustainable aquaculture associated with responsible tourism in Vung Vieng has been implemented. This is an environmentally friendly aquaculture model associated with responsible tourism within the framework of the project "Ha Long - Cat Ba Alliance Initiative". Aquaculture must be associated with environmental protection of Ha Long Bay heritage, raised in an environmentally friendly manner, using industrial feed instead of fresh feed, using aquatic breeds of clear origin, choosing species suitable for the ecosystem. Instead of aiming to create maximum aquaculture output, this pilot aquaculture model is developed into a tourism product. Visitors to Vung Vieng area will be able to row bamboo boats to visit the aquaculture area, join fishermen in taking care of fish, releasing bait and enjoying coastal cuisine in a peaceful space.

After visiting Vung Vieng, visitors can continue to explore the nearby Tung Sau area. This is a closed sea area with beautiful scenery, calm waves with ecosystems typical of Ha Long Bay. Visitors can explore the pearl farming facility. Here, visitors can witness firsthand the processes of forming a precious pearl, from culturing to harvesting and processing. Visitors can also buy pearl products as gifts.

TH (According to Tin Tuc newspaper)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/kham-pha-lang-chai-vung-vieng-tren-vinh-ha-long-390303.html