With its amazing natural beauty and outstanding global values, being the end point in the karst evolution process and the habitat of many rare flora and fauna, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago was officially recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage on September 16, becoming the first inter-regional heritage between two provinces in Vietnam.
Cat Ba Island seen from above. Photo: Internet.
Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago heritage is located in the Northeast of Vietnam with natural areas with a core area of 65,650 hectares and a buffer zone of 34,140 hectares.
This place owns many important national and international titles such as: Ha Long Bay special national monument; Cat Ba archipelago special national scenic monument; Cat Ba National Park; Lan Ha Bay is one of the most beautiful bays in the world; marine reserve; Cat Ba archipelago world biosphere reserve and Ha Long Bay world natural heritage (in 1994 and 2000).
The new natural heritage has a total of 1,133 limestone islands of various shapes and sizes (including 775 limestone islands in Ha Long Bay and 358 limestone islands in Cat Ba archipelago) covered with rich vegetation on the sparkling emerald water surface, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago appears like a chessboard of precious stones with peaceful, overlapping mountains and rivers and pristine, fine white sand beaches.
The Ha Long - Cat Ba sea area consists of many terrigenous and carbonate sedimentary systems, ranging in age from the Paleozoic to the Neoproterozoic. Many sedimentary systems in this area contain paleontological traces in various fossil forms, including groups of flora and fauna that have become extinct or nearly extinct on Earth.
The presence of primary forests , bays and islands on the bays is a unique testament to the continuous movement and development of karst landforms, fengcongs (conical peak clusters) and fenglins (isolated tower features) formed over millions of years in tropical, humid conditions, progressing from high mountain ranges down to the sea, where the karst terrain finally reaches its basic erosion level.
With the intersection of mountains, forests and islands, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago is a typical area with high biodiversity in Asia, possessing 7 adjacent, successively developing tropical and subtropical marine - island ecosystems including: primary tropical rainforest ecosystem; cave ecosystem; mangrove ecosystem; tidal flat ecosystem; coral reef ecosystem; soft bottom ecosystem and saltwater lake ecosystem.
These ecosystems represent ecological and biological processes that are still evolving, developing through a diversity of plant and animal communities.
In particular, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago is also home to many rare species of animals and plants, possessing the largest marine forest in Vietnam with an area of over 17,000 hectares, which is home to 4,910 species of terrestrial and marine animals and plants (of which 198 species are listed in the IUCN Red List and 51 are endemic). The highlight is the Cat Ba langur (Trachypithecus poliocephalus), which is on the list of animals at highest risk of extinction and is listed in the world's Red Book . To date, there are about 60-70 individuals distributed only in Cat Ba, and this species appears nowhere else in the world.
The only Cat Ba Langurs in the world. Source: catba.com.vn
To protect and promote the value of the new world heritage, in the coming time, the authorities of Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province will continue to closely coordinate in management work to maintain the natural environment and promote tourism development.
Mr. Hoang Tuan Anh, Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City Tourism Association, said that the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago area needs a suitable and synchronous management and exploitation mechanism, especially with more investment from Hai Phong. Cat Ba's capacity is more limited, leading to travel companies having to design tourism programs to be convenient, with the shortest distance, the most convenient cost... We ourselves must prepare, possibly investing in upgrading infrastructure, wharves, reception areas, and designing to diversify products and services. To do that, of course, there must be investment, especially the attention and solutions from state management agencies.
According to statistics from the People's Committee of Cat Hai district, since the beginning of the year, the number of tourists to Cat Ba is estimated to have reached nearly 2.5 million; of which, international visitors are estimated to have reached over 400,000. In the district, there are currently more than 310 tourist accommodation establishments with a total of 6,566 rooms, nearly 130 sightseeing and accommodation boats operating in the bays of Cat Ba archipelago.
Currently, Cat Hai district is promoting tourism management and infrastructure investment, making Cat Ba an attractive “Four Seasons Destination” for tourists. Many tourism businesses in Cat Ba are also taking advantage of the opportunity to promote, design and perfect tourism products to welcome tourists, especially international visitors in the near future.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Ninh, Manager of CatBa Amazing Travel Representative Office in Hai Phong, said that right after the information about the UNESCO meeting, CatBa Amazing Travel added “World Natural Heritage” to Cat Ba tourism advertising banners and promoted on digital platforms and prestigious travel sites around the world. To better serve tourists when coming to Cat Ba, this unit hopes that Hai Phong city and Cat Hai district will increase investment and overcome some bottlenecks of local tourism.
With the recognition of the World Natural Heritage, the localities of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh need to turn the potential of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago into unique and specialized tourism products; take advantage of opportunities to promote, develop and preserve the heritage, contributing to the breakthrough and strong growth of tourism in the two localities of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh./.
Yanjiang
Comment (0)