With rich imagination and deep love for nature and homeland, ancient Quang Ninh people skillfully imagined the rocky islands in Ha Long Bay as dragons descending from heaven to earth, from which they woven many unique legends. Legends about dragons not only enrich the treasure of Quang Ninh folk literature but also make Ha Long Bay sparkle with legendary beauty.
Since ancient times, the people of Hon Gai have used their imagination to weave the legend of Ha Long Bay: “In the past, when the Vietnamese people had just established their country, the people were living peacefully when foreign invaders invaded their territory. Faced with the strong enemy, the heavens sent a mother dragon with a flock of baby dragons to help fight the enemy. When the enemy boats rushed to attack the shore, the dragons immediately descended to earth, spitting out countless pearls and pearls that turned into thousands of rocky islands standing tall like a solid wall. The enemy boats were blocked and crashed into the rocky islands, crashing into each other and breaking into pieces. After the enemy was defeated, seeing the peaceful scene on earth, the trees flourishing, the people here were industrious, hard-working, united and helping each other, the mother dragon and baby dragons did not return to heaven but stayed on earth. The place where the mother dragon descended was Ha Long, the place where the baby dragons descended to pay homage to the mother dragon was Bai Tu Long. The tails of the dragons wagging white were the dragon tail (nowadays Tra Co)".
There is also a different version of the story to explain the strange shapes of the rocky islands in Ha Long Bay: “In ancient times, our people were very few in number, living peacefully when the enemy army relied on their large numbers to invade. Heaven took pity on our people and sent a group of dragons down to help. The dragons came down to spray pearls, the pearls quickly turned into scattered rocky islands, into a bagua formation to help our people block the enemy's advance. The dragons were attached to this land and did not return to heaven, the dragon children missed their mother and followed her down. The place where the dragon children knelt down to pay respect to their mother was later named Bai Tu Long (child dragons pay respect to their mother). Today, Ha Long Bay still has the shape of a dragon and on Chang Ngo Island in Bai Tu Long Bay there is a range of ten peaks, nine of which face Ha Long, one of which faces the other direction. There is a folk song: “Nine children follow their mother continuously/ The youngest child is determined not to follow”.
In addition, there is a different version but still associated with the image of the dragon: “In ancient times, people living in this area occasionally saw a mother dragon carrying a flock of baby dragons flying down from the sky, playing on the waves. When the land was dry, cracked, and the trees withered, the dragon swallowed large whirlpools that sprayed all over the area. The landscape became lush again. On stormy days, fishing boats returning from far away were in danger. The dragon circled around the boat, shielding it from the big waves and strong winds, guiding it to shore. People loved the dragon, and whenever there was a festival or ceremony in the area, they often brought offerings to the shore to thank the dragon. But then suddenly, the dragons disappeared. The villains came to destroy the innocent people. People brought offerings to the shore, asking for help from the dragon. The mother dragon and her children reappeared, swooping down, spitting fire to burn the villains. The tongues of fire fell into the sea, turning into mountains and islands. The place where the mother dragon landed is now Ha Long Bay, where the children returned to pay homage to their mother is the Bai Tu Long".
Thus, it can be seen that with rich associations, the people here have many different explanations for the formation of Ha Long Bay. In fact, Ha Long Bay has existed since ancient times due to natural geological formations, but the people of Quang Ninh with their soaring folk imagination and the idea of the origin of "Dragon and Fairy's descendants" have chosen a more unique and poetic explanation. Although the stories may differ somewhat, the legends all point to the message: Ha Long is a beautiful land, where the dragon descends to gather the sacred energy of the mountains and rivers.
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