1. There are nearly 3,000 tall, rocky islands located in HaLong Bay. They are in 2 types karst and schist.
2. Less than half of the islands have been named, most of the names are based on the islands shape.
3. Halong Bay means ‘Bay of the Descending Dragons’ and mythology says the islands were formed from the jewels and jade dropped from the mouth of dragons sent by the gods.
4. Halong Bay was inscribed to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1994, UNESCO world heritage committee in 2012, and it was included in the New Seven Natural Wonders of the World in 2012.
5. Halong Bay is the home to species of approximately 507 plants, 200 fish, more than 200 coral, numerous molluscs, 71 birds, 45 reptiles.
6. Most of the islands and rock formations in Halong Bay are uninhabitable, due to the very high and steep nature of the islands, although the largest island in the bay, Cat Ba Island, has approximately 13,000 occupants.
7. It is believed that some limestone formations in Halong Bay may be as much as 20 million years old.
8. It took over 500 million years for Halong Bay’s magical islands to form beneath the sea and rise up into the air.
9. Halong Bay has about 20 limestone caves that are already explored, and some of them are open for tourists.
10. In the 1997 James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies, James and Wai Lin attempt to chase down the dastardly enemy in the Halong Bay area. The bay was also featured as a backdrop in the video game “Street Fighter IV”.
