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Halong Bay, legend and
facts
Local legend says that long ago when the Vietnamese were
fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of
dragons to help to defend the land. This family of dragons
began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned
into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking
together to form a great wall against the invaders. The
people kept their land safe and formed what later became
the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were
interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth and
decided to live here then. The place where Mother Dragon
flew down was named Ha Long, the place where the dragon
children attended upon their mother was called Bai Tu Long
islands, and
the place where the dragon children wriggled their tails
violently was called Bach Long Vi islands.
The bay consists of a dense cluster of 1,969 limestone
monolithic islands, each topped with thick jungle
vegetation, which rise spectacularly from the ocean.
Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves.
Hang Dau Go is the largest grotto in
the Halong area. French tourists visited in the late 19th
century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles.
Some of the islands support floating villages of
fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of
fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Many of the
islands have acquired their names as a result of
interpretation of their unusual shapes: such names include
Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi Islet (fighting cock), and
Mai Nha Islet (roof). 989 of the islands have been given
names. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes,
monkeys, and iguanas also live on some of the islands.
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