Bach Long Vi in the northern city of Hai Phong is the farthest island in Vietnam’s Tonkin Gulf. On the map, the island’s shape mimics the tail of a dragon, from which the name Bach Long Vi assumed.
Legend has it that there were dragons flying from the sky down to the sea, some dragons landed in Hai Phong, which created Cat Ba archipelago. Others outnumber at the Quang Ninh’s sea are, which formed Ha Long Bay. When the dragon’s parents returned to heaven, a tail fell in the middle of the sea and became Bach Long Vi.
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| Bach Long Vi from the sky view. Photo: baotintuc.vn |
The climate of the island is divided into two main seasons: the rainy season and the dry season with quite pleasant temperatures of only 20-25 degrees Celsius, so you can come here at any time you want.
There are many ways for you to come to Bach Long Vi. You can go to Binh wharf in Hai Phong to buy tickets for Bach Long high-speed train and it takes you about 7 hours to go to the island. If you prefer to experience stronger feelings, you can contact to ask for a fishing boat of fishermen to be given a lift. They still have trips to the fishing island and trade, do services on fisheries everyday.
However, using a fisherman’s boat will take you much time and require you to be healthy, because the small fisherman’s fishing boat will have to cope more with waves. In return, you will have a really floating time at sea.
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| The lighthouse on the island helps you to see the entire Bach Long Vi island. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
There is a special place that almost everyone who goes to Bach Long Vi is also introduced to visit, which is the lighthouse on the island. Bach Long Vi lighthouse, built in 1995, is the “eye” of the island looking to the Tonkin Gulf.
Apart from the main task of navigating ships at sea, this is also a symbol of asserting the national sovereignty on the Tonkin Gulf. The lighthouse has a height of 100m above sea level, lighting up to 20 knots. On beautiful days, boats far from more than 40km can still see the light of it.
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| Watching the sunrise at sea from the lighthouse is a wonderful experience. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
You can visit the lighthouse at any time of the day. From the lighthouse, your eyes can spread to the entire island and the 4 seas around the island. However, the most suitable time is in the early morning or evening.
Apart from the lighthouse, tourists can also visit the Bach Long Vi ship lock, the most bustling place of the island with hundreds of ships and boats coming in and out every day.
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| Breakwater concrete dike under Bach Long Vi port construction project.. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
This place has been in operation since 2001. It can accommodate about 20,000 fishing boats in the Tonkin Gulf to anchor to avoid storms, buy and sell seafood, refuel, food, and freshwater. This is a safe place to stay and is closest to the fishing grounds in the Tonkin Gulf.
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| In 2019 alone, there were 10,000 boats entering and leaving the port of Bach Long Vi. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
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| People on the island are mainly engaged in fishing and purchasing seafood. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
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| Each main employee in the family earns at least VND 10 million per month from seafaring. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
Regarding cuisine, Bach Long Vi has many kinds of seafood but the most famous one is abalone. It is said that in Bach Long Vi, there are nearly 100 types of abalone and some weigh up to 2kg. The island now has an abalone breeding center specializing in researching and propagating abalone to market. Although it has not been really developed, if it is invested and seriously cared from functional agencies, this will be a strong point of Bach Long Vi.
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| Beaches on the island are still unspoiled, with great potentials for tourism exploitation and development. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
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| From a height of 500m above sea level looking down, Bach Long Vi is like a charming painting of nature. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
People of the island live mainly on fishing and fishing services. Tourism services are not nearly available, so if you go to Bach Long Vi, tourists can contact the local for shelter in their houses before the travel. People here face the turbulent year-round due to harsh conditions of working but their personality is very gentle, kind, hospitable and very lovely.
Bach Long Vi Island is quite small with 3km in length and 1.5km in width, so you can walk around the island to explore nature.
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| Watching the sunset on the island. Photo: baotintuc.vn. |
