Located in Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam, Ha Long Bay is an area of spectacular natural beauty. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994, Ha Long Bay is famous for the thousands of islands, inlets and limestone karsts that rise from the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. Ha Long means “where the dragon descends into the sea” and legend claims the islands of the bay were created by the tail of a giant dragon that came down from the surrounding mountains.