|
 Bai
Chay is a large, beautiful, artificial beach,
closed to the coast of Hạ Long Bay. The
100-meter-wide-sandy beach spans over 500 m.
Early in the morning or in late afternoon,
thousands of people liven up the atmosphere
here.
The
asphalt road winds its way through the white
sandy beach and luxuriant casuarinas. The Hoàng
Gia Tourism Company has invested in diverse
services for tourists. The Bai Chay tourist site
is fast changing into one of the most
captivating of this kind in Hạ Long City. It
comprises restaurants, water puppet and
traditional music theatres, Hoàng Gia Park,
water-skiing, and sea motorcycling. The Hoàng
Gia Park lines along the Hạ Long road leading
from the Bai Chay Tourist Wharf to the gate of
the Hạ Long Night Market.
 There
are many legends associated with the name Bai
Chay. According to one legend, when the fleet
carrying food for the Yuan-Mongolian invaders
led by Truong Van Ho
came there, the Vietnamese troops and locals
under the leadership of Tran
Khanh Du set fire to it. The whole fleet
was engulfed in fire. Meanwhile, the northeast
wind blew hard and further added fuel to it.
Fire was so fierce it burned down the forest in
the western side of Cua Luc.
Hence the name Bai Chay.
Another legend has it that the western side of
Cua Luc used to be a
wharf for seagoing boats. Acorn-barnacles firmly
attached to these boats’ sides and underneath,
and might wreck the boats. The local population
had to use casuarinas leaves to burn
acorn-barnacles. From Hon
Gai and other neighboring places, people always
see a blaze from there, so they called it Bai
Chay. |
