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Hai Phong at a glance | Hai Phong Location | Hai Phong History | Hai Phong Attractions

HAI PHONG AT A GLANCE:

Hai Phong is known as the City of Flower Lined Streets and is the third largest city of Vietnam, after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and the second most important port in Vietnam. Hai Phong also has many French colonial houses. Visitors can very easily travel around the city to shop, stopping at some famous sites along the way.  Nowadays, Hai Phong is joining the whole country in the of renovation, speeding up the implementation of its own economic to build export processing and industrial zones to develop the city's local industries.  An international tourist and recreation center at Do Son is taking shape. In addition, projects to upgrade the facilities of the port and National Road No 5 linking Hai Phong and Hanoi are also under way. Besides its naturally beautiful seascapes, Hai Phong also attracts people keen on its unique traditional festivals, ceremonies, and places of historic and cultural interest.  

LOCATION:

Hai Phong is situated 102km east of Hanoi and 20km from the sea. The city lies on the bank of the Cam River and is a major international seaport of the North.  Hai Phong enjoys an excellent position. A railway joins it with the country's capital and puts it in direct communication with the large mountainous region of Viet Bac and southwestern China (Yunnan and Guangxi). Other land roads ensure communication between Hai Phong and Hon Gai - Cam Pha, Vietnam's foremost coal mining area, and with Ha Long Bay, a famous tourist spot of Vietnam. Through Hai Phong, contact is established with other ports of the country and with foreign countries.  In the past, the bed of the Cam River, subject to silting, was not dredged and widened, as it should have been. Therefore, ships of more than 5,000 tonnes had to anchor in Ha Long Bay from where were transported to the shore by barge. The port is now able to accommodate vessels of 10,000 tonnes.

HISTORY:

Hai Phong was officially founded in 1888.  It was already a commercial port some centuries ago when merchants from China, Japan, France, Spain and Portugal came to trade.  Virtually, the only seaport in North Vietnam through which aid was received, Hai Phong was a major target of the USAF bombardment and US Navy attacks during the US escalation against Vietnam (1965-1973). Yet, Hai Phong has long-standing patriotic traditions. On the Bach Dang River, brilliant victories over the Northern feudal aggressors were gained in 939 by Ngo Quyen and in 1288 by Tran Hung Dao. The Communist Party established grass-roots organizations in the town as early as in 1920-1930. During the first Resistance War, guerrilla caused much damage to the enemy at Nui Voi, Ha Sen and Cat Bi airport, which contributed to the triumphal Dien Bien Phu Campaign (1954).  Hai Phong is also an industrial town. After 1955, former industrial establishments soon resumed normal activities. New factories were set up. The most important among them are the Cement Plant, the Mechanical Engineering Factories of Duyen Hai and Ha Long, the Bach Dang Shipyard, the Woolen Carpet Factory Hang Kenh, the glass works and, especially, the Fish-canning Factory with its associated fishing fleet. 

ATTRACTIONS:
 The Du Hang Pagoda is located in Le Chan district, 2km southwest of the center of Hai Phong. The pagoda was built at the beginning of the 11th century and was repaired and rebuilt many times. The pagoda keeps many valuable relics such as Buddha statues, bronze urns, bells, gongs, and ancient books of Buddhist teachings.  The Hang Kenh Communal House is located right in the city. The communal house is rather long and built with a strong long-lasting wood frame. The exhibits inside are for worshipping the Village God and Ngo Quyen, a Vietnamese hero who fought against the Chinese enemies on the Bach Dang River.  It was built in the middle of 19th century.  Du Hang Pagoda is one of the most ancient pagodas in this city. It was built three centuries ago. The decorations on the pagoda are exquisite. This pagoda houses a school for monks and stores many ancient furnishings.  The Bach Dang River is famous as the place where the Vietnamese succeeded in defeating three Chinese feudal invasions. The third victory over the Chinese Mongolians was known all over the world. Many of the teakwood pointed spikes that were used in the battles have been discovered in this river.  Do Son Beach is located 20km from Hai Phong. This beach has a small white sand strip good for bathing. However, during the monsoon season, the Red River's alluvial sands cause the water to turn yellow. It stretches along a 4km-long promontory which ends with a group of islets. The promontory has nine peaks, hence the name of Cuu Long Son (Nine dragons). The French turned Do Son into a summer resort for their expatriate community and the Vietnamese upper classes and built Do Son Airport in 1950.  The sea resort town is composed of tree zones, each having bathing beaches, hills and forests. Around the hills are French-style constructions looking towards the sea. Since 1975, many large hotels and guest houses have been set up over the town and Do Son has become a weekend sea resort for Vietnamese and foreigners.  Do Son village is famous for its yearly buffalo fighting festival.  Cat Ba National Park is composed of over 360 small islands situated between Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay to form a spectacular island scenery. The biggest among them is the Cat Ba Island potentially one of the major beach destinations in Southeast Asia. This region has beautiful beaches and pristine waters. 40 kilometers east of Hai Phong City and covering 10 thousand hectares of forests and 4 thousand hectares of sea water, it is of great value for its interrelated diverse ecosystems of forest and sea.  Cat Ba Island has now been made a National Park. There are many limestone hills over the island, the highest one being Cao Vong rising 322m above sea level, where a lot of marvelous grottoes are found.  In the Cat Ba National Park there remains the largest area of tropical primeval forests in Vietnam which are habitat for over 700 species from 150 families of plants and 20 species of mammals, 69 of birds and more than 30 of reptiles and amphibians.