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“Ha Long” is
literally translated as "Bay of Descending Dragons." Prior to the
19th century, this name was not recorded in any document or archive.
When mentioning the present-day Quang Ninh Sea or Ha Long Bay, old
historical books often referred to them by the names of An Bang, Luc
Thuy or Van Don. Not until the late 19th century did the name of
Halong Bay appear on a French Marine Map. “The Hai Phong News”, a
French newspaper of the time, had an article, “Dragon appears on Ha
Long Bay”, reporting the following story: In 1898 a sub-lieutenant
named Lagredin, captaining the ‘Avalanse’ reported seeing a huge sea
snake on Ha Long Bay. This was also witnessed by many of the crews.
Thus emerged the European image of the Asian dragon. Whether this
appearance of a strange animal looking like a dragon resulted the
name of Ha Long Bay is not known (Reference “Quang Ninh: Art and
Culture” published in 2002).
There is also a
local legend, which has been handed down, relating to the name Ha
Long Bay, which tells the following tale:
“Long ago, in the first founding days, the Viet people were attacked
by foreign aggressors. The Jade Emperor sent the Mother Dragon and
her band of Child Dragons to help the Viet people fight the
invaders. While the enemy vessels were launching massive attacks
against the mainland, the dragons descended in flocks from the sky.
They spat out innumerable pearls which changed into jade stone
islands the moment they touched the water. These islands linked
together to form firm citadels that checked the enemy’s advance and
smashed their vessels to pieces.
After the invaders
were driven out, Mother Dragon and her Child Dragons did not return
to Heaven but stayed on earth, right at the place where the battle
occurred. The spot where the Mother Dragon landed was Ha Long, and
where the Child Dragons came down was Bai Tu Long. The place where
their tails violently wagged was called Long Vi, the present-day Tra
Co Peninsula with its soft sandy beach stretching many kilometers.”
Source:
Halongbay |
