Be away some 200 kilometers from Hanoi, Bai Tu Long National Park is one of seven Vietnamese amphibian national parks which have both terrestrial zone and aquatic zone. The eco-tourist site isnow the home to 672 species of terrestrial plants and 178 aquaticfloral species, of which 11 species have been listed in Vietnam’s RedBook of endangered species. It also boasts 170 species of terrestrialanimals, including nine species listed as endangered in Vietnam’s RedBook; 119 species of fish; 132 species of invertebrate animals; and 106 species of corals.

Natural Condition

Ecosystem

TheNational Park includes five kinds of ecosystems : Rain Broad LeavesForest, Limestone Forest, Littoral Forest, Coral Area and Shallow WaterArea.

TheRain Broad Leaves Forest area is mostly secondary forest. It has beenfound 494 species belonging to 337 genera of 117 families in this typeof ecosystem. Some endangered species include Cycas balansae,Radix marindae officinalis, Ardisia sylvestris Pitard, Smilax glabra,Leopard cat, Indian muntjac, Small Indian civet, Large Indian civet.

TheLimestone Forest area is forest growing in poor soil which theparticles of limestone on rocky islands. Some rare animal found theirinclude Serow, Rhesus macaque.

TheLittoral Ecosystem in the park is small areas surrounding the islands.It has a rather large tidal variation and is biologically highlydiverse with 251 species including 19 species of mangrove, 17 speciesof seaweed , 29 species of marine worms , 149 species of molluscs, 22species of crustaceans and 15 species of echinoderms.

The ShallowWater area covers a large area around the islands, beyond the tidalarea and extend from 1 km to around 4 km. These area was not profoundlyresearched but it have found 539 species.

What about conservation matter?

Toprotect the park’s fauna and flora, the local rangers have coordinatedwith part-time employees to strictly patrol the forest in order toprevent poaching of forestry and sea products. The park’s managementboard, in coordination with relevant agencies, organised trainingcourses to raise local residents’ awareness about the protection offorestry and maritime resources and inserted environmental protectioninto the curriculum of local schools. Theboard has also allocated 13 hectares of forests to local households forcare and re-forested 50 other hectares on the largest island of Ba Mun. Itrecently released more than 100 long-tailed monkeys, which were seizedfrom smugglers by the provincial rangers, into forests. Aimingat exploiting the potential and strength of Bai Tu Long, many tourismexperts said that Quang Ninh Province needs to encourage investmentinto building high-end tourist areas that have a suitable scale andharmonious architecture with the environment and the landscape ofislands.

Overthe past few years, Quang Ninh Province has attached importance tobuilding Bai Tu Long National Park to be an attractive eco-tourism siteto both domestic and foreign tourists. Now, it is time to refresh yourself by coming to the park and you will be certainly impressed as enjoying its beautiful scenery, smooth white sands, pure blue water, and biological diversity...