Ha Long Bay · Where the Dragon Came Down

More than a thousand limestone islands stand in the sea at Ha Long Bay, and the name means “the place where the dragon descended”.

The legend is that in old times enemies came from the sea; a dragon came down from the sky and spat out jade, which turned into these stone islands and blocked the fleet; when the jade was used up the dragon stayed in the bay and did not leave.

Boatmen keep one old rule: crossing the bay at night, you do not call out names, you only light the lamps. They say that over water a voice carries much further than over land.

Folklore / Quang Ninh · Vietnam / Time immemorial