Hai Phong

Cat Ba National Park. Cat Ba 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, 40 kilometers east of Hai Phong City. 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.

Do Son beach. This seaside resort, 22 kilometres southeast of Hai Phong City, stretches along a 4 km-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.

Du Hang Pagoda. It is located in Le Chan district, 2km southwest of the centre 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.

Hang Kenh Communal House. Built in the middle of 19th century, the communal house is famous for its wooden sculptures and a statue of King Ngo Quyen, a national hero who defeated the Northern enemy in the historical battle on the Bach Dang River.