The beauty of Halong bay consists in its mountains, water, clouds, caves and grottoes. Many, however, do not realise that Halong was also the cradle of an ancient people who helped create the present Halong culture.
At the end of 1937, a Swedish archaeologist named Anderson, together with two french archaeologist sisters named Conani, journeyed for month throughHalong sea. they climbed mountains, visited caves and explored coastline, fiding many tone artifacts; axes, grinding tables, sewing needles and jewellery. They called the culture that form these remnants “Ngoc Vung” in the Months and years following, Vietnamese archaeologist continued their research and made many excavations; discovering more archaeological site, such as Dong Mang, Xich Tho and Soi Nhu. Through an area of some hundreds of sq.km, They discovered many stone artefacts and pieces of broken designed pottery.
Throughout its development, Halong has hada particularly important position; being situated on the communication routes between China, Japan and Thailand. Gradually, it became the centre of cultural and commercial exchanges between these coutries and ancient Vietnam. The book comprehensive history of Dai viet reads “in the second month of the spring of the year of Ky Ty, the 10th year of the reign of Ly Anh Tong (1149), the commercial port of Van Don was established”. In the long period over lapping the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties, Van Don was a place of busy commercial and cultural exchanges between Vietnam and its South-east Asian neighbours. A remaning vestige of the ancient commercial port is Cai Lang Whalf (Quan Lan Island)
Van Don is also a site that witnesed glorious feats of war against the invation of the Yuan-Mongol aggressors, it was herre that the enemy, General Truong Ho, has an entire fleet of food supply boats set ablaze by Tran Khanh Du.
Closely linked to this animated commercial centre were many religious architectural constructions built to meet the requirements of both traders and the poppulation tha tpractised Catholicism and Buddhism.
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