Bãi Cháy Beach

Bãi Cháy is a large, beautiful, artificial beach, closed to the coast of Hạ Long Bay. The 100-meter-wide-sandy beach spans over 500 m. Early in the morning or in late afternoon, thousands of people liven up the atmosphere here.
The asphalt road winds its way through the white sandy beach and luxuriant casuarinas. The Hoàng Gia Tourism Company has invested in diverse services for tourists. The Bãi Cháy tourist site is fast changing into one of the most captivating of this kind in Hạ Long City. It comprises restaurants, water puppet and traditional music theatres, Hoàng Gia Park, water-skiing, and sea motorcycling. The Hoàng Gia Park lines along the Hạ Long road leading from the Bãi Cháy Tourist Wharf to the gate of the Hạ Long Night Market.
There are many legends associated with the name Bãi Cháy. According to one legend, when the fleet carrying food for the Yuan-Mongolian invaders led by Trương Văn Hổ came there, the Vietnamese troops and locals under the leadership of Trần Khánh Dư set fire to it. The whole fleet was engulfed in fire. Meanwhile, the northeast wind blew hard and further added fuel to it. Fire was so fierce it burned down the forest in the western side of Cửa Lục. Hence the name Bãi Cháy.
Another legend has it that the western side of Cửa Lục used to be a wharf for seagoing boats. Acorn-barnacles firmly attached to these boats’ sides and underneath, and might wreck the boats. The local population had to use casuarinas leaves to burn acorn-barnacles. From Hòn Gai and other neighboring places, people always see a blaze from there, so they called it Bãi Cháy.