Impressed by the imposing scene of Ha Long Bay during his tour of Quang Ninh province on November 1, 2008, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yvailo Kafin logged into the website on new world wonders to vote for the bay.
Quang Ninh was the first leg in the Deputy PM’s official visit to Vietnam from October 31 to November 4, 2008 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Gia Khiem.
Ha Long Bay now stands second after the Philippines’ Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in the list of 77 candidates in the online voting for seven new world natural wonders launched by the NewOpenWorld.
Thanks to the local authorities’ efforts to promote its images, Ha Long Bay is a magnet for tourists to Quang Ninh province.
Over the past ten months, the province has welcomed 3.8 million tourists, a record number so far, with most of them coming from China, Belgium, Germany, the UK, Italy, France, and Spain.