More recently the mountain has also gained a reputation for the number of bamboo sprouts vendors who come there to earn a living.

Thanks to the availability of the cable cars it is easy to reach the top of Yen Tu Mountain whose peak is over 1,000m above sea level. But the vendors still trek up the mountain over large slippery rocks to find bamboo shoots and other valuable health plants. To them, the imposing Yen Tu Mountain is an asset to help them survive the hardships.

In early morning when the mountain is still blanketed in mist the first pilgrims on the mountain will be surprised to find vendors already prepared to sell their goods at the base of the mountain and even at the top. They also sell medicinal plants which can cure some diseases.

Pilgrims often return from their trip with a pack of bamboo sprouts as gifts for their families, priced from VND10,000 to VND20,000.

This is why Yen Tu Mountain has become known for its tourist products of bamboo shoots and medicinal plants.

With over 600 islands and islets which are arranged as a great wall in Bai Tu Long Bay, next and connected to Ha Long Bay, Van Don is considered as a nature wonder. In addition, it was o­ne of the first wealthy commercial ports in Viet Nam under the Ly and Tran dynasties (from the 11th – 13th century). Unspoiled natural beauty and cultural, historical values make Van Don as a buffet of sightseeing for tourists.

For nature lovers, they will be attracted by charming white-sand beaches with clear blue water such as Long Beach (
Bai Dai) in Cai Bau Island, Ngoc Vung Beach in Ngoc Vung Island and Quan Lan Beach, Minh Chau Beach, Son Hao Beach in Quan Lan Island. All the beaches here are really fascinating for tourists with their pristine beauty and pure environment. Some beaches spread over several kilometers and some of meters away from the beaches stand the very green wild casuarinas, which further add to its original charm. Some other notable landscapes in Van Don are the Van Mountain (the mountain is covered by cloud) at 445 metres high on Ban Sen Island, the Bai Tu Long National Park o­n Ba Mun Island and so on.
Van Don also can satisfy the culture and history lovers with a range of cultural and historical relics in the whole archipelago such as Quan Lan Communal House, Quan Lan Pagoda, the traces of the large scale of Van Don ancient commercial port which are scattered in Cong Dong, Cong Hep, Cong Yen, Quan Lan,… They are old wharfs, pieces of ceramic clotted a thick layer of tens centimeter.

A famous festival is Quan Lan Communal House Festival which is taken place at Dinh Wharf in Quan Lan Commune. The festivities are organized yearly on the 18th day of the sixth lunar month, but the celebration lasts from the 10th to the 20th day of month. The festival is organized to commemorate the victory against the Mongol invaders in 1288, as well as the feats of Tran Khanh Du, a famous general under the Tran Dynasty. They also pray for good “harvest” from the sea.

Visitors to Van Don, can witness the wealth and diverse of seafood. The islands of Quan Lan, Ngoc Vung, Cai Bau… where are residents of thousands of fish, of which 730 species was named.

Van Don is well-known for mother-of-pearl cultivation. It boasts four kinds of pearls: Ma Thi, Vo Day, Canh Dai and Jamson, which have high value. Tourists can go boating to visit different “sea farms” of mother-of-pearl cultivation and pearl-gifts will be one of meaning souvenirs for them.

Van Don is the address that attracts many scientists, domestic and international tourists. Various kinds of tourist activities are offered such as trekking, relaxing, exploring caves. The old wharfs are lively crowded with ships and fishing boats. Tourists can stay in fishing villages and join with local residents activities.

With a new bridge linking Van Don

The popular transport mean to discover island

to the mainland, tourists can get
there by frequent buses run between Hon Gai (Ha Long City) and Cai Rong Town, the major town of Van Don, in Cai Bau Island. However, getting to Van Don with hydrofoil or boat from Ha Long City is still choice of many people. From Ha Noi, tourists can go directly to Cai Rong Town by bus both at Luong Yen or My Dinh bus stations.

In recent years, changes have been seen with the increasing flow of tourists to Van Don. In addition, a project to build an airport and upgrade infrastructure facilities is going to be operated. Van Don is expecting to attract many more tourists comes to visit this lovely archipelago in near future.

Situated within the immense arched mountain range of north-eastern Vietnam, Yen Tu Mountain in northern coastal Quang Ninh Province bears at its peak the Dong Pagoda: at an altitude of 1,068m above sea level. The beauty of Yen Tu consists in the majesty of its mountains mingling with the ancient and solemn quietness of its pagodas, shrines and towers. Yen Tu has been a centre of Buddhism for many centuries, and is the starting point of the Buddhist sect of Truc Lam. Travellers to Yen Tu Festival to stay away from the mundane and go on a religion pilgrimage in the midst of the mighty nature.

Under the Ly Dynasty, Yen Tu held the Phu Van Pagoda, with Yen Ky Sinh as its warden. But Yen Tu only really became a Buddhism centre when Emperor Tran Nhan Tong surrendered his throne to establish a Buddhist sect called Thien Truc Lam and became the first progenitor with the religious name Dieu Ngu Giac Hoang Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308). He ordered building hundreds of constructions, large and small on Yen Tu Mountain for leading a religious life, sermonizing. After his death, his successor, Phap Loa Dong Kien Cuong (1284 – 1330) the second progenitor of Thien Truc Lam, compiled a set of book “Thach that ngon ngu” and ordered the building of 800 pagodas, shrines and towers with thousands of value statues throughout 19 years of religious life. Some famous pagodas are Quynh Lam, Ho Thien. There is the third progenitor of Thien Truc Lam, Huyen Quang Ly Dao Tai (1254 – 1334), in the sermonizing centre of Phap Loa.

Passing through to the Le and Nguyen Dynasties, Yen Tu became the focal point of Vietnamese Buddhism, and was often subject to restorations. It is a meeting place of different styles from various historic periods: visible in the many different designs and decorations that ornate its constructions.

The mountain scenery and beautiful pagodas and hermitages, inspired King Tran Nhan Tong, who reigned over the country from 1279 to 1293, to pass the throne to his son to lead the life of a Buddhist monk at Yen Tu. There, he founded the Truc Lam medication sect, making Yen Tu the country’s leading Buddhist center.

Yen Tu Festival commences annually on the 10th day of the first lunar month and lasts for three months. Tens of thousands of pilgrims begin their journey to the uppermost shrine after a solemn ritual held at the base of Yen Tu Mountain.

During the festival, the people near and far flock to Yen Tu which was regarded as the Buddhist land to show their belief and aspiration or to get rid of all sorrows and sadness. Other go to Yen Tu to do sightseeing and to enjoy the pure atmosphere of a mountain region. Foreign visitors come to Yen Tu to witness a famous beauty spot, a mysterious tourist attraction. Many cultural and historical values are carefully preserved in Yen Tu, where is also home to a rare ecosystem in Vietnam.

In the wide ensemble of vestiges in Yen Tu, there are 11 pagodas and hundreds of shrines and towers. One form of entertainment is to climb the peak to where the Dong Pagoda was built (1,068m above the sea). On the way, you will see pagodas, a tower, a stream and a forest. At the top, after having burned joss-sticks, you seem to be lost in nature somewhere between the sky and the earth. When clear, you can perceive almost all of the northeast area from here.

Dong Pagoda

The route of the pilgrimage from the foot of the mountain to the pagoda is nearly 30 km. The highest point of Yen Tu is Dong Pagoda, which is located 1,068 m above sea level. You can get to Hoa Yen Pagoda at the altitude of 534m by the cable car system recently put into operation and will see on this peak two 700-year-old frangipane trees. From there, you will continue walking up stairs to pagodas of minor note lined up along the path leading to Dong Pagoda. There you will feel like walking on clouds. If the weather is agreeable, from this summit you can admire the dramatic landscape of the northeast of Vietnam.

The complex of historical sites and beauty spots in Yen Tu features various pagodas, shrines or stupas now appearing now disappearing under the thick foliage of the primary show their belief, or doing away with all sorrow and sadness. Others go to Yen Tu to do sightseeing and to enjoy the pure atmosphere of a mountain region. Foreign visitors come to Yen Tu to witness a famous beauty spot, a mysterious tourist attraction. Anyone who makes all the way to the Bronze Pagoda feels the magnificence of Yen Tu and forests. Atop Yen Tu Mountain, one feels like standing by the Heave Gate shrouded in white cloud. On clear days one can have a partial view of the northeastern region…

It was officially recognized as one of Vietnam’s historic vestiges on March 22, 1988; the 700th anniversary of a great victory at Bach Dang against Mongol invaders.

When the local people built a dyke in 1953, they discovered the Bach Dang stake-yard. There remain hundreds of stakes arranged in the zigzag-shaped (shape of the letter Z). Some are vertical; some others are inclined 15o to the east. Most of the stakes are made of ironwood. They were bevelled in one end, and their heads were broken. Their average length ranges from 2 to 2.8m, even up to 3.2m. The bevelled part is 0.8 to 1m. The stakes lie 0.5-1.5m under ground. The whole 220m2 stake ground is now protected by dyke. Of the stakes, 42 remain intact 2m under a layer of mud and jut out 0.2-2m. The density of stakes in the southern part of the ground is 1 stake over 0.9-1m2; meanwhile that of the northern part is 1 stake over 1.5-2m2. Just 3km away from the town centre, the Tran Hung Dao Temple lies at a strip of land stretching to the middle of the river in Yen Giang Commune. Legend has it that when Tran Hung Dao came to Trung Ban mound to investigate the topography of the locality to prepare for the Bach Dang battle, his hair knot got loose. He stopped, pushing his sword in the ground, to twist his hair into a chignon. The local fishermen saw this and built a temple dedicated to him right in this place.

In 1288, after two unsuccessful military offensives (1258 and 1285), 300,000 Mongol invaders led by Thoat Hoan and force of 7,000,000kg rice food led by Truong Van Ho went to Thang Long by road and water way. The ruling Tran Court organized a plan of strategic withdrawal, and established guerrilla warfare to wear down their enemy. The invading forces dwindled, tried by both the climate and the constant attacks and were forced to withdraw. Tran Hung Dao had his men plant steel-tipped wooden stakes in the bed of the Bach Dang River to create a line of defence blocking the Mongol retreat.

On 9th April 1288 as the fleet entered the mouth of the river, a few small boats engaged the enemy. The tide ebbed, and the fleet was thrown on to the wooden stakes, while Tran Hung Dao’s army moved in for the kill. The 300,000 men were either killed or taken prisoner, and 400 enemy warships were destroyed.

Bach Dang Victory in 1288 was a glorious victory, which marked in the Vietnamese history against the invaders, and the Stake – Yard in Yen Giang Lagoon was an evidence of the glorious feat of arms.