English    Vietnamese
Home
Tours
Hotels
Flights
Services
News
Travel advice
Destinations
Contact us
Saturday, 05.19.2012, 10:52am (GMT)
Member log-in | Register | Forgot Password ?
Hotels
Hot Deal for Vietnam Hotels
Golden Sand Resort - $93++
Hoi An
From: $93
Elizabeth Hotel Hanoi - $23++
Hanoi
From: $23
Ho Sen Hotel - $44++
Hochiminh City (Saigon)
From: $44
Majestic Hotel Saigon - $147++
Hochiminh City (Saigon)
From: $147
Sunrise Beach Resort - $121++
NhaTrang
From: $121
Indochine Hotel Saigon - $32++
Hochiminh City (Saigon)
From: $32
Heritage Halong Hotel - $63++
Halong
From: $63
Chau Long Hotel - $32++
Sapa
From: $32
Cool Hotel - $46++
Hanoi
From: $46
Kim Lien Hotel - $39++
Hanoi
From: $39
VIETNAM TOUR OFFERS
» Bai Tu Long Junk NH-198
Duration: 3 days/ 2 nights
Price: $152++
» VALENTINE LUXURY JUNK NH-207
Duration: 2 days/1 night
Price: $283++
» INDOCHINA LUXURY SAIL NH-40
Duration: 2 days/ 1 night
Price: $205++
» HA LONG BAY TOUR NH-74
Duration: 2 days/ 1 night
Price: $44++
» INDOCHINA LUXURY SAIL JUNK NH-41
Duration: 3 days/ 2 nights
Price: $378++
More
FAQs
Payment - Copyright - Warnings
# Will my credit card be charged in case of rooms unavailability?
1. Are all hotel prices inclusive of all taxes and service charges?
2. Can I book / pay directly to the hotel?
3. What is meant by "Request hotels"( confirmation by email)?
4. What is meant by 'Book Now'?
More
Destination -
Vietnam
Hanoi
Hochiminh City (Saigon)
Halong
Sapa
Hoi An
Hue
Hai Phong
Danang
NhaTrang
Can Tho
Phan Thiet
Mui Ne
Phu Quoc Island
Vung Tau
Quang Ngai
Quy Nhon
Hoa Binh
Ninh Binh
Binh Thuan
Cao Bang
Dalat
Other provinces
Daklak
Vinh Phuc
Quang Binh
Ha Tinh
Ninh Thuan
Bac Ninh
Bac Giang
Lai Chau
Lang Son
Son La
Dien Bien
Hai Phong City

Haiphong City



Area: 1,520.7 sq. km.
Population: 1,803.4 thousand habitants (2006)
Administrative divisions:
- Town: Do Son
- Districts: Hong Bang, Ngo Quyen, Le Chan, Kien An, Hai An.
- Rural districts: Thuy Nguyen, An Duong, An Lao, Kien Thuy, Tien Lang, Vinh Bao, Cat Hai, Bach Long Vi.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Hoa, Tay, Nung...

Introduction: Geography, Tourism, Transportation.

Attraction:

- Historical & Cultural Vestiges: Du Hang Pagoda, Hang Kenh Communal House, Nghe Temple.
- Scenic Landscapes: Cat Ba Island, Do Son Beach.
- Cultural Travel: An Lu Temple Festival, Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival, Dong Ly Communal House Festival, Dragon Boat Race Festival, Du Hang Communal House Festival, Earth firecracker Festival, Giai Market Festival, Giai Temple Festival, Ha Communal House Festival, Ha Doi Festival (Coupling Festival), Tat Giang Festival (Dum singing at night on river Festival), Thuong Doan Temple Festival, Trang Temple - Nguyen Binh Khiem Festival, Tri Yeu Communal House Festival, Ve Pagoda Festival, Vieing for ball Festival, Xua Market Festival.

Geography
Haiphong is a large city with an important seaport of Vietnam. Haiphong is near Quang Ninh Province to the north, Hai Duong Province to the west, and Thai Binh Province to the south.

Climate: Because of the proximity to the East Sea, Haiphong's weather is affected by inter-tropical monsoons. The annual average temperature varies between 23ºC and 24ºC.
 

Tourism
Haiphong has many temples, pagodas, mausoleums and shrines such as ancient Du Hang Pagoda, Nghe Temple, Hang Kenh Communal House... Haiphong has famous historical Bach Dang River, where the national heroes defeated three Chinese feudal invasions. The third victory over the Yuan-Mongolians was known all over the world. Many of the teakwood pointed spikes have been discovered in this river. Haiphong is on tourism route: Hanoi - Haiphong - Halong Bay. Do Son Beach, located 20km from Haiphong, is a sand strip for bathing. However, during the monsoon season, the Red River's alluvial sands cause the water to turn yellow. From Do Son, tourist can visit Cat Ba National Park, and continue to Bai Tu Long Bay and Halong Bay (Quang Ninh Province). Haiphong is also famous for many festivals, of which Choi Trau Festival (Do Son Buffalo-fighting festival) in Do Son Town is unique.

Transportation
Haiphong is served by an important transportation network of sea routes, roads, railways, and airlines.

Road: The National Highway No. 10 links Haiphong to the provinces of Quang Ninh, Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa. Haiphong is 102km from Hanoi.

Airlines: There are connecting daily flights with Ho Chi Minh City, departed from Cat Bi Airport.

Railway: There are trains from Hanoi to Haiphong and vice versa.

Boat: Daily ferries from the dock on Ben Binh St. for other destinations.The ferry runs from Haiphong to Cat Ba Island several times a day. The hydrofoil boats run between Haiphong - Cat Ba and Haiphong - Hon Gai. The high-speed air-condition Thong Nhat Boat leave daily from Haiphong to Cat Ba.

Attraction

1) Historical & Cultural Vestiges

  • Du Hang Pagoda

Location: Du Hang Pagoda is located at 121 Du Hang Street, Du Hang Kenh Ward, Le Chan District, Haiphong.
Characteristics: The pagoda is considered an ancient architectural relic of the city.
The pagoda was built under the Ly Dynasty. It was later renovated in the 17th century by Nguyen Dinh Sach, an officer of the imperial guard who resigned and became a Buddhist monk. In 1899, during the reign of King Thanh Thai, a monk by the name of Thong Hanh expanded the pagoda and built a bell tower. The existing pagoda resulted from the repair work carried out during that time.
Inside the pagoda are several statues that are intricately engraved in the style of the Nguyen Dynasty. Valuable relics, such as bronze tripods and gongs, are also kept in the pagoda.

  • Hang Kenh Communal House

Location: Hang Kenh Communal House is situated in Du Hang Kenh Ward, Le Chan District, Haiphong City.
Characteristics: It is famous for its valuable wooden sculptures.
Hang Kenh Communal House, also referred to as Nhan Tho Communal House in Sino-Vietnamese. Built in 1717, Hang Kenh Communal House was later expanded in 1905. The main front hall, also called “dai dinh”, connects to the back part through a tiled roof bridge.
There are lots of valuable items in the communal house, of which there are 156 pieces with a dragon as the main theme. Altogether, there are 308 dragons of different shapes and sizes. The pagoda also houses a statue of Ngo Quyen and a palanquin.
Every year from the 16th to 18th of the second lunar month, ritual ceremonies, festivals, traditional games and performances of “cheo”, “tuong” and other folk songs are held at the communal house, attracting large crowds.

  • Nghe Temple

Location: Nghe Temple is situated in Me Linh Ward, Le Chan District, Haiphong City, about 600m from the Municipal Theatre towards the south-west.
Characteristics: The temple is devoted to the cult of Le Chan, a woman general in the insurrection of the two Trung Sisters.
Le Chan established the settlement of An Bien village, the predecessor to Haiphong.
Previously, the temple was only a small shrine, but in 1919 a sanctuary of the Temple was built, and in 1926 the Kowtowing Court was built. The Temple is a historical vestige monument comprising stone elephants, stone horses, stone ornate beds, stone stelae and buildings.
 

2) Scenic Landscapes

  • Cat Ba Island

Location: Cat Ba Island is situated in Cat Hai District, Haiphong City.
Characteristics: Cat Ba Island is a tourist spot, attractive for its natural beauty and wonders endowed by nature.
Taking a ride on a car or train for two hours from Hanoi to Haiphong, then on a high-speed vessel for another hour, visitors will arrive at Cat Ba Island, the biggest island (100km²) out of the 366 islands on the Lan Ha Bay.
Right from the moment visitors set foot on Cat Ba gangway, looking afar to contemplate the enchanting scenery of immense sky and magnificent mountains and breathing the fresh air from the sea, visitors will feel comfortable and their tiredness after a long trip will disappear. Surely, visitors want to go on with their journey at once.
Visitors should hire a Minsk motorbike, out of 400 motorbikes and cars here, to ride to any place visitors want to visit. First of all, visitors should rent a room in a hotel, because the hotels on this island are often overcrowded due to the ever-increasing number of visitors to Cat Ba Island, although more hotels and hostels are being built. It is very pleasant to stay in a hotel, whose back leans against the mountain and its face looks towards the sea, and enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery around.
Visiting the large beaches of Cat Co and Cat Dua, which are separated by a small range of mountain, visitors can swim in the blue and warm water, so clear that visitors can see the golden sand beneath.
If visitors do not want to swim at this crowded place, visitors can hire a motor boat to sail to the small islets, where there are calm and clean beaches, such as the Cat Trai Gai, Duong Gianh and Hien Hao. The mountain adjacent to Cat Co Beach has a tunnel and fascinating caves and grottoes, such as Hang Luon, Khe Sau, Trung Trang, Gia Luan and Kim Cuong. Visiting these caves and grottoes you will get the feeling of the explorers, discovering the wonders and mysteries endowed by nature.
Coming out of the caves and grottoes visitors should spend a little time to contemplate the sunset over Lan Ha Bay. On the golden background of the horizon and the dark blue of the sea, the heaving islets become multiform, the white sea-gulls hover and sea-eagles make circles in the sky, all beautifying the immense and fascinating space, and enchanting the visitors.

  • Do Son Beach

Location: Do Son Beach is situated in Do Son Dist., 20km from the southwest of Haiphong City, about 120km from Hanoi.
Characteristics: Do Son Beach is one of the most famous beaches in Vietnam.
Do Son is a small peninsula located between the Lach Tray and Van Uc Rivers. Do Son beaches are shaded by thousands of sandalwood trees and surrounded by mountains and Pine Hills.
Immediately upon setting foot in Haiphong, the French turned Do Son into a summer resort for their expatriate community and the Vietnamese upper class. Today, Do Son is alive with tourists from all over the world. They mainly come here to spend time on the beach, relax, and hike.
 

3) Cultural Travel

  • An Lu Temple Festival

Time: The 11th day of the eleventh lunar month.
Place: An Lu Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Tran Hung Dao, An sinh vuong Tran Lieu (the father of Tran Hung Dao), Tue Tinh (famous physician).
Characteristics: Worshipping, incense-offering ceremony, swinging, dum singing, cock fighting, Chinese chess.

  • Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival

Time: The 9th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Do Son Dist., Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Water genie.
Characteristics: Buffalo fighting, the cult of water genie.
The Buffalo Fight in Do Son (Haiphong City) is officially held every year on the 9th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. There are, in fact, two rounds of elimination before the middle of the fifth month and 8th day of the sixth lunar month.
The preparation for this festival is very elaborate. Fighting buffaloes must be carefully selected, well fed, and trained. These buffaloes must be between 4 and 5 years old, with a good appearance, a wide chest, a big groin, a long neck, an acute bottom, and bow shaped horns. The fighting buffaloes are fed in separate cages to keep them from contact with common buffaloes.
The beginning of the worshipping ceremony lasts until lunch time. A typical procession begins with an octet and a big procession chair, carried by six strong young men. The six clean buffaloes that are part of the ceremony are covered with red cloths and bound with reddish bands on their horns. There are 24 young men who dance and wave flags as two teams of troops start fighting. After this event, a pair of buffaloes are led to opposite sides of the festival grounds and are made to stand near two flags called Ngu Phung. When the right signal is released, the two buffaloes are moved to within 20m of each other. At the next signal, the two leaders release the ropes that are attached to the noses of the buffaloes. The two buffaloes then rush into each other with well practiced movements. The spectators then shout and urge the fighting along.
At the completion of the fight, the spectacle of "receiving the buffaloes" is very interesting as the leaders must then catch the winning buffalo to grant it its reward.
The Buffalo Fight in Do Son is a traditional festival that is attached to a Water God worshipping ceremony and the "Hien Sinh" custom. The most typical reason for the ceremony is to express the martial spirit of the local people in Do Son, Haiphong.

  • Dong Ly Communal House Festival

Time: 8th to the 12th day of the first lunar month.
Place: My Dong Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Su Quyen, general of Hai Ba Trung.
Characteristics: Procession of ancestral tablet, worshipping, Chinese chess, cock fighting.

  • Dragon Boat Race Festival

Time: April 1 (by solar calender).
Place: Cat Ba Town, Cat Hai District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: President Ho Chi Minh interested in fishing work.
Characteristics: Boat race celebrates the day President Ho Chi Minh paid a visit to Cat Ba fishing village in 1959 and that day is also the traditional day of aquiculture.
Opening of the race is tug-of-war item between boat teams on the sea. After that, fishermen from the territorial waters of Central and Southern parts perform coracle shaking. Then the dragon racing starts. The racetrack is 1km long. Signal flags are at two heads of the line. Racing boats will have to race 3 or 4 rounds. The prize will give for the boat comes to the finish first. This is a chance to find excellent rowers and boat commanders. The racing festival is very attractive.

  • Du Hang Communal House Festival

Time: The 18th day of the second lunar month.
Place: Du Hang Kenh Ward, Le Chan District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Ngo Quyen.
Characteristics: Cheo singing, ca tru singing, chau van singing.
Communal house opens festival every year, includes worshipping ceremony, a procession of ancestral tablet to the establishing of relationships between communes: Dong Khe, Hang Kenh, Phung Thap. Performances of cheo, tuong, ca tru, chau van in the evening and games of Chinese chess, wrestling, cock fighting... in daylight.

  • Earth firecracker Festival

Time: 3rd day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Tan Hung, Tam Da, Tan Liên Communes, Vinh Bao District, Haiphong City.
Characteristics: Earth firecracker contest. Each earth firecracker is refined carefully, 25kg to 30kg in weight. After the starting signal, players lift earth firecracker high then beat it down. Which one has longest piece will win the prize.

  • Giai Market Festival

Time: In the morning of the 2nd day of the first lunar month.
Place: Ha Ðoi Hamlet, Tien Thanh Commune, Tien Lang District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Tran Quoc Thanh (a talented general of Tran Dynasty).
Characteristics: Festival of the beginning of a new year, selling and buying for lucky.

  • Giai Temple Festival

Time: The 20th day of the eleventh lunar month.
Place: Tien Lang District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Two generals of Tran Dynasty - Tran Quoc Thanh and Tran Quoc Dien.
Characteristics: Procession, worshipping; Chinese chess, cock fighting, cheo performance.

  • Ha Communal House Festival

Time: 20th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Hong Bang District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: The Buddha, Tran Hung Dao, Tran Quoc Toan, Chua Lieu, Nguyen Cong Tru.
Characteristics: Sacrifices-offering ceremony, incense offering.

  • Ha Doi Festival (Coupling Festival)

Time: 15th day of the third lunar month.
Place: Ha Doi Village (Tien Thanh Commune) and Cam Khe Village (Toan Thang Commune), Tien Lang District, Haiphong City.
Characteristics: Making sacrifice to the village's tutelary god, "going to the field" ceremony.

  • Tat Giang Festival (Dum singing at night on river Festival)

Time: 10th to the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Phuc Le Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Haiphong City.
Characteristics: Singers rowing on river, songs are composed by themselves, the contest is taken place in 3 nights, who cannot make repartees is lost.

  • Thuong Doan Temple Festival

Time: the 1st to the 15th day of the third lunar month.
Place: Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Princess Lieu Hanh, Buddha.
Characteristics: Ca Tru singing and water puppetry show.

  • Trang Temple - Nguyen Binh Khiem Festival

Time: 28th day of the eleventh lunar month.
Place: Trung Am Hamlet, Ly Hoc Commune, Vinh Bao District,Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Doctorate Nguyen Binh Khiem.
Characteristics: A solemn sacrifices-offering ceremony in commemorating Doctorate Nguyen Binh Khiem takes place in the relics of. This is a big cultural event in Haiphong City and it attracts great numbers of visitors.

  • Tri Yeu Communal House Festival

Time: the 7th to the 10th day of the second lunar month.
Place: Dang Cuong Commune, An Duong District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Cao Son, Qui Minh and Chang Rong - The local genie, assist Hung King against Thuc troop.
Characteristics: Worship to the genie, contests of chung cake, giay cake, wrestling.

  • Ve Pagoda Festival

Time: From the 10th to the 20th day of the eighth lunar month.
Place: Bach Dang River Wharf, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Buddha, Saint Tran (Tran Hung Dao).
Characteristics: Saying prayers, incense-offering ceremony. Special offering is sesame rice pancake, according to the old tale, Tran Hung Dao used rice pancakes that had sesame were sprinkled copied battle map, then sent to all the army to know and study. The festival is called "strategy plan of eating full and fighting invaders".

  • Vieing for ball Festival

Time: 6th day of the first lunar month (every 3 year).
Place: Kim Son Village, Tan Trao Commune, Kien Thuy District, Haiphong City.
Objects of worship: Pham Ngu Lao, famous General of Tran Dynasty.
Characteristics: Competition among the young men in the region to vie for ball. The ball is made from bulb of banana-tree, diameter 30-40cm, and weight about 20kg.

  • Xua Market Festival

Time: The 1st day of the first lunar month.
Place: Xua Village, An Lu Commune, Thuy Nguyen District, Haiphong City.
Characteristics: The market opens in the morning of the first day of Tet, sell all kind of local agricultural products. People go to the market not only for selling and buying but also for praying lucky in trading all the year.

(Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism)


    Print        Tell friend        Top


Other
» Ha_tay
» Can_tho
» Bac_giang
» Ninh_binh
» Bac_lieu
» Phu_quoc
» Nha_trang_city
» Da_lat_city_highland_destination
» Da_nang_city
» Hue_city
» Ha_long_bay
» Hoi_an_old_town
» Sapa
» Ho_chi_minh_city
» Hanoi_capital
» Destination_viet_nam



Home
Gallery
Transportation
Feedback
Cancellation Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Why Us?
Contact us
FAQs
Address: No. 32, Alley 28/37, Lane Van Huong, Ton Duc Thang str, Ha Noi
Email: sales@vistalandtravel.com
Tel/Fax : (84.4).22188820 / 37325735 - Hot line: +84 985944158
International Tour Operator License No.: 0760/2007/TCDL-DP LHQT
 C©pyrighted | Payment Security!