Bai Cháy is a large, beautiful, artificial beach, closed to the coast of Ha 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 Bai Cháy tourist site is fast changing into one of the most captivating of this kind in Ha 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 Ha Long road leading from the Bai Cháy Tourist Wharf to the gate of the Ha Long Night Market.
There are many legends associated with the name Bai Cháy. According to one legend, when the fleet carrying food for the Yuan-Mongolian invaders led by Truong Van Ho came there, the Vietnamese troops and locals under the leadership of Tran Khánh Duset 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 Cua Luc. Hence the name Bai Cháy.
Another legend has it that the western side of Cua Luc 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 Hon Gai and other neighboring places, people always see a blaze from there, so they called it Bai Cháy.
