Situated in the north-east region of Vietnam, Hạ Long Bay is a part of the Gulf of Bắc Bộ, and comprises Hạ Long City, the township of Cẩm Phả and a part of the island district of Vân Ðồn. To the south-west it borders the island of Cát Bà, to the east is the sea and the mainland follow a coastline of 120 km. It stretches between the 106º58 and 107º22 eastern meridians and the 20º45 and 20º50 northern parallels. With such special values, at the 18th Session of UNESCO’s Council of World Heritage held on 17 December 1994 in Thailand, Hạ Long Bay was officially placed on the list of the World Natural Heritage. In 2000, UNESCO recognized it as the World Heritage for the second time for its geographical and geomorphologic values. This confirms the global premier value of Hạ Long Bay.