4185. Kissing Rocks in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay.

 In Sep 2023, I visited Ha Long Bay and saw the iconic Kissing Rocks, emblematic of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam's northern Quang Ninh Province.

I did not get a good angle to photograph the two chicken-shaped rocks by themselves as my cruise boat did not have the right location. The photo is shown below:

 

 

 

Ha Long Bay covers an area of about 1,553 sq km is a bay of significant geological and geomorphological value, making it a distinct tourist attraction. The Bay is dotted with thousands of islets of various shapes and sizes. The standout islets are the Kissing Rocks which are two chicken-shaped rocks - a rooster and a hen, known as Hong Trong Mai - that face each other. The rocks are seen as a single tilted structure with multiple fractures.

13.9m tall, the base of Hon Trong Mai is more slender than the upper structure. At low tides, the rocks can be seen with eroded feet as the water level is low. A risk of collapse if no measures to protect and reinforce them soon. Technical solutions to counteract the corrosion at the base of the rocks.     

Management board to introduce measures to regulate tourism activities including controlling the speed of boats in the vicinity of the rocks and educating local fishermen to refrain from operating around the Hong Trong Mai.

Human activities including illegal fishing, unregulated tourism further hasten the erosion and landslide processes in the Hon Trong Mai zone. Tourists are not permitted to approach the rocks, but the movement of boats continue to buffet them.

SOURCE:
Kissing Rocks in Vietnam's Ha Long Bay at risk of collapse, experts warn.
Straits Times around Aug 2023.


In 2016, the 'head' of the renowned Thien Nga (swan) islet in Ha Long Bay detached and plummeted into the sea.