•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra has signed Decision No. 704/QD-TTg approving the task of formulating the Master Plan for the Preservation, Restoration, and Rehabilitation of the Ha Long Bay Special National Monument in Quang Ninh Province. The planning period runs to 2035, with a vision to 2050.
The approved scope of the master plan covers the landscape space, landmarks, places, and natural boundaries closely related to the formation and development of Ha Long Bay’s landscape. It includes both land and sea areas within the administrative boundaries of eight communes/wards and the special zone of Quang Ninh Province: Tuan Chau Ward, Ha Tu Ward, Bai Chay Ward, Hong Gai Ward, Ha Long Ward, Ha An Ward, Quang Hanh Ward, and the Van Don special zone.
It also includes adjacent sea areas around the Cat Hai Special Zone of Hai Phong City, covering protection-designated areas within the Ha Long Bay Special National Monument. For the Ha Long Bay World Heritage – Cat Ba Archipelago, the protected area is within Quang Ninh’s administrative boundary. The study area further comprises sea space, protected areas, reserve forests, headwater forests, water surfaces, and related currents.
The master plan covers a total area of 676.36 square kilometers. This overlaps with the core area and buffer zone of the Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago World Heritage Site within Quang Ninh Province, as reflected in the Ha Long Bay World Heritage records from 1994 and 2000, and the Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago World Heritage file of 2023 stored at UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre.
The plan’s objectives are to conserve Ha Long Bay’s natural landscape, environment, geology, geomorphology, geography, biodiversity, and unique ecosystems. It also seeks to preserve cultural spaces, history, and the maritime-island cultural identity of Ha Long.
In addition, the plan aims to identify the potential and value of the Ha Long Bay Special National Monument comprehensively, and to complete dossiers and data systems to support management, protection, and promotion of the monument’s value.
The master plan will refine the boundaries and protection scope of the Ha Long Bay landscape within the Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago World Heritage Site in accordance with law and practical needs. It is intended to support implementation of approved area plans, including Quang Ninh Province’s planning for 2021–2030 with a vision to 2050, and the Ha Long City Master Plan to 2040.
The plan also calls for organizing space and infrastructure in line with the phases of the master plan, linked to the conservation of the Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago World Heritage Site.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
