By Tieu Quy.
Halong Bay Vietnam was named among the Provisional New Seven Wonders of Nature after the first count of vote results on 11/11/11 by the New7Wonders Foundation.The bay stretches in an area of 1553 square kilometers in the north-east of Vietnam, 165km from Hanoi. Halong Bay includes 1,969 rocky islands and islets jutting out of the emerald water of the East Vietnam Sea.
The others on the provisional list are the Amazon rain-forest (stretching over nine countries' territories: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela), Argentina's Iguazu Falls, South Korea's Jeju Island, Indonesia's Komodo, the Philippines' Puerto Princesa Underground River and South Africa's Table Mountain.
The poll results come after a long process, with strenuous efforts by the organizers, and with great interests by the world citizens. The consultation process was from 2007 to 2009, during which world citizens were ask to name sites which they deemed natural wonders. The first list included 440 contenders which was later voted to be a shortlist of 77 candidates. The second list was then trimmed to 28 finalists by a panel of experts. Then, all world citizens could proceed by voting by phone, by text messages, via the organizer's website to choose the New Seven Wonders of Nature.
The provisional New7Wonders of Nature are listed in alphabetical order, not in any position or ranking. The voting calculation is now being checked, validated and independently verified, and the confirmed winners will be announced starting early 2012 during the Official Inauguration ceremonies. There may yet be changes between the provisional winners and the finally confirmed ones, warned on the website of the organizers. Founded in 2001 by filmmaker Bernard Weber in Zurich, the foundation New7Wonders is to create a global memory by garnering participation worldwide.
Photos of Halong Bay by the Photographers from TravelNewsNow on our celebrating trip to this wonder of nature:
Cruise into the wonder of Halong Bay, Vietnam
Human Head Islet on Halong Bay
Kayaking on Halong Bay Vietnam
Titov Beach on Halong Bay
Sunset on Halong Bay
