Long Chau Lighthouse in Hai Phong was built in 1894 and is still the "pearl eye" illuminating ships entering and leaving the Gulf of Tonkin, and is visited by tourists.
Long Chau is an archipelago of about 30 islands, rocks and shoals, located 15 km southeast of Cat Ba town, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city. Of which, Long Chau island is the largest with an area of over 1.2 km2, formed by cold gray cat-ear stone mountains like the Ha Giang stone plateau.
The French called Long Chau Island Archipen des Fai Tsi long or Griffes du Dragon (dragon's claws), according to the Vietnam Border Guard website. In 1894, they built a lighthouse on the island to provide light for ships and boats at sea. The lighthouse is also called "Long Chau pearl eye" by fishermen.
Long Chau Lighthouse is one of the three oldest lighthouses in Vietnam, along with Hon Dau Lighthouse and Ke Ga Lighthouse, both of which are over 114 years old.
At the end of April, Mr. Nguyen Trong Cung, Thai Binh , came to the island to admire the third "oldest" lighthouse in Vietnam. He said that to visit the island, tourists need the consent of the Long Chau border police. Currently, there are no residents on the island, only officers, soldiers, and workers of the Long Chau Lighthouse Station and the Long Chau Border Observation Station. Tourists are not allowed to stay overnight.
Mr. Cung rented a fishing boat from a fisherman to travel from Cat Ba town to the island, costing about 5 million VND, taking about 2 hours. The road to the island has big waves, the boat is small, Mr. Cung warned that tourists will get seasick.
The road to Long Chau Island is "windy" but the road to Long Chau lighthouse is quite easy because there is a trail, climbing is not too strenuous, Mr. Cung said. Because it is a rocky island, surrounded by sharp cat ear rocks and many poisonous insects and reptiles such as snakes and centipedes, visitors should pay attention when moving.
Long Chau Lighthouse was built entirely of stone, 109.5 m high, the cluster of lights has a range of about 50 km. The lighthouse has been replaced by a solar-powered light, but the pedestal of the lighthouse built by the French is still intact. On the eastern stone wall of Long Chau lighthouse, there are still traces of rocket fire from the US army.
Having endured the harsh weather and hundreds of bombing raids by the US Air Force during the war, the lighthouse still stands firmly on the cliff, facing the East Sea, guiding thousands of ships and boats entering and leaving the Gulf of Tonkin for more than a century.
On clear days, from the top of the lighthouse you can see Lan Ha Bay (Hai Phong City) and Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh).
In addition to visiting the lighthouse, visitors can rent a boat to cruise around the island, enjoy the salty sea breeze and admire the majestic mountain ranges in the middle of the ocean. Returning to the mainland in the evening, visitors will be able to admire the moment of sunset "gilding the sea", said Mr. Cung.
Quynh Mai Photo: Nguyen Trong Cung
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