Phu Long commune
Location here
is located in the west of Cat Ba island, in Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city, on the route across Cat Ba island. Vieng and the cable car station connect the Cat Ba archipelago with the mainland through the district Lach estuary. Phu Long has an area of 4291.3 hectares and a population of 2,341 people.
The area is mainly located on the main island of Cat Ba along with a number of island ranges to the north and northeast of the Cat Ba archipelago. Especially, a very large area of Phu Long commune is the lagoon and the tidal flats of mangroves, when the tide is high, this area will be flooded.
From Hai Phong, visitors to Phu Long commune by road via Got ferry - Cai Vieng or by waterway from Ben Binh to Cai Vieng wharf or via Cat Hai - Phu Long cable car. From the center of Cat Ba tourist area, you can go to Phu Long conveniently by popular means of transportation such as motorbikes and cars. Phu Long owns most of the most unique features of nature in the biosphere reserve of Cat Ba archipelago such as: mangrove ecosystems, tidal flats or evergreen forests on limestone islands, caves, etc. Therefore, Phu Long is now becoming an attractive community ecotourism destination in Cat Ba tours.
To visit and admire the Phu Long mangrove forest, visitors will travel by motorboat from Cai Vieng passenger pier along Cai Vieng river through small lagoons where fish, shrimp, crabs, and ha are raised by fishermen. Especially on this route, about 1 km from Cai Vong wharf, visitors will pass by the Cua Temple right by the river, according to the elderly people in the village recounting that the Cua Temple existed more than 700 years ago.
Legend has it that people in this area used to go fishing by hand (go to the nib), one day they went to the nib on the beach because many shrimp, crabs and fish were so absorbed in catching that they didn't notice the high tide and they didn't come back in time. So she drowned, the oldest woman drifted to Cai Vieng creek area, local people buried her and set up a shrine (Crab's Temple) after worshiping her as Lady Chua, the ancestor of the profession. is a small temple near the water edge of Cai Vieng creek. From 2008 to 2012, the local people made the merit of rebuilding the beautiful Cua Temple as it is today.
It takes about 25 minutes by motorboat to reach the trail through the mangroves leading to Thien Long cave. Along the entrance to the cave is a vast forest of mangrove trees, cork, tang, fish... endemic species that can grow well and grow quickly in the mangrove soil where other species cannot grow. The boat goes on for about 10 minutes and you will arrive at Mr. Thanh's aquaculture facility, so named because there is a house hidden deep in the rocky cliffs, where Mr. Thanh and his family have lived for several years. Over the past decade, living by aquaculture, planting trees, building dikes, planting mangroves has contributed to creating the forests like today.
From Mr. Thanh's house, if you have time, you can walk across a mountainside to Ang Dai. In Ang Dai, there is Phu Long ancient village, where indigenous people live. Currently, the village only has an ancient temple, a garden stripped of trees and a few graves from long ago.
Exploring the Phu Long mangrove ecosystem is a long and new journey, this is an opportunity to observe the biodiversity and unique flora and fauna here, listen to thrilling stories and the mystery of the land and people in the coastal area of Phu Long.
The route to discover Phu Long mangrove forest is also a closed journey. On the way back, you will follow another journey through a small creek with lagoons, mangroves, crossing a new bridge on the bypass route from Cai Vieng wharf to Ao Coi without passing through the central residential area of Phu Long commune, to go to the bridge and Phu Long market where the center of the commune has a community eco-tourism site organized by the people. There are also a full range of services such as restaurants, motels, internet cafes with many attractive activities, cultural exchanges, campfires...
Phu Long mangrove tourism program is one of the new features that adds to the diversity of Cat Ba tourism activities and is suitable for many tourists during the four seasons of the year. The program is especially attractive for those who love photography and exploring wild nature, especially in the cold winter. Come to Phu Long to experience new feelings, enjoy the closeness to nature and the friendliness of the people here.