Sun World Ha Long

Sun World Ha Long spreads across almost 200 hectares on the edge of the bay, in Bãi Cháy ward, Quảng Ninh. It is not a natural heritage site, and it is not a historic monument. It is a modern amusement park, and its pull comes from the way it piles several different worlds onto one hill.

The park falls into two main areas, joined by the Nữ Hoàng cable car. Below, near the entrance, are Dragon Park and Typhoon Water Park. Above, on top of the hill, is Đồi Mặt Trời, the Sun Hill. It holds the Sun Wheel, a Japanese garden, a Koi bridge, the Bảo Hải Linh Thông pagoda and a steel bridge called Cầu May.

Dragon Park is the world of screams. Its rides include Phi Long Thần Tốc and Tê Giác Cuồng Nộ. Two more are Vòng Xoay Tử Thần and Tháp Rơi Tự Do. There are also family rides for small children.

Typhoon Water Park is the water area, and it runs by season. On hot summer days, the rush of water and the laughter from this part of the park carry all the way out to the main road.

The way up to Đồi Mặt Trời is the Nữ Hoàng cable car. The cabin lifts people gently off the ground, and with every meter of height a new view opens below. At the top, the Sun Wheel stands right ahead. This giant wheel rises on the peak of Ba Đèo, 215 meters above sea level. It has 64 cabins, and together they carry 384 passengers.

From inside a cabin of the Sun Wheel, the view down over Cửa Lục Bay and Ha Long Bay is completely different. It is not the view from a ship's deck, and not the view from the shore. It is a view from high above, where thousands of limestone rocks spread out like an ink-wash painting.

Đồi Mặt Trời also holds the Japanese garden, the Koi bridge and the Bảo Hải Linh Thông pagoda. These spaces have a quiet East Asian style, the opposite of the noise below. Cầu May is a steel bridge that joins two hilltops of Ba Đèo, and its central arched span is more than 50 meters long. In the middle of the bridge, the wind comes up from the bay, and underneath lies a space of deep blue.

Sun World Ha Long is not Ha Long Bay. It is a layer of modern entertainment set within a tourist city. But from the top of Ba Đèo, with a whole stretch of water and stone islands running out to the horizon, it is easy to see why this very spot was chosen for the biggest wheel in the region.