Spanish magazine spotlights ‘Great Wall of Vietnam’

Spanish writer Mark Jenkin has extolled the wonderful beauty of Son Doong (Mountain River Cave) in Quang Binh central province.

In a reportage entitled “Vietnam Cave” published in the National Geographic magazine in January, M. Jenkin wrote “There is a jungle inside Vietnam’s mammoth cavern.”

M. Jenkin cited his teammate Jonathan Sims, who was a member of the first expedition to enter the cave, as saying that his team could explore two and a half miles of Son Doong before a 200-foot wall of muddy calcite stopped them.

They named it the Great Wall of Vietnam.

The passage to Son Doong is perhaps 300 feet wide, the ceiling nearly 800 feet tall: room enough for an entire New York City block of 40-storey buildings, he wrote, adding that “And the end is out of sight.”

Located in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park recognized as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 2003, the cave, 200m high and 150m wide, is believed to be almost twice the size of the current record holder, Deer Cave in Sarawak Malaysia.

The massive cavern currently said to be the largest-known cave on Earth was discovered by a local man named Ho Khanh in 1991.

However, not until 2009 was it made known to the public when a group of British scientists from the British Cave Research Association, led by Howard and Deb Limbert, conducted a survey in Phong Nha-Ke Bang.

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8,000-year-old human remains found in northern cave

Tools made from stone and animal bone discovered in cave Tham Choong in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, thought to have housed primitive humans some 8,000 years ago

Photo: VNA

A cave in Na Hang district in the northern province of Tuyen Quang is thought to have housed primitive humans during the Neolithic Era (7,000-8,000 years ago) after many tools made from stone and animal bone have recently been discovered.

Tuyen Quang Museum's director Quan Van Dung said that experts from the museum and the Vietnam Archaeology Institute discovered primitive human artifacts in the cave, which is known as Tham Choong Cave to the locals.

They include more than 1,000 stone objects, including tools for cutting, chopping and grinding. The tools were handmade with stones that had been retrieved from a riverbed.

The tools bore Hoa Binh cultural features (thousands of years ago and lasted till 2,000BC), he added.

At the site, archaeologists also found a narrow tool with a sharp point, which is assumed that it was likely used to stitch clothing that was made from tree bark.

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Neolithic era cave was home to early humans

Artefacts: A scientist gathers stone objects found in Tham Choong Cave, which is thought to have housed primitive humans during the Neolithic Era (7,000-8,000 years ago). — VNA/VNS Photo Vu Quang Dan

TUYEN QUANG — A cave in Na Hang District in the northern province of Tuyen Quang is thought to have housed primitive humans during the Neolithic Era (7,000-8,000 years ago).

Tuyen Quang Museum's director Quan Van Dung said that experts from the museum and the Viet Nam Archaeology Institute discovered primitive human artefacts in the cave, which is known as Tham Choong Cave to the locals.

The archaeologists discovered more than 1,000 stone objects, including tools for cutting, chopping and grinding. The tools were handmade with stones that had been retrieved from a riverbed.

The expert said the tools bore Hoa Binh cultural features (34,000 years ago and lasted till 2,000BC).

Archaeologist found tools made from animal bones, including a narrow tool with a sharp point.

The scientists at the site assumed that the tool was likely used to stitch their clothing that was made from tree bark. — VNS

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Viet Nam photographers' exhibition held in France

PARIS — A photo exhibition is being held in Gacily, France, featuring the land and people of Viet Nam.

On the display are photos taken by 13 Vietnamese photographers, showing the beauty of Viet Nam's coastal areas and the close relationship between local residents and the water environment.
Visitors to the exhibition can image the daily life of Vietnamese fishermen and feel the happiness of children playing in the rain.
The exhibition, which is drawing a large number of French and foreign visitors, will last till September 30.

Newly discovered cave welcomes first tourists

QUANG BINH – The most spectacular cave recently found in the country, Thien Duong (Paradise) in the central province of Quang Binh, has been opened to the public.

At 31km, Thien Duong is the longest cave found in Viet Nam so far.

First discovered in 2005 by the British Cave Research Association, Thien Duong Cave lies within the Phong Nha – Ke Bang Park's conservation area.

Thien Duong has been lauded as "the largest and most beautiful cave in the Phong Nha – Ke Bang area" by British spelunkers. It is said that the cave's beauty is reminiscent of an imperial palace.

The Truong Thinh Joint Stock Company has invested around VND98.4 billion (US$5.07 million) in the Thien Duong Cave Project that is expected to draw visitors from all over the world.

The Truong Thinh Joint Stock Company has also opened the VND632 billion ($32.6 million) second phase of the Sun Spa Resort on the Bao Ninh beach on the banks of the Nhat Le River, also in Quang Binh Province.

Vietnamese teens join Stockholm water contest

HA NOI — Do Ngoc Linh and Ma Thi Thuy Tra, grade-12 students from the northern province of Thai Nguyen, have left Viet Nam for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition in Sweden.

This is the seventh time Viet Nam has sent students to the international contest, which was initiated by the Stockholm Water Foundation (SWF).
The two girls won the first prize at the national contest on writing comic scientific books to raise awareness on protection of water environment in the community.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition is held annually with the aim of encouraging creativity and scientific research among students and raising awareness on environmental protection in the community through water topics.

Launched in Viet Nam in 2003 for the first time, the national contest has drawn the participation of nearly 30,000 students nationwide. — VNS

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