Ha Long Bay in the north of Vietnam is one of the most spectacular natural regions of the small Southeast Asian country. Rarely is there such a wide transition between land and sea, perhaps most comparable to the “archipelago” off the Swedish Baltic coast. For in Ha Long Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin, large limestone humps rise out of the sea like oversized teeth. Some of these teeth are hollow – caves, grottos and interior bays make the landscape all the more diverse.
Round trips between limestone cliffs and blue water bays
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You can explore Ha Long Bay by excursion boats on round trips offered by local tour operators. There are day trips from Ha Long city or multi-day tours including overnight stays* on the boats with cave visits, kayak tours between the rocks or short ascents to viewpoints such as the Ti-Top, a summit tour that Ho Chi Min is said to have undertaken with the Soviet cosmonaut German Titov (hence the name Ti-Top). Even for bathing is on some of the tours opportunity, because there are small beaches at some of the rock teeth in Ha Long Bay. However, there in the north of Vietnam is not always high summer bathing weather, the temperatures may be sometimes well below 20 ° C
Pearl farming in the shelter of the rocky outcrops of Ha Long
One of the bays is used for pearl cultivation in a pearl farm under the protection of the offshore rocks. Many of the excursion boats in Ha Long Bay therefore also stop at the floating platform. Even for visitors who, like me, have little to do with jewelry and jewels, the pearl cultivation process is interesting.
For the artificial cultivation of pearls, mussels are “inoculated” with a foreign body – core and then sunk for 2 years in baskets in the sea water. Around the foreign body, the mussels form protective shells of nacre, the mussel’s own inner layer of the shell. However, this is not always successful – only about 30% of the mussels produce a pearl as desired. The rate of actually usable pearls is many times lower still. Only a few species of mussels produce pearls at all. There are seawater mussels and freshwater mussels that are used for pearl culture.In marine – culture farms, mussels of the genus Pinctada are used.
“Seeding” of mussels for glittering pearls
The process of mussel cultivation was developed by the Japanese Kokichi Mikimoto around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. After many setbacks, Mikimoto was able to sell cultured round pearls that met the expectations for jewelry pearls by the early 1920s.
It is interesting to note, however, that so-called “Buddha – pearls” were cultivated in China as early as the 5th century. For this purpose, small Buddha – figures made of plaster or ivory were inserted into river pearl shells, which were then covered with nacre. Also the natural scientist Carl von Linné produced 1758 already pearls from freshwater mussels by inoculating with gypsum cores.
Pearls – Jewelry from earrings to pearl necklaces
In the Ha Long pearl farm you can follow the steps of the pearl cultivation process. An employee demonstrates the “inoculation” of the shells, and shell baskets are also loaded during operation. Around the floating platform, raft frames with mussel beds are distributed in the surrounding area.
Of course, the floating pearl farm in Ha Long Bay also includes a large sales room where a variety of pearl jewelry is displayed and offered: Earrings, pearl necklaces, mother-of-pearl jewelry, pearl-studded rings and bangles fill the showcases of the sales exhibition. There the hearts of the jewelry friends beat faster!
It is interesting that – although in the inland of Vietnam especially in rural areas not necessarily usual – on the floating pearl island in Ha Long Bay the use of credit cards of any kind is completely uncomplicated possible. Many a dollar is converted into shiny pearls on this remote platform.
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