About 15 kilometers from Cat Ba town (Cat Hai island district), Trung Trang cave has a mysterious beauty because of its creation of nature and historical legends that you should not miss when exploring and experiencing Cat Ba Island.
Discovered by Vietnamese – French archaeologists in 1938, Trung Trang cave with the length of 300 meters passes through the mountain, surrounded by rich and diverse vegetation creating fresh air for people to visit. Trung Trang cave is called by many different names.
Formerly known as Bat Cave(Hang Doi) because the inside cave is home to many bats. During the period of anti-American war, from 1964 to 1968, the cave was chosen to be the basement of the Navy High Command with the signal and information connecting mission, so-called the Navy Cave(Hang Hai Quan). At present, the inside cave also keeps a few traces such as community room, meeting room, water tank … to serve daily life for the soldiers.
In front of the entrance cave, tourists will immediately see a mermaid statue bowing to guests with an exciting journey. Due to the rain and soaking through the rocks, there are quite a lot of beautiful stalagmites appeared in the Trung Trang Cave. According to the research of scientists, stalactites and stalagmites here are about 6 million years old. Especially in the cave, there are also stone pillars created when stalactites and stalagmites meet, but when you tap your hand, you will hear the sound like the music.
Going deep into the cave can feel the magnificence of karst topography created by nature. Stalactites remain the sharpness and iridescence like crystal which are imagined tourists as different shapes of eagles, crocodiles, football trophies, crowns…
The highest dome of the cave is compared the gold warehouse of the lady of Trung Trang Cave with sparkling stalactites of different colors like treasures on sunny days.
Discovering Trung Trang Cave makes visitors extremely excited, feeling like lost in paradise in the earth.
Trung Trang Cave or Quan Y Cave with the beauty inside
The Quan Y cave, or Hospital cave, in the heart of the Cat Ba mountains is a source of pride for the Vietnamese military since it was used extensively during the American War. The hospital is no longer active, but the historical value of the cave remains as it still contains many traces of its activities.
Located between Gia Luan port and Cat Ba town, a major stopping-off point on the 4-day Heritage Cruises expedition, Quan Y Cave is located in Tran Chau commune, belonging to Cat Ba National Park. The entrance to the cave is located up in the mountain, hidden by dense forest on both sides. The cave has a unique topography with stalactites, stalagmites, and coastal limestone formed by sediments.
Previously, Quan Y cave was named Hung Son cave, as it was discovered by a General from the Tran dynasty who participated in a battle on the historic Bach Dang River. During the American War, in the 1960s, the cave was turned into a hospital for wounded soldiers as well as a shelter from the bombing for the local people who had escaped from Bach Long Vy island. The hospital could treat over 100 wounded soldiers with 17 treatment rooms and ancillary rooms. There was also a swimming pool, cinema and fitness center in the heart of the cave. Even after the war, every time there was a storm, people headed to the caves to take shelter.
Through the intervening years, the structure inside the Quan Y cave remained quite intact as it is totally self-contained, the reinforced concrete structure making it effectively bomb-proof. The cave is 200 meters long with the entrance facing west and the exit facing east on Cat Ba mountain.
Through the three thick doors at the entrance, the hospital is spread across three floors. The first floor is the main area containing operating theaters, waiting rooms, and medicine stores. The cinema and fitness center are on the second floor as well as a treatment area. On the third floor is a reception hall, a guard room, and an office. Due to the nature of the wartime hospital, Quan Y cave is also equipped with a perfect ventilation system for fresh air as well as an efficient drainage system.
There are still traces of the medicine cabinets that were fixed to the walls as well as an emergency exit from the third floor down to the first floor to escape through the exit which was hidden behind large stalactites. The construction of a large, fully equipped wartime hospital in a cave with wards and operating theaters is still impressive.
Many visitors are drawn to such a historic place on Cat Ba island as this lovely cave was used to create a place of safety for wounded soldiers.
Visitors participating in Heritage Expenditions (4 days & 3 nights) will get the chance to discover and contemplate marvelous beauty of Trung Trang Cave or Quan Y Cave.
