On the evening of March 28, 2026, a young man (living at the foot of Bai Tho mountain) voluntarily climbed onto Bai Tho mountain, Hong Gai ward to take pictures, but unfortunately slipped and fell, leading to death.
Bai Tho Mountain is about 200m high, located in the center of the old Ha Long City, currently belonging to Hong Gai ward, is a national relic, a scenic spot favored by tourists from all over. This is not only a mountain associated with many cultural, historical, and political events, but also has many locations to see Ha Long Bay and beautiful streets.
This location was "closed" after the mountain fire in 2017. But, in fact, people, tourists, especially international tourists, are still crossing barbed wire fences or passing through people's gardens to go to the top of Bai Tho mountain to take photos and admire the scenery.
On social networking sites, images of domestic and foreign tourists taking photos from the top of Bai Tho mountain occasionally appear, with comments praising the mountain located on the shore of Ha Long Bay. But the posts also remind of the dangers of mountain climbing, especially reaching the top of the mountain.
The recent death of a young man due to slipping while climbing Bai Tho mountain to take photos has caused public opinion, tourists and tourism workers to argue: either lock all roads that can go up Bai Tho mountain so that no one can go up, or officially open a mountain tour and have solutions to protect the mountain, ensuring safety for tourists.
Once banned, lock down every nook and cranny. If not managed, banning will lead to waste of resources. Previously, businesses and even the old Ha Long City had developed exploitation plans, including solutions to ensure safety for tourists. Opening up and having control solutions may be better, because it will both prevent waste of resources and ensure greater safety for tourists" - Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thanh - a adventure tour organizer - said.
Previously, a business proposed to invest about 5 billion VND to open a tourist route to Bai Tho mountain, including building toilets, erecting railings along the mountain climbing path; making stops for tourists to admire the scenery and take photos. The implementation of the above tasks is very meticulous and careful to be both beautiful, compact and not affect the environment and relics.
In 2023, the old Ha Long City also developed a plan to exploit Bai Tho mountain; functional forces of Hong Gai ward at that time went up to clear the road to prepare to open a mountain tour.
However, to this day, the mountain is still "closed", but it cannot stop the footsteps of explorers.
Many tourism experts and local people expressed regret when a unique resource right in the heart of the city on the shore of Ha Long Bay was wasted for many years.
It is better to open the door, even charge fees but have security forces and safety infrastructure, than to ban it so that customers and people still climb up" - a tour guide shared.
According to Mr. Tran Nhuan Vinh - a resident of Ha Long and who used to do tourism business, there are many similar heritages in the world that do not choose to close completely, but apply a controlled opening model with a limited number of visitors and a strict monitoring system.
Bai Tho Mountain is not a place to exploit at all costs, but it is also not something to completely lock down. It is a "living heritage", where people still need to access but within limits. The problem lies in the ability to design a safe and sustainable approach mechanism" - Mr. Vinh said.
