As of 2003 the district had a population of 192,327. By 2007 this had risen to 196,610. The district covers an area of 171 km². The district capital lies at Thot Not.

Ninh Binh Province is located 100 kilometres from Hanoi. The trip was expected to seek support from the delegates and World UNESCO members for the recognition of Trang An as a World Natural Heritage Site.

After the visit, President of the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations George Christophides praised the imposing scenery in Ninh Binh and promised to shares his experience of the trip with families and friends across continents.

With a total area of 2,168 ha, surrounded by limestone mountains, lakes and caves, Trang An is constantly referred as “Ha Long Bay on land” and “an outdoor geological museum”. There are 500 different plants, 73 species of birds, 41 species of animals and 31 reptile species within the site.

In addition, ancient relics of prehistoric man, from 5,000 to 30,000 years ago, were found in caves such as cave Bui and cave Trong. Historic monuments such as the temples of King Dinh Tien Hoang and King Le Dai Hanh, Dong and Den bridges and traces of the citadel ancient walls are still preserved, maintaining the legendary feeling of Hoa Lu.

Chairman of the Ninh Binh People’s Committee Bui Van Thang affirmed that the province would focus more on preserving, restoring and exploiting natural resources in the province, in order to attract tourists and develop the province’s economy.

At the Bai Dinh temple, the delegates took part in a Buddhist ceremony, praying for world peace.

Den Dinh Tien Hoang was first constructed in the 11th century, and was reconstructed in 1696. That’s what I read, from my research. According to my tour guide, however, it was reconstructed in 1905. Well anyway, the temple now faces east while the original used to face north. To enter it, you go through two arches, the Outer Triumphant Arch and the Inner Triumphant Arch. In front of the temple is a courtyard, and right in the centre of the courtyard, is the Dragon Bed, from the 17th century. It is carved out of a single piece of rock, and must have weighed a lot. Gifts and food offerings are placed on the Dragon Bed during festivals.

Within the temple are deified personalities. On the central altar is King Dinh Tien Hoang, also called Dinh Bo Linh. On a pillar is written the words “Dai Co Viet”, the name of the Vietnamese kingdom of that time. On another pillar, a script proclaims, “Hoa Lu is prosperous as a capital.”

Going behind the altar, we enter a windowless back room with light streaming down the skylight. Here, we find the 19th centuray wooden statue of Dinh Tien Hoang framed by the statues of his three sons. On the viewer’s right is his eldest son, Dinh Quoc Lien, who although was the eldest, was not his father’s chosen heir apparent. Because of that, Dinh Quoc Lien engineered the assassination of his brother, Dinh Hang Lan, who was to assume the throne. The assassination took place in 979. If Dinh Quoc Lien thought that pushes him straight in line for the throne, he was mistaken. The next year another round of palace assassination took place, and this time both the king and Dinh Quoc Lien were put away. The throne went to the king’s youngest son Dinh Toan, a mere six years old, whose rule lasted a mere six months. Then General Le Hoan overthrew him, and set up the Le dynasty.

A temple is also set up to worship the deified General Le. It is located a short walking distance away. I also visited and documented that templek, Den Le Hoan.

The area is known as one of the most rural area in the Red River Delta. It offers a combination of unrugged countryside landscapes, traditional rural lifestyle and well-known friendly local folk. Touring the area would be really relaxing and fascinating as you are seated in a rowed-by-feet boat with scenes of people fishing, children rowing boats to school, simple houses clinging to limestone cliffs… along the canal.

The traditional lifestyle of the river folk in this area is unique, and the trip will present you with countless sights of the old Viet Nam
The principal reason for its lack of visitors is that the village is accessible only by boat. Gliding along the river and canals, weaving one’s way through the boathouses and fishing vessels of Kenh Ga is a unique experience for there is no other place in Vietnam that combines the stunning backdrop of the limestone cliffs with an authentic floating village.
The village of Kenh Ga (Chicken Canal) gets its name apparently from the number of wild chickens that used to live in the area. It’s essentially a floating village on the Hoang Long River, with just a few permanent buildings on the riverbanks. About the only other place in Vietnam where you can see anything like this is in the Mekong Delta. On the other hand, nowhere in the Mekong Delta will you find a stunning mountain backdrop like the one at Kenh Ga. Another difference: people in Kenh Ga row boats with their feet, leaning back and watching the world go by.

It’s a lovely area, and one of the best places in northern Vietnam to see river life. People here seem to spend most of their lives floating on water: at their floating fish-breeding pens, harvesting river grass to feed the fish, trawling in the muddy shallows for shellfish or selling veggies boat-to-boat. Even the children commute to school by boat.

From the pier you can hire a motorboat to take you for an hour or so touring around the village for 40,000d per person. The boat trips are organised through the local government tourism agency and, thankfully, they’ve managed to keep the operation relatively low-key and hassle-free. How much longer can it last?
The locals are very friendly. The children gleefully shout “tay oi” (Westerner) at every tourist they see, even Vietnamese tourists!

Phuong Dinh Church, part of the Phat Diem complex, is a giant building entirely made of stone. Numerous stone sculptures are on the inside and outside walls. A large bell cast in the 1890s weighing nearly 2 tons is found in the bell tower.

Phat Diem Cathedral was built in 1891 with four roofs and six sets of iron wooden pillars. On both sides of the church are four smaller churches of different styles. On the extreme north corner are three stone caves. The most beautiful of these caves is Lo Duc cave. Phat Diem Cathedral is the center of Catholicism in north Vietnam and also a tourist site attracting foreign and domestic visitors.

The cathedral of Phat Diem seems to have changed very little since Graham Greene described its ..gigantic pillars formed out of single trees and the scarlet lacquer work of the altar, more Buddhist than Christian” in his 1955 classic The Quiet American. Indeed, with its multi-tiered, curling roofs and its 48 lime-wood columns – (the largest of which weigh seven tonnes), Phat Diem is a far cry from a European cathedral. Stone relief angels overlook carved dragons and the cathedral’s two tonnes bell is accompanied by a giant brass gong.

In the area surrounding this massive stone and wood cathedral, the rice paddies are peppered with stone churches. But, unlike these structures, built by Europeans and resembling typical churches of the era, Phat Diem Cathedral was designed by a Vietnamese priest, known as Father Sau Between 1875 and 1899, Father Sau rallied the local population to build the cathedral, five side chapels, three artificial grottoes,an artificial lake and a bell tower. He died the same year as the complex was finished.

Local Catholics view the cathedral’s survival as almost miraculous; a bombing in 1972 flattened two of the side chapels and caused the cathedral to lean by some 20 degrees. Despite the ongoing war, restoration started immediately and today, the only obvious trace of the bombing is the destruction of some intricate stone carvings.

The best day to visit Phat Diem is on a Sunday, when the district’s roads are full of people, walking or cycling towards the cathedral or one of the dozens of neighbouring churches. And on Christmas eve, an unforgettable midnight mass, attended by thousands and accompanied by a brass band, is held in the cathedral grounds.

Some tree species have been introduced from Burma, India, and Borneo. Clusters of orchards grow near cave entrances, where the moisture conditions and light are ideal. Varieties include thousand-year dracontomelum and parashorea trees which can be visited in a one or two hour hiking, and coral, vanilla, snow-white, and butterfly orchids everywhere. Large mammals inhabit the park including panthers and bears, but rarely appear, so the most popular animals you can see are monkeys, gibbons, flying squirrels and pheasants. There are also over 120 species of birds and many varieties of beetles living here, and April and May arrive swarms of butterflies. At night, million of cicadas create a deafening din, and million of fireflies flicker about.

Lying in a limestone area, Cuc Phuong includes numerous caves. At “Nguoi Xua” (Cave of Early Man), two ancient tombs have been discovered, along with Neolithic remains and evidence of stone implements; there have been similar finds at Trang Khuyet (Crescent Moon), Thanh Minh, and Con Mong Caves. Hang Dan Cave is known for its bat population. Hiking in Cuc Phuong is following some kilometers of trails and passing through old-growth forest with long vines wrapped around strangled trees, visiting the caves, waterfalls and streams in the forest or stopping over at a Muong ethnic’s village. Since the location in between three provinces, it’s easy to combine a trip to Cuc Phuong with a trip to Hoa Binh or Ninh Binh province, or you can depart from Hanoi, spend the whole day exploring the forest and overnight at the Park’s guest house.

The Tam Coc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngo Dong river, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Ca, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.

Bich Dong is a pagoda on nearby Ngu Nhac Mountain dating to 1428, comprising three structures: Ha, Trung, and Thuong Pagodas, in ascending order. Guided tours generally cover historical points and end with a pleasant view from the top.

Tam Coc – Bich Dong with Phat Diem Church, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Trang An, Cuc Phuong is the destination of Ninh Binh Province.