UNESCO announced the new inscription of the Vietnamese site to the list at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Saudi Arabia, on September 16. Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago is Vietnam’s first inter-provincial UNESCO-listed world heritage site. Cat Ba Archipelago in the northern port city of Hai Phong is the largest limestone archipelago of the country. It includes over 360 islands, including Cat Ba Island to the south of Ha Long Bay. The archipelago had earlier been recognised by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve. Meanwhile, Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province was named by UNESCO as a world heritage site twice in 1994 and 2000. The Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago cluster boasts a rich diversity of island and ocean ecosystems. It is home to various rare animals and plants, and houses the country’s largest maritime forest with an area of more than 17,000 hectares. The archipelago was added to the World Heritage List due to the beauty of its natural landscapes, including charming vegetation-covered limestone islands, breathtaking limestone islets, and impressive karst formations./.