Hòn Trống Mái
Natural rock formation · Ha Long Bay, Quảng Ninh, Vietnam
Photo: Nguyễn Thanh Quang / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0), as also published on Street Art Utopia.
Hòn Trống Mái, the Kissing Rocks, stands in the south-west of Ha Long Bay, 5 km from the tourist boat port: an islet shaped like a pair of chickens, a cock and a hen, and the logo of Ha Long Bay. Source Checked According to the Ha Long Bay Management Board, 40 of its blocks were at high risk of sliding or falling in 2023: 11 on the cock and 29 on the hen. Source Reported
Seen Jun 2024: the newest dated photograph we found on Wikimedia Commons shows the rocks on 11 June 2024 (in More photos below). The photo above was taken on 26 June 2006. Source Checked
More photos
💡 4 things to know
- A cock and a henVietnam’s National Authority of Tourism says the islet looks like a pair of chickens, one cock and one hen, and that from the water each stands more than ten metres high. Source Checked
- Many namesVietnam Tourism lists it as Trong Mai, Chicken Mate, Kissing Rocks or Fighting Cocks islet; in Vietnamese it is also called hòn Gà Chọi, the fighting-cock islet. Source Source Checked
- Turned to stoneAccording to a legend retold by the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association, the Jade Emperor sent a rooster and a hen by mistake to wake the dragons of the bay; the pair forgot their task and turned to stone. Source Reported
- A plan to hold it upA provincial study by the Institute of Geological and Mineral Sciences, carried out from April 2022, proposed rock anchors, concrete supports for undercut blocks, sprayed concrete against erosion at the base, and boats under 10 km/h within 200 m. Source Checked
📍 Where it is
In the south-west of Ha Long Bay, near Đỉnh Hương islet, about 5 km from the Bãi Cháy tourist port, Quảng Ninh, Vietnam. Source Source Checked
Opens Google Maps at the rocks in Ha Long Bay; they can only be seen from a boat.
🗓️ Sightings
- 200626 Jun
Photographed from the water · Wikimedia Commons
- 2022
Provincial conservation study began · Báo Quảng Ninh
- 202319 Aug
Cracks and conservation plans · VTV
- 202328 Aug
Conservation study reviewed · Báo Quảng Ninh
- 202329 Aug
40 blocks at high risk; rules for boats · Công an Nhân dân
- 202428 Jan
Photographed from another side · Wikimedia Commons
- 202411 Jun
Photographed with a tour boat nearby · Wikimedia Commons
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark dated records and reports. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
“Hòn Trống Mái được chia thành 40 khối theo các hệ thống khe nứt có kích thước khác nhau, 11 khối ở hòn Trống và 29 khối ở hòn Mái.”
Hòn Trống Mái is split into 40 blocks by systems of cracks of different sizes: 11 blocks on the cock and 29 on the hen.
“hạn chế tốc độ lưu thông của tàu, thuyền, cano chạy qua khu vực hòn Trống Mái dưới 10 km/h trong phạm vi bán kính 200m”
One of the study’s proposals: limit ships, boats and speedboats passing Hòn Trống Mái to under 10 km/h within a 200 m radius.
“Cụ thể hiện có 40 khối đá nguy cơ trượt lở, đổ lở cao (11 khối trên hòn Trống và 29 khối trên hòn Mái)”
There are now 40 rock blocks at high risk of sliding or falling (11 on the cock and 29 on the hen), the head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board said.
✅ The facts
- Other names
- Trong Mai, Chicken Mate, Kissing Rocks, Fighting Cocks islet; hòn Gà Chọi Source Source Checked
- Banknote
- On the 200,000-dong note according to the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association; Báo Quảng Ninh and Vietnam Tourism say that note shows nearby Đỉnh Hương islet Source Source Source Conflicting
- Unstable blocks
- 40 at high risk of sliding or falling (11 on the cock, 29 on the hen), according to the Ha Long Bay Management Board, 2023 Source Source Reported
- Study
- Institute of Geological and Mineral Sciences, from April 2022; reviewed by a provincial council in August 2023 Source Checked
- Boat distance
- At least 50 m according to VTV; at least 70 m according to Công an Nhân dân Source Source Conflicting
🔗 Related
All sources & image credits
- Vietnam National Authority of Tourism: Hòn Trống Mái (in Vietnamese)
- Vietnam Tourism: Ha Long Bay’s most mesmerizing islets
- Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association: Hòn Trống Mái, 20 July 2024 (in Vietnamese)
- VTV: Nỗ lực bảo tồn hòn Trống Mái, 19 August 2023 (in Vietnamese)
- Báo Quảng Ninh: Nghiên cứu đánh giá hiện trạng, bảo tồn hòn Trống Mái, Vịnh Hạ Long, 28 August 2023 (in Vietnamese)
- Công an Nhân dân: Quảng Ninh triển khai 2 nhóm giải pháp bảo tồn hòn Trống Mái, 29 August 2023 (in Vietnamese)
- Báo Quảng Ninh: Khám phá những địa điểm thú vị trên tờ tiền Việt Nam, 11 September 2015 (in Vietnamese)
- Wikimedia Commons: Ha Long bay The Kissing Rocks, 26 June 2006
- Wikimedia Commons: Kissing Rocks, Ha Long Bay, 28 January 2024
- Wikimedia Commons: Kissing Rocks at Ha Long Bay, 11 June 2024
- Image: Nguyễn Thanh Quang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (file page), as also published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share image was made from it. More photos: Jakub Hałun (2024, CC BY 4.0) and Ewong17 (2024, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.
Last checked: 4 November 2026. How we verify art