Cat Co 1 Beach

This guide to Cat Co 1 Beach on Cat Ba Island traces the legend behind the island's name: three women said to have died fighting off seaborne invaders during the Tran Dynasty, their bodies carried by currents to three separate beaches, this one among them. It weighs two versions of the story, warrior women and heavenly cranes, against the calm crescent bay you're standing in today. You'll also hear how recent resort construction crowded close enough to the water to threaten the very shoreline the old story describes.