On the south-west side of Hạ Long City it is Tuan Chau Island, a schist island, very pretty, with a luxuriant forest. It has an area of 220 ha, and to the east and south are two beaches endowed with very white and fine sand. In 1962, Ho Chi Minh visited Ha Long Bay and made a stop here for vacation. Nowadays, Tuan Chau Island is one of the most attractive destinations in Ha Long City. Tuan Chau is in an important position at the entrance of the waterway system of Thang Long, Bach Dang and Van Don, and this is why it was formerly a military watch station. The Office of Feudal Customs was also installed there.

The island also has many archaeological sites pertaining to the ancient Ha Long culture from 3,000 to 5,000 years ago.

One can go to Tuan Chau Island via the 2-km cement road from the mainland. Investments have been poured into the island to turn it into a modern tourist resort. It includes such fascinating extras as the dolphin, sea lion, and seal-performing club, animal circus club, golf court, cultural-sports center, beach, rural market, ornamental fish lake, villas in Hill 1 and Hill 2, guesthouses, five 80-room villas by the beach. The ensemble of five restaurants and one round house built in the pagoda motif can serve up to 500 guests at the same time.

In Tuan Chau, the octagonal house where President Ho Chi Minh rested when he visited Ha Long now became his memorial site. Tuan Chau Island is expeditiously putting the finishing touches to its construction works so that they can be made available for the 2003 Ha Long Tourism Year.