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Considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Quang Ninh, Minh Chau, which is less than 40 kilometers east of world-renowned Ha Long Bay, is currently buried under various types of garbage, including plastic bags, plastic bottles, and pieces of foam boxes.
Garbage washes up on Minh Chau Beach in Van Don District of Quang Ninh Province, March 2022. Video by VnExpress/Minh Cuong
Tuan, from Quang Ninh Province, said: "I’m really upset to see so much garbage along the beach. Though it is not yet the peak travel season, the beach still needs to be cleaned up."
The peak season lasts from April to September, during which Minh Chau normally lures thousands of beachgoers every day.
Hoang Tri Dung, chairman of Minh Chau Commune in Van Don District, said garbage flows onto the beach almost every day.
The commune has so far allowed vendors to operate along the beach and clear up the trash too.
"However, under the Covid-19 impact, the beach has not received many tourists lately, causing vendors to lose customers and as a result, stop cleaning the beach."
But he said as the pandemic has been brought under control in Vietnam and tourism activities have been resumed, "the beach will definitely be cleaned ahead of the upcoming holiday in late April."
April 30 is Reunification Day and May 1, International Labor Day, both falling on a weekend this year, which means a four-day break.
More than six kilometers away, Quan Lan Beach in Van Don District’s Quan Lan Commune has been suffering a similar plight.
Luu Minh Duc, the commune’s chairman, said the "garbage washes up onto the beach constantly."
He added that so far, the commune has relied on youth volunteers and local residents to clean up the beach because it has no budget to pay for cleanup services.
