Danang among Asia's best scenic mountain vistas

The coastal city of Danang in central Vietnam has been listed among 10 Asia's best scenic mountain vistas by the Microsoft Travel news site.

The other destinations in the list are: Luang Prabang (Laos), Hakone (Japan), Kathmandu (Nepal), Huangshan (China), Guilin (China), Nagano (Japan), Leh (India), Baguio (Philippines) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).

Danang, a tourism hub, boasts the most beautiful beaches in Southeast Asia. The Golden Bridge in the city has topped the list of world's new wonders by the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper.

The My Khe beach in Danang was recently ranked eighth in the list of Asia's top 10 beaches by the world's largest travel platform TripAdvisor.

About five kilometers from the city center, My Khe runs 10 kilometers from the base of Son Tra Peninsula to Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son). The beach is famous for its blue sky, smooth white sand, gentle slope, clear and warm water year round and beautiful areas surrounded by coconut trees.

In mid January, Danang was named one of the five destinations to visit in Vietnam for the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet), according to Booking.com, a global travel site.

"Danang has nightlife, shopping and fireworks from its striking Dragon Bridge every weekend. It also caters to a more spiritual Tet escape, with a visit to the Marble Mountains, where you can admire cave temples containing Buddhist statues and a great view of the city. Or visit Linh Ung Pagoda just outside of Danang, where they have a vast Buddha statue and the tallest Bodhisattva statue in Vietnam (at 67 metres tall)," Booking.com wrote.

In August last year, the city, "a culinary powerhouse with an array of palate-pleasing delights", was listed among 18 great group trip locations by Travel + Leisure.

"The night market stalls overflow with fresh-hauled seafood, and the fragrant aroma of bun cha ca (noodles with fish balls) fills the air outside the cafes. Besides mouth-watering food, there are sandy beaches, the Marble Mountains, the Ba Na Hills, and the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort for a swish group stay," Lindsay Cohn wrote on the U.S. travel site.