Ninh Binh among coolest Asian film locations to visit

Ninh Binh province, home to the UNESCO world cultural and natural heritage site Trang An Landscape Complex, is one of 12 coolest Asian film locations to visit, according to Travel + Leisure.

The U.S. travel site credits the listing to the northern province being a filming location for the 2017 blockbuster “Kong: Skull Island.”

"As the largest production ever shot in Vietnam ($190 million), Kong: Skull Island demanded filming locations as expansive as the budget. Trang An, Van Long and Tam Coc (Ninh Binh province), the iconic Ha Long Bay, and the entrance of the Tu Lan Caves were all featured," it notes.

The Ninh Binh area is known as the inland cousin of Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO natural heritage site in Quang Ninh province.

"The Trang An area where scenes were shot is listed as part of a UNESCO World Heritage area, which has several unique Buddhist pagodas and temples."

The other locations in the list are: Siem Reap in Cambodia (Tomb Raider); Busan in South Korea (Black Panther); Kenting in Taiwan (Cape No.7); Khempur in India (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel); Krabi Province in Thailand (The Man With The Golden Gun, The Beach, etc.); Singapore (Crazy Rich Asians); Bali in Indonesia (Eat, Pray, Love); Malaysia (Black Hat); Tokyo in Japan (Drift); The Maldives (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story); and Bhutan (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore).

The travel site tallied up some classics, blockbusters and regional favorites to come up with its “by no-means-comprehensive” list of movie filming locations that have captured the beauty, history and culture of countries across Asia.

Last year, Ninh Binh was ranked the first in the top seven experiences not to be missed when visiting Vietnam by the oldest daily newspaper in France - Le Figaro.

In 2018, the province was named among the world's 15 most underrated destinations by British national daily The Telegraph.

UNESCO wrote on its website: "Trang An is an outstanding locale within Southeast Asia, for demonstrating the way early humans interacted with the natural landscape and adapted to major changes in climatic, geographical and environmental conditions over a period of more than 30,000 years."