A fishing village in northern Vietnam has been picked among the top 16 best coastal towns in the world by US travel magazine Travel + Leisure, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said Thursday on its website.

Cua Van fishing village, located in the northern province of Quang Ninh, was ranked ninth out of the 16 most beautiful coastal towns in the world, followed by Ilulissat, a town in the Qaasuitsup municipality of western Greenland; Oia, a small town in Greece; and Paternoster, one of the oldest fishing villages on the West Coast of South Africa.

“Located in Vietnam’s dramatic Ha Long Bay, with lush mountains as a backdrop, this little village is completely composed of floating homes,” Travel + Leisure said about the Vietnamese town.

“About 700 people (traditionally fishermen) live in anchored houseboats, with kids attending a floating school. Cua Van has become a popular tourist attraction, as visitors want to see this unusual way of life for themselves,” it added.

Polperro, a village and fishing harbor on the southeast Cornwall coast in South West England, topped Travel + Leisure’s list.

Cua Van fishing village is situated in Ha Long City – Quang Ninh’s capital – and is surrounded by mountains and a verdant landscape. The residents' main income source is fishing, and they live in floating houses.

Travel + Leisure is a travel magazine based in New York City and specializes in leisure travel. It often features articles written by novelists, poets, artists, designers, and non-travel journalists.

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