Two destinations in Vietnam ranked among world’s Top 44 most beautiful places.

The northern mountainous province of Ha Giang and the ancient city of Hoi an in central Quang Nam province have been ranked among the Top 44 most beautiful places in the world by renowned UK-based travel magazine Time Out, according to a report released by the Government News on May 11.

The magazine ranked Ha Giang in 10th place, saying the winding mountain passes, terraced rice paddies and 43 different ethnic groups that call this place home, all combine to give Ha Giang its otherworldly air.

According to Time Out, Tham Ma Pass winds its way through six successive hairpin bends, while the Mi Pa Leng Pass carves a mountain edge, overlooking the Nho Que River 3000 feet below.

"However, my personal favorite vista in Ha Giang affords a different kind of beauty, the kind to confront you with your own teeny-tiny mortality. In La Si and its surrounding region, you'll glimpse mountain after mountain, as far as the eye can see, of terraced rice paddies. It's taken thousands (yes thousands) of years of hard toil to tame these mountains into the rice producing expanse that it is today," the magazine remarked.

Meanwhile, Time Out describes that life in Hoi An moves like molasses – slow and sweet.

"When I lived in this dreamy little community, I spent mornings sipping coconut coffee in cafes and afternoons biking through swaying rice paddies past grazing buffalo. Now, I spend a few months a year here, watching lantern-lit boats glide along the Thu Bon river, cycling through Old Town before the evening crowds gather, and lounging on one of Viet Nam's most beautiful beaches,” the magazine wrote.

Over 50 years since its foundation in London, Time Out has become a global media and hospitality brand influencing how tens of millions of people go out around the world, with content covering 333 cities in 59 countries.

Time Out's high-quality content, curated by expert journalists, now spans a global network of websites, social media channels, videos, live events and Time Out Markets.

Nearly 7.7 million foreign arrivals travelled to Viet Nam in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 23 per cent, the National Statistics Office reported.

The surge in international arrivals affirms the effectiveness of Vietnam's tourism stimulus initiatives, laying a strong foundation for the country to meet its 2025 targets of welcoming 22 to 23 million foreign visitors.