(HBO) – How excited I was when receiving an invitation from a friend to visit Muong Bi in Tan Lac district when the season was shifting from winter to spring. This time of the year, the land offers red pomelos and festive music.
Tourists
explore local food during festive occasions
Muong Bi is an ancient land full of mystic features. Popular
destinations include the Muoi cave archaeological site, a series of caves,
namely Muong Chieng, But, Bung, Hoa Tien, and Nam Son, and Thac Bo, and the
Muong Bi flag pole, just to name a few.
Everywhere we go, either travelling to the longevity valley in
Lung Van or visiting Ai village (Phong Phu commune), and Ngoi village (Ngoi Hoa
commune), we always see the Muong ethnic culture and lifestyle in local
architect, costume, dance, and behaviour.
The Muong gong is a highlight of the land. It comes along with the
image of thousands of Muong Bi women in traditional costumes parading and
playing the musical instrument in different festivals.
Tan Lac district is endowed with advantages for many types of
tourism from cultural and spiritual to ecological tours. The land has
impressive forests and mountains, streams and waterfalls, and traditional
colourful ethnic festivals. In recent years, it has carried out more
professional tourism activities, with traditional events, such as the fishing
festival in Lo Son and Phu Vinh communes, and the summer festival, gradually
revived.
The Muong Bi summer festival marks the beginning of the season. It
is said to showcase most of Muong Bi’s special cultural features, including
food, lifestyle, and sports. The festival has attracted thousands of visitors
in recent years.
Tan Lac has put forth several measures to attract investment in
tourism. It has held various tourism promotion conferences and taken specific
steps to realise Resolution 03-NQ/HU of the district Party Committee issued on
June 21, 2016 on local tourism development for 2016 – 2020.
In 2017, Tan Lac welcomed many investors who came to study local
potentials. As a result, the district’s authorities are considering three
projects in Quyet Chien and Ngoi Hoa communes.
The number of visitors to Tan Lac amounted to 94,729 last year;
they spent over 10.9 trillion VND, up 946 million VND from the same period in
2016.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Hoa Binh province continues to implement the expanded tourism development cooperation program plan of 8 Northwest provinces with Ho Chi Minh City; deploying digital transformation content in tourism and developing a smart tourism province. Hoa Binh province received about 3.6 million views, an increase of 7.9% over the same period. In which, international visitors are about 380 visitors, domestic visitors are estimated at 3 million 220 visitors.
Spanning thousands of hectares and winding gracefully along mountain slopes, hillsides, and riverbanks, the terraced rice fields of Lac Son District present a stunning and captivating beauty. This region, renowned for its remarkable terraced landscapes, is also the centre of Hoa Binh Culture known for numerous archaeological sites.
The life of Mong people in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes of Mai Chau district has improved much thanks to tourism development.
The man-made Hoa Binh Lake, with a water surface area of approximately 9,000 hectares and a capacity of 9.45 billion cubic meters, stretches over 200 kilometers from Hoa Binh to Son La provinces. With the goal of developing into a national tourism area, the Hoa Binh Lake tourism area is expected to not only become the largest tourism centre in the province but also one of the 12 key tourist destinations in the northern midland and mountainous region of Vietnam.
Da Bia hamlet, now Duc Phong, in Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, was once almost isolated from the outside as the only way to the hamlet was to get a boat ride across the Hoa Binh reservoir. However, as its tourism potential has been unleashed, the hamlet has established itself as one of the most attractive destinations on the tourism map. It has even received the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Awards in 2019.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province welcomed over 684 thousand visitors to visit and relax. In which, over 516 thousand domestic visitors and more than 168 thousand international visitors. Total revenue from tourism is estimated at over 821 billion VND.