(HBO) - Mung village sits on the highest place in Xuan Phong commune, Cao Phong district with poetic landscape. Despite rough traffic and difficulties in the economy, Mung remains attractive to tourists thanks to its mild and fresh climate, and stilt houses on vast terraced fields.
Apart
from cool mild climate, the scenery of Mung village is dotted with terraced
The
winding fields and glimpses of roofs of stilt houses have made the land
enchanting. Below the foot of the terraced fields is a years-old banyan tree
spanning dozens of meters, which is considered a spiritual symbol of Muong
ethnic village.
The
climate in Mung is cool all year round thanks to its higher geographic location
than surrounding area. In particular, Mung is considered a green lung with
520ha of natural forest zoned off for protection. We visited the family of Ms.
Bui Thi Om, 73 and were invited to drink a cup of water boiled with medicinal
herbs picked in the forest. She said the forest brings cool mild climate,
bamboo shoots and firewood to local residents so that it must be protected for
later generations. "In the past, the road was enough for only a motorbike, but
now thanks to the Party and State support, local lives have improved a lot with
easier access to bigger roads and electricity”, she said.
Bui Van
Linh, chief of Mung village, said though lives have improved, local residents
still mainly live on bamboo shoots, corn, cassava and rice so that their income
remain low. Mung is still an especially difficult village with an annual
average income per capita of 12 million VND (2017), 6 million VND lower than
that in Xuan Phong commune. In order to sustainably reduce poverty, Linh and
locals have thought a lot to find a new direction, most recently travel idea.
"The
village has cool climate, lush green forests, beautiful terraced fields, and
intact traditional culture of Muong ethnic group. Many groups of tourists
visited the village and expressed their impression on local scenery and people
here so we found out that Mung holds potential of tourism development. In
April, departments, agencies, mass organizations and households in the village
(70 people) held tours of Moc Chau in Son La province and Lac village in Mai
Chau district to learn about their experience in community-based tourism.
Following such visits, we hope that authorities would offer support to us to
develop tourism in the future”, Linh said./.
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.