(HBO) _ The Hang Kia - Pa Co area is located 1,200m above sea level with the main seasons - rainy and dry seasons, and the annual average temperature of about 18.50 degrees Celsius. Hang Kia and Pa Co are two communes where Mong ethnic people account for 99 percent of their population.
Hand-pounding banh day (sticky
rice cake) - one of the unique foods of the people in Hang Kia - Pa Co (Mai
Chau).
Local residents preserve their cultural values as well as traditional handicrafts
such as weaving, brocade embroidery, indigo dyeing, beeswax painting, and
blacksmithing. Besides, there are unique foods of Mong people such as corn alcohol,
thang co (soup madewith thevisceraofhorse), banh day (sticky rice cake), chickens and pig,
bamboo shoots served with unique spices.
Visiting to Hang Kia and Pa Co communes, visitors can explore roads
winding mountains, plum and peach gardens, green tea hills, and markets
featuring unique culture of the Mong group; and other destinations with untouched
beauty like Thung A Lang, Thung Man, Thung Ang, or high peaks to watch clouds at
the Heaven Gate, and an area from Pa Khom to Thung Mai.
Since 2018, the two communes have welcomed over 5,000 visitors, over 60
percent of them was international tourists.
This number is far behind the tourism development potential of the two communes,
but proves that Hang Kia and Pa Co are greatly attractive to domestic and
foreign tourists.
Therefore, it is necessary to enhance tourism promotion and attract investors
to further develop tourism in the two communes, towards changing their economic
structure.
To promote tourism development in Mai Chau, especially in Hang Kia and
Pa Co, the provincial People’s Committee organised tourism investment promotion
conferences in the localities.
The provincial People’s Committee built a list of tourism investment attraction
projects, including Ta Xong A high-class ecological resort project, Ta Xo
ecological resort, Thung A Lang tourist area, Heaven Gate eco-tourism area, and
Thung Man and Thung Ang eco- tourism areas.
Vice Chairman of the
UNESCO Hanoi Travel Club Doan Ngoc Tung said he is impressed by the beauty of
natural landscape, climate, and friendliness of locals as well as unique
culture of Mong people living in Hang Kia and Pa Co.
This is also a
highlight to attract tourists, especially foreign visitors, to come, he said.
"After this field trip, we will build products and tours to the two communes to
serve tourists”, he added./.
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.