In the early days of December, Hien Luong commune (Da Bac district) is bustling with the atmosphere of one of the most anticipated events of the year - Da Bac district's culture, sports and tourism festival 2023 with a range of activities.
Kayaking competition leaves a deep impression on visitors.
Da Bac is a revolutionary land that is endowed with natural beauty and rich
cultural identities. As a locality located in the Hoa Binh Lake national
tourist site’s planning, the district has promoted tourism promotion activities
with the goal of turning Da Bac into a green, safe and friendly destination,
Taking place on December 2-3, the culture, sports and tourism festival features
many special cultural and sports activities. Visitors can experience the
traditional culture of ethnic minorities in the district such as Muong, Dao and
Tay. Many local items of the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme were
displayed at the event such as Da river fish, native black pigs and vegetables.
Trung Thanh is a highland commune of Da Bac district, that is famous with Shan
Tuyet tea products. Locals also cultivate other types of vegetables and fruits
which are adapted to cool climates such as chayote and taro. These agricultural
products offer a variety of choices for tourists.
The commune has many high quality and safe agricultural products but they have
not brought high economic efficiency as expected due to limitations relating to
products' promotion, said Bui Thi Tuyen who resides in Trung Thanh commune’s
Trung Tam hamlet. Thus, the organisation of activities to promote tourism and
agricultural products is very important to local residents.
The highlight of the festival is strolling from the commune centre to Ke
hamlet. This activity attracted over 400 participants with the message of
protecting the environment and landscape around Hoa Binh reservoir area. In
particular, the kayaking competition was exciting with the participation of
over 100 athletes. This is one of the attractive tourism products for travelers
when visiting and staying in Hien Luong commune as well as other communes in
the Hoa Binh reservoir area.
Phung Thi Dien, a tourist from Tan Son district, Phu Tho province said this is
the first time she has visited Da Bac during a tourism promotion event and she
had an interesting experience. She was impressed by the beautiful scenery
around the Hoa Binh Hydropower plant and the hospitality of local residents.
Da Bac district has over 7,000 hectares of water surface and many communes in
the Hoa Binh Lake National Tourist Site’s planning.
Luong Van Thi, Chairman of the Da Bac District People's
Committee, said that in its planning, Da Bac was divided into three areas. They
comprise seven communes surrounding Hoa Binh reservoir area, which will develop
tourism in line with planning approved by the Prime Minister; the town area
that is designated for urban and industrial zones development, and highland
communes which will develop forestry in association with experiential and
cultural tourism.
The district Party Congress’s Resolution also determined
sustainable development of agriculture, forestry and industry associated with
tourism and services to promote the district’s socio-economic development, he
continued. Thus, the district has been implementing solutions to promote
tourism promotion to attract domestic and foreign travellers. Last year, the
district organised a cultural, sports and tourism festival and this year’s
edition was held on a larger scale with more activities. The district
determined that this is a key task and the event will be held annually with the
goal of developing tourism into a key economic sector, he said.
Hoa Binh has taken measures, focusing on removing barriers in terms of mechanism, policy, infrastructure, and upgrading technical infrastructure facilities serving tourism and the quality of human resources, to promote tourism development in the Hoa Binh Lake area.
Over the past time, Da Bac has deployed measures to lure more domestic and foreign visitors to the locality, aiming to turn tourism into the district’s economic spearhead.
Covering an area of over 52,000 hectares spanning districts of Mai Chau, Tan Lac, Cao Phong, Da Bac, and Hoa Binh City, Hoa Binh lake has strong potential for tourism development. In recent years, thanks to the attention of local Party Committees and authorities as well as support from international organisations, the advantages of tourism in the lake area have been utilised.
Mai Chau is a mountainous district and home to many ethnic groups such as Thai, Muong, Kinh, Mong, Dao, and Tay with distinctive cultural identities, creating a diverse and unique cultural treasure. Aware of its advantages, the district has paid attention to the preservation and promotion of ethnic groups’ cultural values so that culture will become a leverage for tourism and contribute to socio-economic development and life quality improvement.