Ornamental apricots Điền Hòa

It’s a good chance close to Tết or new-year days to visit Điền Hòa commune, Phong Điền district, Thừa Thiên - Huế province and see thousands of ornamental apricot-plants in bloom. Điền Hòa apricots are famous for the flowers (both colour and scent) and the well-experienced apricot-growers.

Ornamental apricots Điền Hòa - Huế

Photo: Như Quỳnh

Every year, when comes 10th - 25th of lunar December, apricot festival is organized for participants whose ornamental plants will be on show and for sales. It’s their age-old tradition to grow apricots. There are well-famed growers such as Mr. Nguyễn Văn Để, Đỗ Khả, Đặng Thân...

Điền Hòa apricots vary in species: hoàng trúc mai, hoàng diệp mai, diệp cúc mai..., but hoàng trúc mai is really a rarity due to its yellow petals and sweet flavours. Mr. Nguyễn Văn Bé said “apricots bloom early or late, that depends on the weather, but hoàng trúc mai (yellow apricot) always bloom in Tết season. Anyway, apricot-plants can be made in different shapes, but mostly in two: long vân and long giáng... In fact, it costs time and effects to have a good ornamental apricot as expected. It needs looking after in years, and there are 4 points to be cared for: the roots, the trunk, the branches, the shape. A good-looking plan must have 4 sides like dragons. In Mr. Được’s opinion, the grower must be very careful in everything to look after, from the time, we place the roots in a vase, then the branches. The vase or pot to grow the apricot must be carefully picked and chosen how to fit the plant both in size and colour. Anyhow “old apricots” need to be grown in old pots. In Điền Hòa park, now there is a hundred-year-old apricot and it blooms every year. The old and big apricots in Huế royal city came from Điền Hòa. In the whole village, now there are 2,000 plants from 10 -15 years old. In all 300 household that have at least 5 - 7 and at most 50-70 apricots. Each costs 3 millions VNĐ or more, same cost up to 40-59 millions VNĐ, especially to 100 millions. Many families become well-off thanks to apricot growing.

During Tết time, we can see apricots everywhere. Vietnamese living overseas, after celebrating at home, buy and transport apricots (by waterways) to France, America and Canada... 
                                                                                      THU HẰNG

Wonder - mountain Vệ Linh

Sóc temple complex (in Sóc Sơn, Hà Nội) composes of relics, related to god-hero Thánh Gióng, scattering from mountain-foot to the top, very attractive to visitors on their journey to see the legendary location of ancient Việts in their national construction and defense. From the mountain peak, the whole beautiful region can be viewed.

Sóc temple festival

Photo: Văn Chương

Before climbing to the top, just come to see temples at the foot: Trình, Mẫu, Đại Bi, Thượng... not very far from each other. Centrepiece is Thượng or upper temple, dedicated to god Thánh Gióng who wiped out the Chinese Ân invaders. It’s a temple of great magnitude built in streamline-shape. The outer house is 5-section and the inner house is smaller. Worship objects: statues, swords and weapons... are deeply identified of Việt culture.

On 6th of lunar January every year, a festival is organized by villages to commemorate the god Thánh Gióng (in his native land: Phù Đổng village, Gia Lâm district, it’s on 9th of lunar April). There are games and sports activities but most typical is cướp giò hoa. It means the 500 flowers attached to bamboo frame (symbol of the rod used by the god to fight the enemy). The game takes place on the first day, then comes the worship ceremony and it’s the most important for participants. It has been deeply rooted in the spiritual life of the locals and the pilgrims as well.
                                                                                  THU HẰNG

The imperial city of Lê dynasty

Lam Kinh is a historic site in Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province, 200km form Hanoi in the Southwest. It’s a wonderland with rivers and mountains. In the first reign of Le dynasty, Lam Kinh was seen as the second capital of Vietnam. After historical changes and events, palaces, royal temples… now only remain in relics. Untouched by time now stand only the stone-monument Vinh Lang (stele), the tomb of King Le Thai To, the tomb and stele of King Le Hien Tong.

Lam Kinh citadel

The 10-year resistance led by Le Loi was ended in victory. On 15th of January in 1428 (Year of Monkey), Le Loi was crowned as Emperor in Dong Kinh, royal name Thuan Thien, the first and stationed in Dong Kinh (Thang Long – Hanoi today). Simultaneously, he had a second royal city built in Lam Son (his homeland) and called it Lam Kinh, also known as Tay Kinh.

Just 100m from the front door, there are still relics of the 6m-wide gate and two walls to the sides of Ngoc river. The citadel-foundation is 1.08m thick. 10m from the gate inside, there’s a man-made river, 19m wide. The river is sourced from Tay Ho until Lam Kinh palace. Across the river is an arrow-shaped brige Tien Loan Kieu or Bach Kieu (White brige) with a house on (thuong gia ha kieu). 50m from the brige, there’s an old well, in rectangular (3.5m long, 30m large) with 4 walls built of stone. The well is never dry and the water is very clear.

The tomb of King Le Thai To looks quite modest built on a large area shahed by old trees and plants. The head of the tomb is on the mountain while the side looks to the river. Stud-animals and mandarines were made of stone in small sizes that make the scene solemn but not powerful.

Visitors to Lam King seem to be back to the sacred land where the later Le was born and prosperous and we seem to be hearing the battle sounds of drums in the first days of the resistance. Almost architectural projects were destroyed except the stele-house and the tombs of Kings and Queens remain untouched. Deep in the ground, there are still relics of palaces, temples… and overall, it’s the fighting spirit of Lam Kinh that still lives in the hearts and souls of the Vietnamese.

Lam Kinh historic palace is being upgraded and rebuilt to preserve the traditional culture and architectural of Vietnam in the 15th century, to restore Tay Kinh as a destination for visitors at home and abroad.

                                                                       KIỀU HƯNG

Forget-me-not Quảng Bình

Located at 491km far from Hanoi in the South and 157km from ancient Hue imperial city in the North, bordered in the North by Ha Tinh province, in the South by Quang Tri, in the West by Laos and in the East by Eastern Sea on 116 km-long seacoast, Quang Binh province has plains, forests, mountains, rivers and islands. Undergone historical changes and natural events, Quang Binh is richly endowed with tourism potentials both in nature and humanism. Right in young city Dong Hoi, a city of tranquility, visitors are able to enjoy beautiful landscapes or strolling on fine beaches, Nhat Le, Quang Phu, Bao Ninh or swimming in clean water. Dong Hoi is also rich in cultural and historic identities, revolutionary traditions such as archaelogical sites Bau Tro, Dong Hoi Citadel, Quang Binh frontier post, Luy Thay....

The eco-tourism complex Phong Nha – Ke Bang is a must-see destination, three are about 300 caves and grottoes, large a small full of mysteries. It’s said to be the world wonder, to be “a Kingdom of Caves”, the paradise for scientists and explorers, tourists. In Phong Nha – Ke Bang virgin forests, there are more than 1000 mountain peaks, rocky, untouched, unexploited and it’s very exciting for adventurers. In the national park Phong Nha – Ke Bang, there is a tropical forest, almost unaffected. It’s covered almost 96,2% and vary in bio-diversity. There are 876 flora species, 140 animal species, 356 bird species, 99 reptile and amplibian species, 259 butterfly, 162 fish, 47 frog species and all these are listed in a red book by IUCN.

Moreover, in Phong Nha – Ke Bang, there are also historic and cultural relics of great values: archaelogical sites of pre – history, Champa culture and ancient Viets, the Anti – French Resistance base of King Ham Nghi in late 19th century (in Ma Rai Mountain) and famous localities: Ho Chi Minh trail, Xuan Son ferry, Nguyen Van Troi ferry, road N0 20, the tangible and intangible cultural values of Chut ethnics along Ho Chi Minh highway 7km from Dong Hoi city, in the West, there’s an eco-cultural tourism complex Vuc Quanh and open museum. Every relics, exhibit here testify to the revolutionary heroism of the Vietnamsese. On a 10 ha – large area, the models and images of Quang Binh people’s work – and – fight life 60 years ago have been reheated with hospital, field clinic, class – room, kindergarten, houses, stores, a – shaped bonch shelter, bomb craters, beaten road.

Bao Ninh village is a red address for visitors to Quang Binh. It’s a fishing village washed in sunshine and fresh air and landscape: sand- hills beaches, rivers, lakes side by side with green forest.

High-end Sun Spa Resort in Bao Ninh is ready at your services and ther are more to see: historic and cultural relics Luy Truong Sa, Sa Chuy post and the homeland of heroic Mother Suot.

                                                                 PHƯƠNG THẢO

Mẫu Sơn discovery

Mau Son tourism complex in Lang Son province, on 80 mounts and mountains is 1000m high above the sea level. Climate in Mau Son is typically Asian tropical and sub-tropical, cool and bright sunshire in summer, cloudy in winter. In spring, Mau Son seems to be covered by red colour of peach flowers and peach-fruit here are very tasty.

In Mau Son, you can carry out reseach study in virgin forest or climb the peaks Phia Me (1,520m high), Phia Bo (1,511m high). Mau Son forests are rich in flora species: sau sau, nganh nganh, pine-varieties, bamboo-shoots, mushrooms… especially the pure honey. The deeper into the forests, the more precious medicinal herbs we can find ba kich, nhan sam, huyen dang, that diep, ngu gia bi… With which the ethnic minority Dao people process in many traditional medicines, especially herbal bath that help to revitalize when we are tired and exhausted, we can take bath in bath-tub or bring herbs home.

Mẫu Sơn resort;          Photo: K.D

In Mau Son mountainous village’s archaelogists have found out ancient stone-architectures (stone-tombs and stone temples). It’s catacombs in rectangular (2.8m long and 1m wide, 0,5m high). The builders used natural stones to set up a wall in the west and small stones in the north and east. The tomb was covered with a smaller square stone, that’s why in the south, there’s a tunnel of 2m long and its catacomb.

In Mau Son, there are streams running o flat stones (dozens of meters long) and make waterfalls in windy forests. The stream water and the secret distillery skills help the locals to produce Mau Son alcohol. “Mau Son whisky” is a special product. It’s tasty and easy to make drinkers drunk. Such alcohol can only be made here in Mau Son, no otherwises.

Visitors to Mau Son on spring will be lucky to attend a local wedding ceremony of the Dao minority, to enjoy fried pigs with mac mat leaves and Mau Son alcohol, to take part in singing.

Please, come to Mau Son, just to put away your busy and noisy life in cities, to discover nature, to enjoy local foods and drinks, to find out local life styles and to by local products for souvenirs and presents on the way home.

                                                                     THANH SƠN

Tân Cương - Tea of Thái Nguyên

Located at about 13km from Thái Nguyên city in the West, Tân Cương is really a destination with natural scenery, sloping hills facing the sunset called “lizard mountain” or “núi Thằn Lằn”. All the streams, headed from the forests, are running along the hill-front to freshen the land of famous tea.

Green environment and clean air seem to activate the community life and to surprise the visitors. Hill after hill, tea garden after each other and the flavour of tea make the whole area scented. Day by day, the locals busy themselves with picking and processing tea-buds, so highly-skilled as the conjurers, they are honoured to be the artisans. Each family has a drying-kiln and a house-owner can act in different roles: a farmer as growing, a worker (in processing) and a dealer (in selling tea). Tea-buds picking is for young girls, that’s why, on every tea-hill, it’s always filled with their laughter and singing. Traditionally, tea was dried in cast-iron pan or bronze pan, it needs patience and good care and only women are patient enough for the job. Nowadays, everything is done by machines, it takes less time. Any way, tea quality much depends on how to adjust the heat, sometimes, it’s up to 1800C for generations, the Tân Cương people can feel the heat with their hands.

Their sensitive and fingers tell them how and when to make the heat high or low. If it’s too hot, tea will become bitter taste. Some skilled people can feel the heat by moving tea leaves. No visitors can come close to the drying pan, although they are carefully instructed.

Tea-buds, after picking, need drying in shades in 3 hours, it’s a precious experience handed down by generations. Visitors to Tân Cương will be guided to the “ancestral land”, to see the old tea-plants in Lam Sơn, under the foot of Guộc mountain. The old tea-trees are so big that a man can only embrace with wide-open arms.

It’s very interesting and joyful to sip the tea in the fresh-air atmosphere while listening to aged people telling the history of their “ancestral land of tea”. Tân Cương tea flavours seem to be the quintessence of natural scents. Don’t forget to buy the local products - Tân Cương tea for your presents and souvenirs when you visit the land.

                                                                    CÔNG THÀNH

Mũi Điện - where the sun rise is first seen

On the north - south road, in between cols Cù Mông and Cả, you will see Mũi Điện - where the dawn is first welcome daily in Vietnam mainland.

Mũi Điện (Điện cape) lies on mountain-peak Bà of Đại Lãnh range (part of Trường Sơn range that creates Vũng Rô bay). Mũi Điện is locally named Mũi Nạy due to its look like a tree-branch from the open sea.

Môn beach

On maps under Nguyễn dynasty, Đại Lãnh range was carved on Tuyên urn - in Minh Mạng rule (Tuyên is one of 9 dynastic urns still well preserved in the imperial city - Huế ancient capital). In late 19th century, French naval captain Varella, in his inspection tour of South-East Asian sea, discovered the cape and marked on the maritime chart. Due to its importance on water ways in 1980, the French built a light-house on 80m height (above the sea-level) and the sea-farers could see the light on their way, so it was called Mũi Điện (cape of electricity). In 1945, the light-house was out of operation until it was rebuilt in 1995 (on 3rd of July). The house is now one of 45 national ones and it’s one of 8, over one-hundred-year-old light-house in Vietnam. The house is 26m high (inside, there’s a 107 spiral wooden staircase) and it has 26,5 nautical miles in geographical sight with 24 nautical mile light. It’s operated by automatically sun-battery from 6PM to 6AM following day with standard lighting (15 second-cycle) which link the seafarer and the mainland.

Before 2004, it has to take motor-boat to arrive at Mũi Điện. Nowadays, visitors can go by car, there’s a steep-slope road leading to the peak, and a small bay at the food of the mount by side of a sand-hill. Môn beach is 1,5km long with clear water and calm sea, not so deep for children. In the west of the beach, there’s a small spring shared by forests in north Đèo Cả. The spring runs zigzagging on the beach out to the sea. In the evening, visitors will be relaxing by enjoying grilled fish (freshly-caught), listening to tales and stories of the light-house watchmen.

Mũi Điện and the light-house make a wonderful landscape where the dawn is first seen daily, ideal for discovery. The Provincial People’s Committee plans to build it as an attractive destination and festival to welcome sun-rise will be held every year at visitors’ demand.

                                                                               THU TRANG

Water falls - Tourist potentials of Đắk Nông

In dialect of M’ Nông ethnic minority, Đắk Nông means a gourd of water, a thing inseparable from western highlanders. Đắk Nông is considered as second Đà Lạt in the high plateau, the head sources of rivers and steams which gave rise to a number of beautiful waterfalls: D’ray Sap, Gia Long, Trinh Nữ, Liêng Nung, Đắk Glun, Ba Tầng…

D'ray Sap water fall

Photo: Ngọc Hà

Most wonderful is fall D’ray Sap in Krông Nô district. In the natural landscapes, D’ray Sap water pours down from 20m height. In Ê đê language, D’ray Sap means fall of smoke. Legend has it that, there once lived a young girl named H’mi, a hard-working farmer. One day when she was having a rest, a monster so big that its head as a mountain, its eyes as the big pots, with long beard and pointed teeth, its body was covered by shining scabs. It appeared from sky and flied in a river, its trunk went deep into the soil that made a colossal column of water. The monster flung the wings, made a heavy rain, and then disappeared. H’mi was so frightened that she turned into fog, and her boyfriend into a big tree. The right spot is now the waterfall D’ray Sap. Their passionate love created the fall, as beautiful as the rainbow in the thin screen of water and smoke.

Trinh Nữ fall (virginity) is about 1km from the district town Cơ Jut in the west. You can walk on stone –steps round the fall viewing natural beauty in the sounds and sights of the fall, you can take a rest or even stay overnight in tent or in stilt-house of the highlanders.

Gia Long fall in about 50m high and 100m large, flowing downstream to river Serepok. There’s a small lake in between the forests, the “Fairy lake” as it’s called, is 80m2 large, clean, clear and beautiful. Gia Long fall is very attractive to visitors.

At about 8km from Gia Nghĩa town in the water fall Liêng Nung, an eco-cultural tourism area. The fall hides itself in the hills and forests. The natural scenery, the noise of falling water and the singing of birds, the 30m-high water flows make the scene more attractive and fascinating.

Apart from rivers and streams, there are large lakes in Đắk Nông such as Easo, West, Trúc, Ea T’linh and Đắc Rông… that have become tourist potentials good for future tourism development.

                                                                                NGUYÊN HẢI

Conquest of Phanxipan

Phanxipan (3.143m high) is the highest mountain in Vietnam and in Indochina as well.

On the peak of Phanxipan

In local language, Phanxipan or Hủa xi pan, means “unsteady colossal stone”. Phanxipan is part of Hoàng Liên Sơn range, in Southwest of Sapa town, bordering north - western provinces Lào Cai and Lai Châu. Phanxipan in now the venue of mountain climbers and this special tour can be operated and guided by professional travel agencies or local tour leaders. The first morning is coach trip from Sapa to Trạm Tôn hill-top, then climbers begin the tour through small mountains to a 1900m-high. Stop-over by a stream-side for camping, cooking and overnight rest. The second day is continued to the highest peak Phanxipan (3.143m high above the sea level). This is the most strenuous part of the journey but the most interesting to take a rest and have lunch on the roof of Vietnam. It’s also dangerous way due to its winding and rocky trail with one side is high mountain and the other is deep valley.

Best time for Phanxipan conquest is from September to following March. Anyway, the road to the roof is the finest in late February when wild flowers are in full bloom. What a poetic and romantic scene it’s in the forests and mountains and it’s also good time for nature’s photo-hunters of old conifer-trees green ivory bamboos, clear-water streams, stone-fields and the red sun in floating clouds. Weariness and hardships seem to give way when you put your hands on a metal tower - the bust of President Hồ Chí Minh in a glass case.

For this discovery
Please contact
Vietway Travel
Tel: 04.7724766
Add: P101- K2 - Thành Công, Ba Đình, Hà Nội
Sapa Travel Service
Add: Sapa town
Tel: 020.871674

                                                                                  NGUYỄN VŨ

Phượng Hoàng cave and Mỏ Gà stream

Phượng Hoàng or Phoenix cave and Mỏ Gà  or chicken stream were classified as national heritage by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1994.

Mỏ Gà stream in Thái Nguyên Photo: HD

About 800m from national road N⁰7, Phượng Hoàng cave lies on top of the mountain (600m above the sea level). There seem to be two fondling phoenixes. The mountain is called Phượng Hoàng due to a originally legendary story: there’s one a happy couple of phoenixes.

When the female laid two eggs, it stayed home and hatched while the made one was away looking for food. One day, he was so busy with natural beauty that he got lost and forgot his wife until he realized it and flied home, only to see his wife turned into stone while waiting for him. So regretful, he lied and looked over the stone, his  wife with out eating anything, then he died and the God turned him into stone too, and let them be together. It takes you just one how to reach the top. The cave has 3 floors, the uppermost is Thượng or Dơi cave, then saving or light cave (it’s lighted by sunshine from the East and South East). Giữa cave is about 1000m² large, there are stalagmites and stalactites and dripping water inside. The underground cave is Dark (sunshine can never reach here).

From the cave-door, we proceed to stream-cave Mỏ Gà. Story has it that long, long ago, it didn’t rain a long time the fields and farmer went into forest cutting wood. A fairy man turned himself into a hen and chickens. The farmer chased to catch the hen and the chickens, but they finally disappeared in a big stone, thinking, they might be these so the farmer moved the stone away, and to his surprise a current of fresh water rushing out. Thanks to this, the fields became green again, crops got bumper and the people’s life changed. Be grateful, the people named their village Mỏ Gà. The stream water is very clean and fresh from inside the mountain. The cave is about 10-20m wide and 2-6m deep (it’s here waist-deep there heel-deep). Nobody known how long the stream is. But when you come inside 300-400m, it looks more attractive, there’s a flat stone like a bed, and it’s called “fairy bed”, there are 5 or 6 small waterfalls.

Mỏ Gà stream and Phượng Hoàng cave become a surprise for tourists. 

                                                  

                                                            NGUYÊN VŨ