Boat trip to visit Son La lake (Quynh Nhai district) is one of the experiences when visiting Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area. Cruise on Son La Lake About 60 km from the center of Son La city, Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area emerges as an attractive tourist destination in the Northwest region with beautiful natural landscapes. In operation since March 2019, the resort includes a complex of works: tourist boat dock, Pa Uon bridgehead general service area, heart island, community tourism combined with Bon mineral bath. (Muong Chien commune)… Exploring Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area, visitors will be able to travel on a boat to visit Son La lake (actually the bed of Son La hydroelectric lake), admire the beautiful natural landscape with clear blue water. The two sides are limestone mountains and small islands. Perhaps that is why tourists compare this place to the “Ha Long Bay” of the Northwest. The highlight of the experience journey is discovering Heart Island – more than 10 km upstream from Pa Uon Bridge (the highest pillared bridge in Vietnam). Coming here, in addition to admiring the majestic beauty of the Da River, visitors can experience activities of swimming on the river, water bicycle, boating, taking photos on the island… From here, travel by boat to the top. From the source of the Da River for more than 1 hour, visitors will come to visit and experience the community tourism area combined with hot mineral bath in Bon village, enjoy the unique ethnic cuisine. Panoramic view of Son La lake when standing from Nang Han temple. In addition to discovering the beautiful scenery on Son La lake, tourists can also visit Linh Son Thuy Tu relic, Nang Han temple on Pu Nghiu hill (Muong Giang commune). Linh Son Thuy Tu is a temple to worship mountain gods, river gods, then rulers of heaven and earth, and all things… And Nang Han temple is a place to worship the Thai national hero female general – who had merit in defeating the enemy. northern. Head of Tourism Management Department (Son La Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Bui Khac Bao said that Son La province has its own plan to develop Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area into a key tourist destination of Vietnam. the provincial. Introducing more about Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area, Mr. Dang Quang Giau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Quynh Nhai Fisheries and Ecotourism Cooperative said that the unit has invested in a system of motels, homestays and services on left island. heart, a model of community tourism combined with Bon mineral spring bathing service. Currently, these services are ready to welcome guests. Wake up potential Despite the advantages of nature and landscape, until now Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area still faces many difficulties in attracting tourists. Chairman of Quynh Nhai District People’s Committee Hoang Tien Cuong said that because it was recently put into operation, it was affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, so in 2020 and 2021, this eco-tourism area will not receive the expected number of visitors. Assessing the potential of tourism exploitation in Quynh Nhai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of APT Group Nguyen Hong Dai said that Quynh Nhai eco-tourism area has a lot of potential to develop resort tourism. However, to really attract tourists going long distances to experience, Quynh Nhai needs to invest more in infrastructure, services, many attractive entertainment experiences, modern and comfortable resorts. According to Director of Tam Phuong Travel Company Le Thu Phuong, in order to develop resort advantages, Quynh Nhai district should focus on developing tourism and services in parallel with protecting the ecological environment and landscape. . Son La Tourism Association, Quynh Nhai District People’s Committee and Hanoi Tourism Association signed a contract to deploy new tourism products linking Hanoi and Quynh Nhai (Son La) in April 2021. In this regard, Chairman of Quynh Nhai District People’s Committee Hoang Tien Cuong informed that the District People’s Committee has just sent a written request to Son La Provincial People’s Committee to consider and allow enterprises to research and set up investment projects to develop tourism in the lake. hydroelectricity in the district. The scope of the proposed investment project includes an area of ​​3,000 hectares of water surface (out of a total of 10,520 hectares of water surface in Quynh Nhai district) and 500 hectares of land which is the area surrounding the lake bed, including islands and peninsulas. from Pa Ma Pha Khinh commune to Muong Chien commune. “It is expected that in the area of ​​​​Quynh Nhai hydropower reservoir, a high-class resort tourism will be developed, focusing on exploiting the typical space, long-standing cultural and historical values ​​with items such as amusement parks, resort services, film studios, hot mineral water baths … “, said Mr. Hoang Tien Cuong. The charming beauty of Quynh Nhai is currently a bright spot in the tourism development strategy of Son La province, in order to awaken the tourism potential here, besides investing in services and utilities, present Currently, Quynh Nhai district in particular and Son La province in general are implementing tourism links with other provinces and cities, including Hanoi capital to form a new tourist route to attract tourists.

Gate to Dong Dau Archaeological Site (Yen Lac – Vinh Phuc). Photo: Tien Dung. Lesson 1: Used to be the largest ancient Vietnamese residence in the Northern Delta Reviewing the historical process, Yen Lac is a land rich in potential for historical relics. In Binh Dinh commune, a relic of Go Gai (also known as Dong Gai) has been found in Coc Lam village, a site of Phung Nguyen culture. In Dong Cuong commune, there is Quan Doi (also known as Quan Doi Dong) at the junior high school area, with vestiges of Phung Nguyen culture. Also in Dong Cuong commune, there is Ma Hon, in Chi Chi village, with vestiges of the Metal Age. Right in Yen Lac town, there is a famous archaeological site of Dong Dau, with vestiges of the culture of Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, and Go Mun. Also in this area was found the site of Go Chua Bien Son with vestiges of the Phung Nguyen culture. In Nguyet Duc commune, there is Dinh Xa site, in Dinh Xa village, Dong Dau cultural site has been discovered. In this commune, there is also a site of Hai Cay bronze with traces of the Metal Age… Archaeologists have initially sketched a panorama of ancient times in this place thanks to excavations, survey and reconnaissance in Yen Lac district and Vinh Phuc province. Panorama of Dong Dau archaeological site (Yen Lac – Vinh Phuc). Photo: Tien Dung. While the district has just formed 5 industrial clusters but has not yet formed an industrial park like other areas in the province, Yen Lac advocates exploiting its strengths in culture, especially historical and cultural relics to preserve , promote, first of all to serve sustainable tourism development in order to break out of the purely agricultural district. On the basis of information provided by leaders of Yen Lac district, at the beginning of the year of Tan Suu (2021), we went to survey Dong Dau archaeological relic which was ranked as a National Historical and Cultural relic by the State. from April 21, 2000. This relic is 1.5 Km east of Yen Lac district center, completely located on a mound about 6 m high compared to the surrounding lowland field, with a total area of ​​8.5 ha, in Dong village, Yen town. Lost. Since its discovery (in 1962) until now, Dong Dau archaeological relic has been protected, serving for excavations, research, study tours of specialized scientific agencies, scientists and researchers. domestic and foreign scientists and students from local schools. Stone axes and bowls were discovered at Dong Dau archaeological site in 1999. Photo: Vinhphuc.gov.vn/ Dong Dau relic has undergone 7 major exploration and excavation times in the years: 1965-1966, 1967, 1968-1969, 1984, 1987, 1999 and 2012, with a total area of ​​758m2, concentrated on the southern slopes. East, South, West and the top of the mound with an average thickness of cultural layer over 3m (up to 6m in some places). The 7th excavation was held in December 2012 with the participation of 3 agencies, namely the Department of Archeology, Faculty of History, University of Science and Humanities – Hanoi National University, the Vietnam Archaeological Association and the Department of Archeology. Culture Sports Tourism Vinh Phuc province. Bronze artifacts discovered at Dong Dau archaeological site in 1999. Photo: Vinhphuc.gov.vn Through 7 excavations, many archaeological remains have been discovered with thousands of specimens, tons of pottery pieces of all kinds, extremely rich in materials, types, diverse in types and designs. symbols of 3 cultures: Phung Nguyen – Dong Dau – Go Mun made of stone (axe, chisels, grinding tables, rings, jewelry beads), bronze (ax, file, arrow, hook, javelin) ceramic ( pieces of pots, jars, forks, stringers, ceramic balls and many tools made of bones and horns, animal remains such as pigs, deer, deer, buffalo, cows, dogs, tigers… and quite a few fish bones. At the same time, there are also images of buffaloes, cows, chickens and many animal bones found, for the first time, burnt rice grains have been found, proving that wet rice farming has existed for a long time and plays an important role. important in the life of ancient Vietnamese residents. Dong Dau Go is a precious relic, contributing to affirming in the historical process of the nation spanning about 2 millennia, the ancient Vietnamese people stopped and settled in Dong Dau, creating the Northern Delta. and created the Red River civilization, especially built a brilliant wet rice civilization. Compared to all other archaeological sites (usually with a cultural layer of about 40-50cm), Dong Dau has the thickest cultural layer up to 6m and has a bottom-up evolution over time. Archaeologists have discovered 4 cultural layers of this archaeological site. The bottom (oldest) layer unearthed many stoneware, pottery, horn tools and many animal remains. Notably, in 1999, the Vietnam History Museum in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vinh Phuc conducted the 6th excavation and discovered a burial tomb, still retaining human remains of the Phung Nguyen culture. This excavation, although only 25m2, but also discovered a tomb located at a depth of 3m. Archaeologists have found very clear tomb borders. The tomb is almost intact except for the missing left femur – possibly due to later people digging a hole to hit the grave and also not ruling out the destruction of the termite nest. The reason is unknown, but found evidence that the right fibula was broken but healed. In particular, there is the custom of dyeing the teeth black and the custom of extracting the upper front teeth and the entire lower front teeth. Obviously, this is not a lost tooth, because if it falls out, the arch must leave traces of tooth points. Meanwhile, this skeleton saw that the lower arch of the jaw where it was extracted had healed to form a sharp edge. The ancient human remains found in Dong Dau were dated by radiocarbon dating (C14) method, showing that the earliest class in Dong Dau dates back to 3,500 years ago. In the remaining three cultural layers, more bronze artifacts were discovered. From the discovered archaeological relics, through the research process, up to now, it is possible to recognize the basic Dong Dau archaeological relics: Dong Dau is the largest ancient Vietnamese residence site in the center of the Northern Delta region, the largest distribution area, the thickest cultural layer, containing a huge amount of archaeological artifacts. and rich. Overview of the excavation pit at Dong Dau relic, 1969. The stages of archaeological culture following the continuous progression at the archaeological site of Dong Dau have confirmed very clearly that: The earliest class was from Phung Nguyen, followed by Dong Dau, Go Mun and finally Dong Son. And because of that, from the Dong Dau relic, Vietnamese archaeologists have a scientific basis to determine the criteria for the stages of cultural development in the Red River basin: The earliest humans present here belong to the late stage of Phung Nguyen culture, they have reached the peak of primitive stone processing techniques, polished, beautiful, sophisticated stone jewelry, began to appear. copper metallurgy. Pottery made by turntable, elegant, balanced, beautiful, typical pattern is the project of carving lines, dots, and symmetry. Wet rice farming has developed, many rice grains and rice burned in coal ash have been discovered. Next is the Dong Dau period with typical elements of reduced stone tools, thick pottery, high calcination, decorative patterns with music staff motifs, brushed into projects: letter S, number 8, symmetry ; bones, horns develop; copper casting technique became the dominant factor. The third layer belongs to the Go Mun culture period, the remaining stone items are few, the horn bones are rare, the pottery is rough, the calcination is higher than the previous two stages, mainly the broken mouth, the main decorative pattern. on the mouth. The top layer belongs to the Dong Son culture period, because the surface of the site has been plowed since it has not been discovered, but the discovered relics are scattered in the scope of the site, mainly bronze artifacts: Axes. Xeo, spear, and knife are typical of Dong Son culture. With 4 periods of archaeological culture present on the same site, the development is continuous, representing a stable and long-term settlement process of ancient Vietnamese residents to form the first State of the people. Ethnicity- State of Van Lang in the Hung King era This is the greatest value of the archaeological site of Dong Dau, not only for Vinh Phuc but also for Vietnam and Southeast Asia. These are extremely valuable evidences to learn about the customs, practices and especially the anthropological composition of the ancient Vietnamese in the Red River basin. The discovery of ancient human remains in Dong Dau will contribute to scientific documents that gradually shed light on the issue of “Vietnamese origin” that many scientists are still trying to find and research. From that, it can be affirmed that Dong Dau along with other archaeological vestiges system in Yen Lac and Vinh Phuc province is from Phung Nguyen culture to Dong Son culture, which brought the process of opening the period of Hung Vuong building the country from the mythical age of Vietnam. history but is being forgotten, wasted, not studied, preserved and promoted to serve sustainable socio-economic development. (There’s more)

A residential area in Ba Thuoc district for tourism development. Photo: Nguyen Nam / VNA Passing the roads with the wild and majestic natural landscape, the Pảban village gradually appears with the folds of stilt houses nestled peacefully on the green hills. The road leading to the village is winding like a soft silk, one side is a cliff, the other is a gentle abyss with terraced fields covered with green rice, girls … All evocative giving visitors a strange feeling of peace when leaving the hustle and bustle of the city. In a traditional house on stilts of the Muong Pả people, Mr. Hoang Xuan Hai – the first person to lay the foundation for the community-based tourism in Paban cheerfully: In Pảban, the Muong make up 95%, the rest are the Thai and other ethnic groups. They live mainly on cultivation, husbandry, and go to the forest to exploit forest products, so their economy is not well off. Realizing the potential for tourism development here, since 2009, Mr. Hai had an idea that he would “entice” people to participate in community tourism, step by step “awakening” the tourism potential here. thereby creating more jobs and income for the ethnic minorities. After 10 years of incubation and planning, in 2019 when everything is ready, Mr. Hai begins with the people in laying the first foundation for Pảban community tourism with the Palm House Community Tourist House. When the project is completed, Mr. Hai has not yet rushed to welcome guests, but has reserved space for local people to do community activities, and then step by step guide his relatives how to do tourism. In the early days, there were also many difficulties, because villagers have been used to plowing and hoe for a long time, so the concept of doing “community tourism” is still too strange. However, seeing the available potentials and benefits brought from tourism development, people are very excited, united, unanimous, hard to learn. Only after a short time, people have grasped the basic knowledge to welcome and serve guests; know, present the rice tray with bold national cultural identity but still ensure the criteria of deliciousness, food hygiene and safety … Mr. Ngan Xuan Bach, a Paban said: Now, the concept of “community based tourism” is no longer unfamiliar to the people in the village. Coming to Pảban, visitors will enjoy the fresh, cool climate, and interesting natural scenery. Tourists will have nights of campfire, drinking canola wine, cultural exchanges and enjoying the dances of Muong and Thai people; immersed in dance songs imbued with national identity. In addition, indigenous people will act as a tour guide to introduce the wild beauty and traditional cultural values ​​of the Muong and Thai Paban people; lead tourists to visit other neighboring villages in Pu Luong Nature Reserve if tourists wish to explore the rich ecosystem of mountains and forests; visiting Thanh Son’s specialty orange and mandarin gardens; experience production labor activities as well as daily life with indigenous people … Ms. Kieu Thi Phien, a tourist from Thanh Hoa city shared: “Ba Thuoc district is famous for eco-tourism areas of Pu Luong, Ban Hieu (Co Lung commune), Bang village, Kho Muong village (commune Thanh Son) and Don village (Thanh Lam commune)… These are places that I have visited and had very interesting experiences. Pu Luong natural reserve to experience community based tourism Although it has not been invested much, but with the wild natural scenery, fresh climate, the people are friendly and still keep the old stilt houses and old stilt houses. ethnic cultural values, I believe that Pảban will be an attractive destination for tourists next time when coming to Thanh “. Pu Long Nature Reserve. Photo: VNA broadcast Mr. Le Van Su, Deputy Head of Culture and Information Department of Ba Thuoc district, said that in the tourism development plan in association with promoting historical and cultural values ​​in Ba Thuoc district in the period of 2021 – 2025. and the following years, the district aims to focus on developing community-based ecotourism; preserving and promoting historical and cultural values ​​imbued with national identity to exploit the typical tourist products of mountainous areas, creating a brand for Ba Thuoc tourism. In the period from 2021 to 2025, Ba Thuoc strives to attract 310,000 tourists; Of which, 80% of the total number of tourists are participating in the community-based tourism accommodation. Tourism activities strive to have a revenue of 465 billion VND; create jobs and stable income for more than 690 local workers.