Not as bustling as Sa Pa, nor does it have towering mountains or terraced fields stretching out like Ha Giang, Binh Lieu has its own unique beauty that makes anyone want to return...
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| Dinosaur spine in Binh Lieu. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Three years ago, my friends and I had the opportunity to visit Binh Lieu, a place that still retains its wild and rustic beauty. The trip gave us memorable memories, made new friends, saw more of the beauty of our country and did things that exceeded our own limits.
“Home” of Milestones
Nearly 300 km from Hanoi, Binh Lieu is a mountainous district of Quang Ninh province. As a remote border area, Binh Lieu has a 43.168 km border with China. This locality is home to five ethnic groups including Tay, Dao, San Chi, Hoa and Kinh, considered "ethnic minorities" as they account for less than 4% of the population here.
In addition to the majestic scenery, Binh Lieu is like a "home" of landmarks with more than 60 landmarks, many of which are scattered along the border patrol route. Notable is landmark 1305 with a "dinosaur spine" and the most beautiful border patrol road in Vietnam, landmark 1307 is a place to admire the majestic mountain ranges, landmark 1317 (2) is right next to the bustling Hoanh Mo border gate, landmark 1327 is known as the "paradise landmark" because of the road with steps leading to the top of the misty mountain, landmark 1300 is a winding "happiness hill", not far away is landmark 1297 in Lang Son, a place known as the "reed paradise".
Because it is located in the Northeast mountainous region, Binh Lieu is blessed with a temperate climate all year round, diverse terrain structure and beautiful natural scenery. Each season, this place puts on different outfits, attracting travel enthusiasts.
In spring, the air here is chilly, everywhere is the pink color of peach blossoms, dotted with the white color of plum blossoms. Spring is also the season of traditional festivals with unique identities in Binh Lieu, preserved by the ethnic communities living in the area for generations. Coming to Binh Lieu in March, you will enjoy the specialty of ant eggs rolled in sau sau leaves (phong huong tree), along with many other unique traditional dishes.
In the summer, you can immerse yourself in the lush green scenery of terraced fields and soak in the cool, clear water flowing from natural waterfalls in the mountains and forests, or in picturesque streams. This is also the season of the most brilliant Bauhinia flowers. For the people of Binh Lieu, Bauhinia flowers not only beautify the mountains and forests but are also closely associated with life.
Autumn is the most beautiful season of the year in Binh Lieu with cool weather. At this time, Binh Lieu is filled with the white color of blooming reeds, stretching along both sides of the border road, or the fairy-tale beauty of pink reeds on the Cao Ba Lanh mountain range. In addition, the terraced fields are filled with the yellow color of ripe rice of a bountiful harvest. At this time, the border area is covered with a wild beauty with the yellow color of burnt grass, looking far away, interspersed with green forests are the red "sky" of maple trees.
Winter is the coldest season of the year in Binh Lieu, the time to "hunt" for ice and snow, the season to harvest So flowers in this locality, and also a favorite check-in occasion for many people. In early December, So flowers bloom white on the hills, along the roads into all the villages. The So flower festival is also one of the special festivals of the Quang Ninh border highlands, recreating the diverse cultural features of the people here. On this occasion, the ethnic people in Binh Lieu eagerly go to the festival, showing off their colorful traditional costumes.
Memorable experiences
After searching for information on forums and talking with Hung, the administrator of a Binh Lieu tourism group, and receiving detailed advice, we decided to go there in early December, when the weather was a bit chilly.
On the first leg, we were taken by Uncle Tuat, a retired veteran, to the 1305 milestone, the highest milestone not only in Binh Lieu but also in Quang Ninh province. The road up to the milestone was long and steep with many steep sections that made us "falter, tired", wanting to... return to the starting line. Then, repeatedly encouraging each other "there is only a short section left like a few thrown knives", we conquered milestone 1305. Although it was hard, along the way, we took in the majestic landscape of the Fatherland's border with the overlapping mountain ranges, saw the "dinosaur's spine" covered in burnt yellow grass and also heard loud laughter and a feeling of "really great" when reaching the destination.
After finishing the journey to climb milestone 1305, we went to Co Don peak in Cao Ly mountain range to camp overnight. Here, we met new lovely friends. Talking about the opportunity to open a camping service, Ms. Minh Lo shared that she simply likes camping because she likes to immerse herself in the fresh air and watch the mountains, forests, rivers and streams... or likes to sit by the fire chatting and sipping wine and tea with friends. Finally, after a camping trip with a group of friends in the area of milestone 1297 (in Lang Son), she was encouraged by her friends to open a camping service in Binh Lieu.
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| Thanh Y Dao women in traditional costumes. (Photo: Hung Truong) |
She told about her trip to A Luoi district in Hue just to see how a small homestay is managed by a family, went to Pu Luong to stay at a resort to see how to serve guests... Throughout 2011 to 2018, she traveled to many places in the North, Central and South to learn more experience in providing services. At first, the work was very hard, there were times when she was very tired because there were no guests, but in the fall of 2019, since welcoming a group of guests to experience the full-package camping service, from then on, people whispered to each other, many new groups of guests knew about Binh Lieu, her group had more motivation to operate their camp, and at the same time helped the surrounding households have a small income through the Dao people's leaf bath service...
In the evening, sitting around the crackling fire, enjoying the specialties of Binh Lieu, we talked and shared about our lives and experiences. My Hanh and Phuong, two girls who both studied medicine, but one studied in Hanoi and the other in Hue, because of their passion for the medical profession and their love of traveling, they got to know each other and organized their first meeting right in Binh Lieu, then continued their journey to the Northwest. Or four students from the University of Construction and University of Science and Technology, who are passionate about backpacking, have traveled together through the roads of the Fatherland, Binh Lieu is a destination that cannot be left out of their "backpacking map". The couple Minh Huong and Dung, who just graduated from university, had to love each other from afar when one was in Hanoi, the other in Hai Duong, because of life, they made an appointment to strive for the future together, trying to spend time to experience new lands together...
Chatting animatedly until midnight, we returned to the tent to sleep, the whole camp was quiet, blending into the vast mountain forest space, nearby the charcoal stove was still glowing, bringing a sense of peace. Early in the morning, we woke up to welcome the dawn, breathing in the fresh air and watching the terraced fields interspersed with peaceful villages in the valley. The camp with only a dozen tents in the middle of the wild mountains and hills brought unforgettable experiences...
After that, we were driven by Uncle Tuat to explore milestones 1300 and 1297 to see the grass hills and the undulating hills, as even as chocolate truffles. During the trip, we got to chat and join Uncle Tuat's live stream. He said that after retiring, he worked as a driver to earn extra income, and opened a live stream just to interact with friends. Gradually, this activity attracted more viewers, making more people know about Binh Lieu, making him more motivated with this job.
At the end of the journey, we returned to Hanoi with our usual hurried life. Time passed, a rustic, vibrant, attractive Binh Lieu like a mountain girl in the border region always left us with unforgettable memories. Two days and one night seemed not enough for us to "absorb" all the charm of Binh Lieu.
See you in Binh Lieu one day not far away with the season of reeds filled with lyrical white color and the shimmering yellow color of terraced fields in the bumper harvest season.
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