Check-in at the lonely tree named after superstar Kim Thanh Vu

With an area of ​​over 3,500 square kilometers but only about 217,000 people, Taitung's space is wide open and extremely "breathable"...

In March, Taitung is still in spring. The air is fresh and cool, full of greenery and everywhere you go you see colorful flowers. This locality has strengths in high-tech agriculture, aquaculture and tourism - the main sources of income for local residents.

When coming to Taitung, nine out of ten people must visit Chishang village, which has vast rice fields and especially a "lonely tree" named after Kaneshiro Takeshi (Japanese father - Taiwanese mother) - a famous movie superstar through his roles in Red Cliff, House of Flying Daggers ... once famous throughout the world.

Brown Boulevard, or Brown Road, in Chinese called Ba Lang Dai Dao, is an asphalt road in the middle of the Thuong Tri rice fields, called "boulevard" or "dai dao" but it is just a narrow, clean and poetic road. Unlike most older tourists who rent double or triple electric cars, we rented single bicycles and slowly walked on that poetic road, with newly planted green rice fields on both sides, as if we were stepping on a soft velvet carpet in the middle of the vast and windy sky. The lush rice fields stretched far and wide to the mountain ranges that were playing in the white clouds in the distance. Under the thin, fading yellow sunlight of the March afternoon, the gentle blue patches stood out from those mountains, making people feel moved by the charm of the nature around them.

Tourists at the check-in column on Brown Avenue - Ba Lang avenue

Leisurely on the road through the rice fields

Locals say that Mr. Brown is a coffee brand of King Car, they built that road and named it to promote their product. That's the story, but there is absolutely no noise of shops here, except for the check-in frame that is always bustling with "virtual people"! Travelers come to Thuong Tri to experience slow living, to be "automatic" and blend in with the natural rhythm of life here.

Not only that, also on that picturesque "boulevard", there is a tree of the Nhoi family. Legend has it that in the past, villagers planted the tree to provide shade while working in the fields. Later, the rice fields expanded, and the big tree stood out in the middle of the field, its canopy spread out, but quietly, so it was called the "lonely tree"...

In 2013, silver screen star Kim Thanh Vu was invited by the 5-star airline Eva Air to the Thuong Tri rice fields to film a promotional clip for the company, the video is called "I See You". In the extremely beautiful shots, there is a scene of Kim Thanh Vu sitting and drinking tea under the "lonely tree", very relaxed, romantic, lyrical and close. The aura of "Tuy Phong" with the shade of the Nhoi tree on Brown Avenue in the middle of the golden Thuong Tri rice fields was "carried" by Eva Air around the world. Since then, local young people and tourists from all over the world have known about it and flocked here to check-in. Green tourism has also been thriving since then...

Actor Kim Thanh Vu enjoys tea under the "lonely tree" (Photo cut from clip "I See You")

"The Lonely Tree" and Kim Thanh Vu in Eva Air's promotional clip

Chill by the "lonely tree"

The "lonely tree" is no longer... lonely!

In 2023, "I See You" ended its mission, but the "Kim Thanh Vu tree" is still very popular, the bronze teapot placed on the bench under the tree is still there. In addition to that name, this tree was also renamed "Phong Tra Thu" (tea offering tree), a place for passersby to stop, rest and drink tea. And now, that stop has become a must-see place. Locals just rent out electric cars and make a fortune every day!

Leaving the "Kim Thanh Vu tree", leisurely cycling between the two banks of sticky rice and honey fields, I thought: Doing tourism like this is so simple, but "healthy", visitors come in droves... Sharing this thought with my friend in the group, Pham Thi Thu Hang - CEO and founder of 5S Consulting and Media Company (5Smedia), Hang told the story of doing eco-tourism in Mai Chau (Hoa Binh) instead of expressing her opinion, that: Same village road, same rice fields, same cycling to enjoy but on the same road, there are tractors running fast, motorbikes going back and forth... Sometimes tourists are startled, even fall because of traffic insecurity. Tourism is friendly but must be safe...

Traveling a day, learning a lot. We have abundant eco-tourism resources, rich and attractive natural landscapes throughout the three regions of South - Central - North..., the remaining problem is just how to do it.

Price list for renting eco-friendly vehicles in Tri Thuong village

In March, the rice has just been planted. After the harvest, the rice fields are sown with mustard, and the yellow flowers will brighten the whole area.

Peace on Tri Thuong field

On the China Airlines flight from Taoyuan Airport to Tan Son Nhat Airport that day, I heard the bustling sounds of Vietnamese voices and laughter. I started talking to a lady who spoke a Southwestern dialect on the same flight and asked her if she knew Taitung and the "Kim Thanh Vu tree". She said she knew and even bragged that she had been there. There was even a tree like that in Taichung, but the one in Taitung was the real deal.

Among the nearly 217,000 residents of Taitung, there are currently 927 Vietnamese people, doing many different jobs: housework, agriculture, seafood processing, business, tourism...

Source: https://nld.com.vn/check-in-cay-co-don-mang-ten-sieu-sao-kim-thanh-vu-196250317165127922.htm