Prosperity from people's initiative
At the foot of Yen Tu mountain, Khe Su 2 village, Thuong Yen Cong commune (Uong Bi city) has nearly 100% of the population being Dao Thanh Y people. Passionate about community tourism, Ms. Truong Thi Thanh Huong and her family members invested in building the Dao Thanh Y ethnic community cooperative group here, contributing to spreading the hundreds of years of traditional cultural values of her people to tourists...
The medicinal baths and soaks at Ms. Truong Thi Thanh Huong's (middle) model are prepared based on ancient secret remedies of the indigenous Dao people.
Experience herbal foot bath service at Dao Thanh Y Ethnic Community Cooperative Group, Thuong Yen Cong Commune, Uong Bi.
The model has an investment capital of about 1 billion VND so far, and has been in operation since February 2024. All are located in a small, pretty space of about 300m2, which she has devoted a lot of effort to meticulously and carefully polish with culinary services, foot baths, herbal baths of the Dao people... She said that the group has linked up with people who have secret medicinal recipes from ancient times of the Dao people, from which they have prepared powdered medicines that are convenient for foot baths, bathing on the spot or selling to tourists to take home for use. The same goes for brocade products, from the embroidery of the indigenous Dao people, creating scarves, shirts, whole sets of costumes, embroidered pillows for application in life...
Ms. Huong's model is not the only one, but before and after that, there have been many more ways to exploit the heritage value of ethnic minorities in the highlands for community tourism in many regions of the province. Right in Thuong Yen Cong commune, there are now families investing in building houses in the traditional style of the Dao people to find ways to increase their livelihoods from the number of visitors to the locality, to the nearby Yen Tu heritage site.
The colorful and delicate brocade products are created from the embroidery of the indigenous Dao people of Thuong Yen Cong commune.
A highlight in the picture of community tourism in the highlands is Ha Long City. In recent years, the northern highlands of Ha Long have had many tourism and service models invested in, such as: Quang La Flower Paradise, Man's Farm, Am Vap Farm, Happy Land, Xuan Truong... These models are often associated with the terrain of mountains, lakes, streams, natural greenery, flower growing areas, indigenous culture (cuisine, costumes, lifestyle, labor) and exploit services such as camping, dining, checking in, fishing, fruit picking, boating... bringing visitors new experiences.
Not only welcoming domestic tourists, some communes such as Bang Ca, Quang La, Tan Dan, Ky Thuong... are also surveyed and oriented to welcome cruise tourists to Ha Long in the fall and winter. The experiences will be visiting typical agricultural and forestry models, traditional occupations, traditional houses, visiting villages, enjoying cuisine and performing arts of the people...
Wooden house design in the traditional style of the Dao Thanh Phan people at Am Vap Farm tourist area, Ky Thuong commune (Ha Long city)
In the highland areas of the Eastern region of the province such as Binh Lieu, Tien Yen, Hai Ha, Mong Cai, there are communities of Dao, Tay, San Chi... living in concentration, still preserving many traditional cultural values. Therefore, in recent times, many units and individuals have also invested in many homestay models designed in traditional style, such as A Dao, Song Mooc, Hong Dong, Huong Hoi Que in Binh Lieu, or A Loc homestay in Tien Yen..., creating unique features to attract visitors. Visitors coming here to experience will be immersed in the living space of the people, from architecture to activities, culinary style and cultural activities, entertainment...
Huong Hoi Que Homestay has just been invested in Khe Tien village (Dong Van commune, Binh Lieu district). Photo: Nguyen Dung.
A Loc Homestay was restored to preserve the traditional features of the San Chi people's stilt houses, surrounded by earthen bricks, roofed with yin-yang tiles, fences, and gardens lined with stones... Photo: Nguyen Dung.
Local and business involvement
In order to exploit the potential of community, cultural and ecological tourism in the highlands, in recent times, localities have also developed tourism development projects associated with preserving and promoting the indigenous cultural values of the people, creating a legal basis for the development of this form of tourism.
To realize these projects, in recent times, many localities have been looking for ways to arrange resources to invest in transport infrastructure connecting to the highlands, between tourist destinations in the region. Many training courses with rich tourism content along with learning programs in localities with strengths in community tourism (Lao Cai, Ha Giang...) have also been organized to improve people's knowledge. Another highlight is that in 2024, Uong Bi invested in the Dao Thanh Y Cultural Exhibition Space in Thuong Yen Cong commune, Van Don invested in the San Diu Ethnic Cultural - Tourism Village in Binh Dan commune. The projects are expected to not only contribute to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the people but also develop community tourism in the locality.
Hai Ha has determined to build a tourism product to explore tea hills connecting with Cai Chien island tourism and experiencing the culture of the ethnic minorities in the border highlands of the district. Photo taken at the tea hills in village 8, Quang Long commune (Hai Ha).
Not standing on the sidelines, in September 2024, the Quang Ninh Community Tourism Club (Provincial Tourism Association) was established, helping to connect the core, those who are passionate about developing community tourism to support, awaken the potential and advantages of community tourism in Quang Ninh, and at the same time guide the development of specific products, especially in remote areas. Reality also shows the change in thinking of the people, more and more people are boldly contributing capital to build service facilities, eco-tourism, participating in developing culture with national identity to promote, attract tourists, become the subject in the process of organizing tourism and being the beneficiary of the values that tourism brings. This is the soul of community tourism, promising attraction, ensuring the sustainability of tourism models associated with indigenous culture in the highland localities of Quang Ninh.
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