Inheriting the heritage of the cultural flow, the history of "on the wharf, under the boat" for more than 300 years of formation and development of the metropolis, the story of river tourism is being continued by Ho Chi Minh City.
Advantages of river cities
The Saigon River is like a beautiful silk strip embracing the city named after Uncle Ho. With 80km flowing through the city, this is the symbolic river of Ho Chi Minh City. Besides, the system of 3 large rivers including Dong Nai River, Long Tau River and Xoai Rap River flows through the city, opening up a river network connecting with neighboring provinces and cities, convenient for developing waterway transport combined with river tourism.
Famous river ports and urban ports such as Ben Thanh, Ben Nghe, Ben Nha Rong, Ben Bach Dang, Ben Ham Tu, Ben Chuong Duong, Ben Binh Dong… create a unique urban cultural space “on the wharf, under the boat”. In particular, Ben Nha Rong started out as a large commercial port, a trading place for foreign ships to Saigon.
There have been many river tours (canoes) from the Saigon River to visit Long Tau River, Thieng Lieng Island (Can Gio), Cu Chi Tunnels, or take a speedboat from the Saigon River to Vung Tau beach... Tourists can both visit the river landscape and be guided to learn about the history and culture of the places.
Not only that, the rich canal system that weaves through the central districts of the city becomes a resource for exploiting convenient river tourism. The Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe Canal with a length of 8.7km flows through Tan Binh, Phu Nhuan, District 3, Binh Thanh, District 1 and then flows into the Saigon River - an ideal area for exploiting short-range inner-city river tourism routes, expected to attract international tourists.
The River Tells Stories
“River Festival - The River Tells Stories” is a unique tourism product of Ho Chi Minh City. “River Festival” is expected to become an annual river tourism product chain of the largest city in the country.
In addition, Saigon also has two unique river tourism products: Saigon WaterBus (river bus), Saigon WaterGo (tourist boat). Mr. Nguyen Kim Toan - Director of Thuong Nhat Company Limited - investor of Saigon WaterBus project shared: "Waterway transportation in the city has two great values: unique and exclusive. The two products Saigon WaterBus, Saigon WaterGo carry the mission of both transporting and creating "default tourism", helping to connect the emotions of the city's residents and tourists from everywhere coming here" - Mr. Toan said.
Over the years, Saigon WaterBus customers have been able to travel and enjoy the river scenery and the city. With steady growth, over 2,000 passengers per day, WaterBus has gradually become a symbol of river tourism in Ho Chi Minh City. At the docks, there is also a music program called “A rendezvous with Saigon” to enhance the emotions of the trip.
Meanwhile, WaterGo was launched in time for Tet 2024, a product "tailored" for Saigon river tourism. Tourists can enjoy the Saigon River in a short time (45 minutes) but will touch the most quintessential values of the city, from cultural heritages to historical merchant stories...
Tourism experts say: “River tourism must be a harmonious development between software - including water transport products on rivers (ships, boats, river buses, canoes, etc.) and hardware such as ports, landscapes, and multi-destinations. Developing river tourism anywhere must tell the story of heritage and historical cultural flows, open up a river cultural space, and evoke the feeling of rivers in tourists.”
That must be what makes river tourism in Ho Chi Minh City successful.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/du-ngoan-tren-song-sai-gon-3148170.html
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