Explore the border region of Bac Son

Through the winding Tam Canh pass, embracing the long limestone mountains, Bac Son appears in the golden sunlight against the deep blue sky.

Cultural development associated with tourism

Bac Son has changed a lot today. Along both sides of the road leading to the center of Bac Son district, interspersed with modern concrete houses with plastic roofs, corrugated iron roofs, and fiber cement roofs are ancient stilt houses with traditional yin-yang tiles dotted with green moss, a peaceful highlight of Bac Son valley.

At the end of Tam Canh Pass, right at the left turn towards Long Dong Commune, we saw tile-roofed sheds close together. Large and small tile kilns made of cinder bricks lined both sides of the road, everywhere was the characteristic brown-yellow color of clay.

The traditional yin-yang tile making profession of Long Dong commune, Bac Son district has existed for more than 100 years. Currently, although the market demand is not high, many households here still maintain and keep the kilns burning day and night, as a way to preserve the unique cultural feature, a valuable asset in the traditional life of the people.

While nimbly stripping the clay block and happily chatting, Ms. Duong Thi Nga (Long Dong commune, Bac Son district) said: The main material for making yin-yang tiles is pure clay bought in Binh Gia district. The clay will then be stripped, filtered to remove impurities, soaked in water to make it flexible, then put into a mold, wait until dry and put into the kiln. The yin-yang tiles are trough-shaped, measuring 25-30 cm/tile. They are called yin-yang because when roofing, there are tiles facing up and tiles facing down. The row of tiles facing down is yang tiles, the row of tiles facing up is yin tiles. The two rows of tiles facing up and down are interwoven to create a solid, sturdy bond.

Unlike before, the demand for yin-yang tiles is increasing due to the aesthetic factor as well as the cool in summer and warm in winter properties of this type of tile. People's lives are also better because of this. Tiles are consumed throughout the country.

Recently, the yin-yang tile making village of Long Hung village, Long Dong commune, Bac Son district has also become an official destination in the journey to explore the Lang Son UNESCO Geopark "A road opens, where bricks whisper ancient secrets".

Continuing the journey, we came to Bac Son valley, belonging to Quynh Son Cultural Tourism Village, 2 km north of the district center. Different from the time from July to October with golden rice fields, in March, Bac Son valley is green, dotted with the white color of apricot, pear and plum blossoms.

As a son of Bac Son with a passion for photography, for many years now, whenever he has time, photographer Duong Doan Tuan (member of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists) often spends time traveling around the villages, hunting for beautiful and satisfying images of his homeland's landscape. Motherland Bac Son has nurtured and brought him many noble photography awards such as "Bac Son in the Mist" (Silver Medal of the Northern Mountainous Region Art Photography Festival), "Bac Son Golden Season" (Exhibition of the National Art Photography Contest "Proud of a Border Strip in 2022").

The art troupe of Bac Quynh commune, Bac Son district, Lang Son province performed Then singing and Tinh lute for tourists. (Photo: NGUYEN DANG)

Duong Doan Tuan also holds the position of Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Quynh Commune. According to him, in recent years, the community tourism model (homestay) has always been considered one of the right and effective directions of the locality.

Connecting travel with real-life experiences

“In 2010, Bac Quynh commune was selected by the district to pilot the implementation of a community cultural tourism village. Since then, many households have registered to welcome guests in the form of homestay. Households invest in housing, accommodation, and focus on introducing tourists to the local cultural identity, the traditions of the Tay ethnic group, and how to prepare dishes suitable for tourists,” said Mr. Duong Doan Tuan.

Mr. Duong Cong Co, owner of an accommodation facility in Tham Pat village, Bac Quynh commune, shared: “After graduating from the University of Physical Education and Sports, I decided to return to my hometown to develop my family's economy. In 2022, realizing the potential for community tourism in the locality, I decided to open a homestay. With an area of ​​over ^1,200m2 , I discussed with my family to borrow money from the bank, renovate the house, and build a model called "Experiential tourism service for tourists".

At night, the atmosphere of Bac Son seems to be quiet, but it is the time when dances, vi and then songs, and the clear sound of the tinh instrument are performed, captivating visitors from afar. Participating in the performance are Tay boys and girls in indigo shirts. Currently, each commune maintains a performance team that is trained and taught systematically and continuously.

Along with music and local culinary gifts, this is one of the outstanding tourist activities that helps visitors have the opportunity to experience and immerse themselves in the rustic life and unique culture of the people, thereby understanding and loving more this heroic but affectionate land of Bac Son.

Having worked and taught at Bac Son High School, from the awareness of a teacher, with comrade Duong Thi Thep, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Bac Son district, the preservation of cultural features associated with tourism development needs to be built on the foundation from the young generation. Educating children through Then melodies, Tinh sounds, through folk songs of grandmothers and mothers, so that they understand and love their homeland, thereby gradually building awareness of caring for and developing their homeland.

Through the inventory, Bac Son district has 5 types of intangible cultural heritage associated with each ethnic group including: Festivals, social customs, traditional crafts, folk performing arts and folk knowledge. Based on natural, historical and cultural values, Bac Son district currently focuses on developing experiential eco-tourism, historical and cultural tourism, and community tourism. Up to now, Bac Son district has 10 tourist attractions and tourist accommodation facilities.

Along with Bac Son, many other localities in Lang Son province have also started to build and implement tourism models associated with cultural identity values, initially recording growth over the years.

According to Le Hai Yen, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lang Son province: “To date, Lang Son province has 335 historical, cultural and scenic relics that have been ranked and included in the inventory. Lang Son is also home to a rich and diverse treasure trove of intangible cultural heritage. The province also has 9 national intangible cultural heritages; 2 intangible cultural heritages recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as representative intangible cultural heritages of humanity. Along with that, in September 2025, UNESCO will officially register and recognize Lang Son Global Geopark.”

Vice Chairman of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee Duong Xuan Huyen said: "The work of propagating, promoting, introducing, applying information technology, modern scientific and technical achievements in the management and preservation of national cultural heritage associated with tourism development has been focused on and promoted. Currently, in addition to building products, routes, tourist destinations..., Lang Son province has been gradually investing in building a software system to manage and digitize heritage; deploying the system of "Smart tourism information portal and smart tourism application on mobile devices" to preserve, transmit, honor, promote, and introduce the traditional cultural beauty of the province to domestic and foreign friends".

Source: https://nhandan.vn/kham-pha-mien-bien-vien-bac-son-post868520.html