After 5 times of organization, Kbang Tourism Festival has become a unique brand of the Eastern Truong Son region, positioning itself as an attractive and experience-rich destination in the hearts of friends and tourists.
Product diversity
Product diversity
As part of the activities of the Kbang Tourism Festival 2024 (taking place from July 31 to August 3), the Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas Agricultural and Food Fair has 232 booths from many localities inside and outside the province. Of which, Kbang district participates with 168 booths from communes, towns, agencies, enterprises, and business households. The units bring to the fair many of the district's strengths in agricultural, forestry and food products such as: wild ginseng, wild mushrooms, medicinal plants, wild honey, oranges, macadamia, brown rice (armored rice), ST25 rice, charcoal sticky rice, black pork, etc.
After many times participating in the fair and receiving feedback from customers, Mr. Nguyen Quang Chinh (Kon Ktonh village, Kon Pne commune) invested more than 10 million VND to buy materials and a pot to cook ginseng. This product was introduced by him at this year's fair.
He said: “I have received customer feedback and learned knowledge from books and newspapers, then boldly invested in a pot to cook ginseng. After 10-12 days of continuous cooking, 1-1.2 quintals of fresh healthy ginseng roots will yield 1 kg of ginseng extract, selling for 4.5 million VND/kg. Healthy ginseng extract sold at the fair is highly appreciated by consumers. In the past few days, I have sold 5 quintals of dried healthy ginseng for 200,000 VND/kg; 1 quintal of fresh healthy ginseng for 70,000 VND/kg and more than 1 kg of healthy ginseng extract. I will register healthy ginseng extract products to receive OCOP certification in 2025.”
Tourists visit and shop at Kbang Tourism Festival 2024.
As an enterprise from outside the province participating in the Kbang Tourism Festival for the first time, Mr. Ngo Dinh Tuan - Owner of Thanh Thuy Ly Son garlic production and processing facility (Quang Ngai province) brought Ly Son garlic products certified with 3-star OCOP at the district level.
He said: “Through the fair, I hope to widely promote the specialties of Ly Son island district to the people of Kbang in particular and Gia Lai in general. I also had the opportunity to experience and explore the unique cultural life and activities of the indigenous people of Kbang district such as gong performances, brocade weaving, and basketry; enjoy grilled chicken with bamboo rice, roasted pork and some types of cakes that are only available in Kbang, the Central Highlands. Next year, I will continue to register to participate.”
Visiting and shopping at the fair, Ms. Dang Thi To (village 1, Kong Bo La commune) said: “Over the years, the district has organized the fair with more booths and more diverse products. Many types of local agricultural products have been processed, packaged and labeled very attractively by the people and production facilities. Coming to the fair, I not only get to exchange and buy fresh goods and agricultural products of the district, but also learn more about products from other localities in the country.”
At Stor Resistance Village (To Tung Commune), a reenactment of the "First Rice Harvesting of the Year" festival took place.
Giving an overview of the agricultural sector through the fair, Mr. Ma Van Tinh - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Kbang district - said: Kbang has a temperate climate, diverse soil, suitable for many types of crops. Macadamia trees "took root" in Kbang land since 2010, and have now grown to over 3,100 hectares, highly appreciated by consumers nationwide for their flavor and nutritional value. Orange and tangerine trees have expanded their area to nearly 130 hectares, known to many people under the brand name Son Lang oranges.
The conversion of new rice varieties combined with the construction of single-variety rice fields has improved the quality of rice in the area. ST24 and ST25 So Pai rice have become well-known. Or the Kbang wild bamboo shoot product, harvested 100% from nature, is an indispensable dish during holidays and Tet.
To date, the district has 64 hectares of fruit and vegetable trees certified to meet VietGAP standards; the organic fruit garden model has been widely replicated. From these advantages, the products are widely consumed in and outside the province. The district has 18 products certified as 3-star OCOP.
“The orientation of developing agricultural and rural tourism in the district contributes to the transformation from agricultural production to agricultural economy.
As a result, a number of homestay services have been formed (Kong Long Khong commune), orange, tangerine, and macadamia farms along the forest and Vinh Son hydroelectric lake (Son Lang commune); rice fields along cool streams, simple stilt houses, and slash-and-burn farms along the forest, which are considered "flea markets" of the Bahnar people.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong (left) - Vice Chairman of Kbang District People's Committee, Head of the Organizing Committee of Kbang District Tourism Festival 2024 visited the booths.
All promise to bring visitors interesting experiences about simple life, close to nature as well as the unique culture of 21 ethnic groups living in the district" - Head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development added.
The magical heritage
The culinary quintessence gathered in the Kbang Tourism Festival also contributes to introducing a land rich in products. The history of the formation of dishes, the rich source of ingredients from the forest and the unique processing methods have shaped the unique identity of Kbang cuisine and enriched the experience for visitors when coming to this land of Eastern Truong Son.
50 stalls of cuisine from many ethnic groups prepared a grand feast to welcome visitors to the Tourism Festival. From cuisine, visitors want to experience more of the cultural life of the Truong Son – Tay Nguyen residents.
Leaders of Kbang district cut the ribbon to open the 2024 Kbang District Agricultural and Food Fair for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas.
This year's Kbang Tourism Festival expands the space for visitors to experience many cultural activities combined with exploring nature in Bahnar villages such as Chieng village (Kbang town) associated with Hang Doi waterfall, Kon Bong village (Dak Rong commune) associated with the waterfall of the same name (also known as Ba Tang waterfall by locals). In particular, at Stor Resistance Village (To Tung commune), there is also a reenactment of the "New Year's Rice Harvesting" festival - an important agricultural ritual of Truong Son residents who have been attached to rice for thousands of years.
After experiencing the festival in front of the communal house, visitors go up the cool stone path under the shade of the trees to the village, where there are peaceful stilt houses leaning against the mountain. On the way to the village, visitors encounter young men like heroes coming out of epics with magic crossbows ready to protect the villagers. Bahnar girls rhythmically pound rice under the old tree.
Under the stilt houses, men weave baskets, women weave cloth. A poetic life in the Bahnar village on the mountainside like a cool breeze inviting guests to sit on the porch.
All activities recreating the daily life of Bahnar residents are community tourism products, refreshing the experience for visitors when coming to the land of the Truong Son mountain range.
For many years, artisan Dinh Greng has participated in recreating festivals to restore the precious heritage passed down by his ancestors. This year, being the master of the first rice-pruning ceremony of the year, he could not hide his pride: “Up to now, Stor village has restored most of its traditional festivals. People are always ready to recreate festivals and promote their culture to serve tourists. Along with that, at the restored resistance village on the mountain, we also recreate activities such as: weaving, weaving, pounding rice, crossbow shooting, carving statues and guiding visitors to experience it.”
Bahnar girls recreate the space of pounding rice in the "New Year's Rice Plucking Ceremony".
Experiencing cultural activities at Stor Resistance Village, Mr. Dang Van Phuong - Lecturer of the Faculty of Foreign Languages (Quy Nhon University) expressed: “The first rice pruning ceremony of the year of the Bahnar people is like bringing tourists to the fields, working with them. The Central Highlands people become especially attractive when they wear traditional costumes and live with the festival. They seem to escape from everyday life to live with the beauty, with the mystery in culture. Perhaps that is why the festival here has a special appeal to tourists. I not only satisfy my curiosity about cultural identity but also enjoy the costumes and dances of the Bahnar people. Everything is so impressive, so beautiful”.
Photographer Huy Tinh rarely misses cultural and tourism events in the Kbang region because, according to him, this is a “gold mine” for photography. Every year, he acts as a bridge to bring photographers from other provinces to participate in the Kbang Tourism Festival.
He shared: “The level of tourism promotion of this event is very successful, especially cultural tourism. Because the target audience of this type only likes to find the cultural roots with the most authentic things and they have found them here. That is also the factor that attracts photographers.
We capture images that reflect the true nature of culture and life. Those photos can be sold and published in domestic and international travel magazines, thereby making the Eastern Truong Son region more widely known on the national and international tourism map.
Kbang town is bustling with tourist festival.
Kbang Tourism Festival was first held in 2018. Up to now, this event has become a brand of the land with its own distinct economic and cultural marks. The value of goods and the number of tourists through each organization have continuously increased.
Mr. Tran Ngoc Nhung - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism - assessed: "Kbang Tourism Festival has become an annual event and has a clear impact on the development of local tourism, especially community tourism associated with new rural construction.
Compared to other localities, Kbang maintains this event very systematically, calling for socialization very well, thereby stimulating tourism. Kbang also pays great attention to preserving traditional culture associated with tourism development and has achieved remarkable results.
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