Nghe An: The special ecosystem of Thap Linh ironwood forest and tourism expectations

Video of the special, hundreds-year-old primeval Thap Linh ironwood forest in Hau Thanh commune.

Thap Linh ironwood forest

As one of the quite prominent primeval forests in the forest ecosystem in Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province, the lim forest in Hau Thanh commune has an area of ​​over 18 hectares and is special in that it is full of ancient lim trees hundreds of years old.

Speaking of the Thap Linh ironwood forest, Tho Tra hamlet, Hau Thanh commune, no one remembers the origin of this primeval forest. But from generation to generation, the people here have protected the forest so that until now there are still large ironwood trees that can be hugged by two people.

The ancient, primeval ironwood forest hundreds of years old in Hau Thanh commune is known as "the village's priceless treasure".

In the minds of many people from all over the world when they come here to experience and visit, there are many questions. Because right in the middle of the plain bordering the midlands, in the middle of a hill, there are many precious wood trees growing, yet for many generations, the lim forest has not been exploited, the trees have not been cut down.

Following that line of thought, the reporter investigated and learned that: From the subconscious of the people here, from their ancestors until now, they all have the same thought, they consider the lim forest as a "heaven-sent treasure" and thus tell each other to strictly protect it with the awareness and responsibility of the whole community.

Mr. Lai Xuan Ngan (born in 1961, Tho Tra hamlet, Hau Thanh commune), one of the people closely attached to this forest, said that since 1986, after leaving the army and returning to his locality, he was assigned by the government and people to protect the Thap Linh lim forest.

After decades of attachment, the forest is like something very special, close to Mr. Ngan. From year to year, Mr. Ngan just "eats and sleeps" under this special primeval forest, together with the local people, completely protecting the forest.

Following Mr. Ngan, the reporter explored this special lim forest. The deeper we went into the forest, the more we understood why the locals considered the lim forest a treasure. The ancient lim trees, small ones cannot be embraced by one person, large ones require more than two people to embrace.

The ancient ironwood trees grow interspersed with each other at a distance that seems to have been calculated in advance, giving them enough space to grow high and then spread their wide, green canopies, making the whole forest like a soft green cloth.

With more than 18 hectares, this ironwood forest has existed for hundreds of years thanks to the protection of both the government and the local community, creating a special old forest closely associated with people's lives.

The lim forest has a small slope, due to the protection and conservation by the government, management units, and local people, so under the canopy of this old forest, there is very little small vegetation ecosystem. Local people often clear cut to ensure fire prevention and fighting. In addition to lim, this forest also has other precious trees such as trai, gu, da huong...

Aspiring to become a special spiritual and ecological destination

Under the canopy of the ancient, green ironwood forest, hundreds of years old, there is a temple that has been told many anecdotes by the locals, and is a place of spiritual and cultural activities for the people here. That is the Ca Temple. Up to now, because the temple is still located in a special-use forest area, a primeval forest, the local government has only proposed a plan to restore and complete the temple.

According to Chairman of Hau Thanh Commune People's Committee Nguyen Hong Chinh, this Ca Temple is as old as Mo Temple, in Duc Hau village. This is a national historical relic, worshiping Cao Son, Cao Cac, General Phan Ngoc De, Land-clearing God Nguyen Huu Chi and heroes who have contributed to the country.

The communal house was built in 1675, under the reign of King Le Gia Tong. At first, it was just a three-room thatched house. In 1884, the people of Hau Thanh commune together restored the communal house and built it into three large wooden buildings that exist today.

The Great Temple is located in the Thap Linh ironwood forest, and has long been a place of spiritual and cultural activities for local people.

Mo Communal House, ancient lim forest, and Ca Temple have become one of the tourist routes when visitors set foot in Yen Thanh district to visit and experience. Coming to Hau Thanh, visitors will immerse themselves in the ancient forest hundreds of years old, experience the spiritual culture with national relics in a very special setting.

Also because of this potential, Hau Thanh commune has long included the Ca Temple under the canopy of the rare ironwood forest in the commune planning, hoping that one day this place will exist, recreating a hundreds-year-old, sacred temple under the old ironwood forest, and become one of the destinations for sightseeing, eco-tourism, and spirituality so that not only the primeval forest but also the land associated with many historical and revolutionary relics will be associated with the tourism industry, contributing to the economic development of the people and the locality.

“With much concern and expectation, when faced with such potential, should there be breakthroughs that both ensure the preservation of the ecosystem and contribute to creating more economy? We also hope to form a cultural, spiritual, and ecological tourist destination right on the extremely valuable existing potential in the locality.

The main temple has now been partially restored, becoming a special spiritual and cultural activity site under the old primeval ironwood forest.

However, the Temple of the Great is currently located in a special-use forest, so to form and re-exist the hundreds-year-old temple, it is necessary to plan about 6,000 square meters as the existing temple grounds, separated from the area of ​​primeval forest, special-use forest, which is ironwood forest. This has also been mentioned, and it is hoped that in the near future, the competent authorities will consider and evaluate it for proper implementation...", Mr. Chinh expressed.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/nghe-anhe-sinh-thai-dac-biet-rung-lim-thap-linh-va-ky-vong-ve-du-lich.html