Bustling harvest season in Tam Coc

These days, coming to Tam Coc, visitors will have the opportunity to feel the bustling, bustling atmosphere of the harvest season on the Ngo Dong River. Under the golden sunshine, everyone's face is eager, filled with joy as they are about to welcome the "heavenly pearls" home.

From 3am, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhien (in Dam Khe Ngoai village, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district) got up to prepare to go to Tam Coc to harvest rice. After passing Hang Ca, the sky started to lighten up, which was also the time when her boat stopped on her family's field.

Ms. Nhien's family owns 5 sao in Tam Coc field. All her children are far away so she is the only one taking care of the farm. After many days of hard work and worrying about the weather, Ms. Nhien was finally able to welcome the golden, heavy rice flowers onto the boat. While holding the basket of rice heavy with golden grains, Ms. Nhien smiled and said: "We invited each other to harvest at night to cool off, otherwise the sun would be too high and we would lose a lot of energy. Luckily, this year's rice harvest is good so everyone is happy. My family's rice yield is estimated at 1.5 quintals/sao. That's great!".

Bustling harvest season in Tam Coc — This year the rice crop was good so the yield was quite good.

Not far away, laughter and chatter also resounded in the rice fields of Mr. Chu Van Khoa (Van Lam village, Ninh Hai commune). Here, each person was in charge of a different job. The women used sharp sickles to quickly cut the rice. The strong men would bundle them into hug-sized bundles, then pull them onto the boat.

Uncle Khoa said: "Growing rice in Tam Coc is much harder than in other areas. All stages from plowing, planting to harvesting must be done manually, without any machinery."

According to Mr. Khoa, because the boat cannot go deep, people have to use a tarpaulin to pull the rice from the inside to the outside of the field. To do this job, it takes 2-3 strong men to do it. When the rice is harvested, it cannot be threshed immediately but must be rowed through the caves and transported to the village road - where the threshing machines are waiting.

Harvesting rice in Tam Coc is hard work but also very enjoyable. According to many locals, it is difficult for one person to do all the work, so families have come up with a way to "trade work". That is why there are always a few people in the fields, working and chatting animatedly.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Huong (a tourist from Hanoi) could not hide her excitement when she was able to immerse herself in the joyful harvest atmosphere of the local people here. She shared: "It has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to witness the harvest scene in my hometown like this. Suddenly, childhood memories came flooding back. The unique feature here is that all harvesting activities take place on the river, making the scenery both strange and familiar,...".

Due to weather conditions, people here can only grow one crop a year, with unstable yields. However, because they love rice and want to provide beautiful scenery for tourists, everyone tries to take care of their family's rice fields.

Especially in recent years, with the support of local authorities and businesses, people have been supported with seeds, fertilizers, etc. This has motivated people to be more attached to their hometown fields, contributing to building a unique and artistic image of fields that captivates tourists.

According to Mr. Dinh Anh Toi, Vice Chairman of Ninh Hai Commune People's Committee: Tam Coc field has an area of over 18 hectares. Currently, people are starting to harvest the ripe rice areas. This year, the weather is quite favorable, so the rice yield is higher than previous years, estimated at 1.3-1.8 quintals/sao. After the harvest, the locality continues to mobilize people to take care of the regenerated rice (dead rice) to create a beautiful landscape for tourists when they come to Tam Coc to visit.

Tam Coc these days is strangely beautiful. No longer the vast fields of ripe rice, but now the picture appears like a giant piano key with light and dark shades. A natural beauty that seems to have been arranged by someone. Coming to Tam Coc this season is coming to the scent of fields and wind, coming to a peaceful countryside filled with emotions.