The word “valley of water” makes people leave their land…
Early spring, carrying with us curiosity about a rare and unique Central Vietnamese village, we stopped at Tan Hoa commune (Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province) - a small village that has just received the title of "Best tourist village in the world" voted by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Dawn has broken but a thin layer of fog still lingers on the mountain top, the gentle emerald green river still sleeps dreamily in the middle of the peaceful valley, weaving a charming landscape that is half real and half unreal, "captivating" tourists. Yet behind that pristine beauty, Tan Hoa was once considered a "valley of water", where fierce waters once drowned the hopes of more than 600 households, making their lives extremely difficult and miserable.
The simple beauty of Tan Hoa village. Photo: Luu Huong
Tan Hoa commune is surrounded by majestic limestone mountains and a unique cave system that was created over millions of years. Cutting across the valley is the Rao Nan river, dividing the valley into two banks, where residents settle. This terrain has caused the commune to frequently face the challenges of natural disasters. In the rainy season, river water rushes from the upstream to the commune, while the only drainage is the caves at the end of the valley, which are not large enough for the fierce flood waters to escape quickly. Therefore, every time there are heavy, long-term rains, Tan Hoa naturally becomes a "flood center" area, so when mentioning this countryside, people will remember a land that has suffered a lot of damage from natural disasters. According to statistics, after two terrible floods in 2010, the whole commune had 621 households with 3,000 people flooded; over 8,000 livestock and poultry died; Hundreds of tons of food and food reserves of the people were swept away.
Pointing to the column marking the flood level of previous years at the entrance of the village, as if to piece together the sad memories that he wanted to forget, Mr. Truong Son Bai - who served as the Commune Chairman for two terms, sadly said: “It has been more than a decade since that historic flood. We had to evacuate to caves and high cliffs, set up tents with tarpaulins and wait for the water to recede. The flood level rose to 12 meters, turning the whole of Tan Hoa into a white area, with only small roofs still visible, protruding from the sea of water. After the flood passed, looking at the ruined houses and trees lying on the roadside, everyone had to hold back their tears, starting life again with difficulty.”
Lacking food and clothing because all their hard work was in vain, no one dared to hope for much. For farming, they only dared to grow short-term crops such as cassava and corn. Families that raised buffaloes and cows had to spend time and effort running all the way to Laos to cut grass because every flood season, the mud would form layers and make most of the grass wither and die. A precarious life avoiding floods on the edge of the forest, on the rocky slopes with hunger, cold, and disease made few people feel attached to the village. Thus, one generation after another of young people left the country to find a living. Therefore, although the population here was over 3,300 people, thousands of young people went to the South to make a living, leaving an already poor Tan Hoa even more lonely and empty.
… Visit the “world’s best tourist village” that attracts thousands of international visitors
At noon, passing through the village gate engraved with the shimmering golden words "Tan Hoa Tourist Village", Tan Hoa in the spring season appears impressive. Following the sturdy concrete road winding around the foot of the mountain, the rustic wooden houses typical of the mountainous region have gradually been replaced by spacious two-story tiled houses, or small, pretty homestays. The grasslands and bare rice fields that were once buried by floodwaters are gradually reviving with green thanks to the warmth of spring. Occasionally, the murmuring sound of the waterfall and the clear chirping of swallows in spring harmonize to create a bustling chorus of the mountains and forests, which is truly pleasing to the ears.
ATV driving tour to explore Lim forest for tourists when coming to Tan Hoa. Photo: Luu Huong
Following Mr. Truong Manh Hung - Owner of Hung Oanh homestay, we arrived at a small, pretty house with eye-catching blue tones, the walls decorated with vivid landscape paintings and many colorful flower baskets. At the foot of the house is a system of barrels used as buoys during the flood season. Going deeper inside the homestay, which is about 30 square meters wide, is a private bathroom, two beds with elegant gray sheets, and other items chosen in the most minimalist way but still very comfortable and convenient.
Following Mr. Hung's memories, we listened attentively to the story of "turning disadvantages into sustainable livelihoods" of the people of Tan Hoa. He said: After many years of struggling with the harshness of nature, people came up with the idea of making floating rafts to cope with floods. Initially, they were wooden frame houses of about 16m2, with a system of barrels under the floor to lift the whole house when the flood came and 4 poles positioned at the 4 corners of the house. Then from this idea, in early 2015, Chua Me Dat Company (Oxalit) - a local enterprise supported the construction of floating houses for the people here with a completely new design. The house frame is made of steel, the walls and roof are made of corrugated iron with an area of each house of about 30m2, enough to contain the belongings for a family to live and work during the rainy and flood days.
To date, nearly 700 floating houses have been built, ensuring that 100% of households can safely adapt to living with floods. In addition to the construction of Tu Lan Lodge, 10 homestays converted from private houses will also be put into operation from 2023. Thanks to this weather-adaptive accommodation model appearing for the first time in Vietnam, even during the flood season, tourists can still rest assured to experience a unique and unprecedented life.
In 2014, the Tu Lan cave system exploration tour officially operated with 9 tours and many different experiences. Tourism products such as off-road driving to explore the ironwood forest, cycling to see corn fields, dining at local homes and other services have also gradually diversified to attract tourists. These attractive tours have helped Tan Hoa welcome nearly 10,000 visitors in 2023, more than 9,000 in 2022 and even the peak year of the Covid-19 pandemic like 2019 also had more than 3,000 visitors. The development of tourism has also contributed to creating jobs for hundreds of local workers. The average income of each person during the tourist season can reach 7 - 10 million VND per month. And from here, a gloomy, poor Tan Hoa has been "transformed" into a joyful land, always bustling with laughter. Thousands of tourists from all over come here to have fun, experience and enjoy the colorful meals of the locals.
Sitting next to a hot meal with a golden and eye-catching rice dish, inhaling the aroma of stir-fried male snails, grilled pork with lemon leaves, fish soup with giang leaves typical of the mountainous region, listening to the people "showing off" the changes in their hometown, I was "hypnotized" by the unbelievable changes of the poor countryside of Tan Hoa. Outside, spring poles are being erected on large lawns. The Tet atmosphere is present in every house. Now that they no longer have to worry about floods and rains robbing all their most precious things, they are waiting for a Giap Thin spring with many, many hopes for an increasingly prosperous and beautiful life of the "World's Best Tourist Village".
Tran Phong
Source
Comment (0)