Hunting for beautiful reeds on the Vietnam - China border

Cloud hunting on the ground

At 4:30 a.m., a 16-seat Ford car rolled from Hanoi, traveling hundreds of kilometers to a land with sea, mountains, and an airport... carrying people excited to explore a new land called Binh Lieu - a place known as the paradise of reed grass - a place to hunt "clouds on the ground".

The endless kilometers of highway took us to Quang Ninh - a land of nature with the deep green of the sky, the sea, the mountains and forests... Although the road to milestone 1297/4 was not easy to travel because of the sharp turns, sometimes going uphill, then braking downhill. For me, these turns were nothing compared to the roads in the Northwest, but it was enough to make the girls in the car drunk...

Binh Lieu is a mountainous district in the Northeast of Quang Ninh province, bordering China. Binh Lieu is about 270km from Hanoi.

Sharp bends on the way to milestone 1297/4

Landmark 1297/4 (demarcating the Vietnam-China border) is actually located in Bac Xa commune, Dinh Lap district (Lang Son), bordering Vo Ngai commune, Binh Lieu district. And conquering landmark 1297/4 from the Binh Lieu route is the easiest, according to our guides.

The end of October and the beginning of November is the most beautiful season in Binh Lieu, to explore and enjoy the beautiful and endless reeds. Someone compared the reeds in Binh Lieu to clouds floating on the ground.

Passing the guard station of Bac Xa Border Post is milestone 1297, the white reed hills gradually appeared before our eyes. That was also the moment we realized we were almost at our destination.

Departing at 4:30 a.m., traveling hundreds of kilometers, our group was able to admire the majestic beauty of Quang Ninh's nature.

“ Setting foot on milestone 1297/4, you can breathe in the fresh air and gaze at the endless mountain ranges. The mountains and forests here have an extremely majestic and poetic beauty. The endless white reeds look like floating clouds, ” Ms. Vu Thuan (Hanoi) shared.

Ms. Bui Thi Thuy - an employee of a company specializing in organizing tours to explore Binh Lieu, said: " When coming to Binh Lieu at this time, visitors need to have a suitable schedule or choose to travel by tour. If traveling by tour, visitors can limit the risk of getting lost due to loss of signal. There will definitely be a place to sleep without having to sleep in a car or stay at a local's house. Not only that, when traveling by tour, there will be a tour guide accompanying them, usually a local. These people know the deserted check-in points and beautiful scenery ."

The endless white reeds, like floating clouds, make visitors feel moved.

After conquering milestone 1297, we continued to move to the lunch spot and prepared to conquer milestone 1305 - the place known as the "dinosaur spine" in Quang Ninh.

From here, the border patrol route opens up beautifully with vast green pine forests and rolling mountains in the distance.

Landmark 1305 is considered the highest border landmark of Quang Ninh province, a place that is not easy to conquer. Because, you have to overcome about 2,000 steps with a length of nearly 2km, with many steep and precarious sections. It is this magnificence that creates a scene that cannot be found anywhere else, except in Binh Lieu!

After passing the "dinosaur life" pass, visitors will set foot on milestone 1305. The highest border milestone of Quang Ninh province.

However, if anyone has a fear of heights, they probably should not try or attempt to conquer this route.

“ Today is a very lucky day for me, because in the morning I can fully explore the white reed forest, without having to jostle. In the afternoon, I can watch the sunset on the “dinosaur’s back”. I heard many people who have been there say that not everyone can catch the sunset moment, because there are days when there is only a streak of sunlight ”, Ms. Phuong Thuy (Vinh Phuc) shared.

Border afternoon, the sunset is so beautiful it makes your heart ache.

It must be said that without health and perseverance, no one can conquer the "dinosaur spine" on the way to milestone 1305. There were times when I felt discouraged and my knees were sore from having to climb the stairs.

But the image of the white reeds sparkling in the sunset made me determined to conquer.

Travel without "rip-offs"

At 5:30 p.m., it was already dark. We went down the mountain in joy and happiness because of the memorable experience at milestone 1305, then watched the sunset on the “dinosaur’s back”. The 1305 stop was dark, because there was no electricity, only the car headlights shining towards the mountain.

While the driver and we were still confused about choosing the route to Binh Lieu town for dinner and rest, some local people enthusiastically showed us each path and turn so that the group could "go to the destination and return safely". A very small gesture, but it won the hearts of tourists.

An action that makes me more confident that Quang Ninh tourism will welcome 19 million tourists in 2024, if everyone acts with a heart like the people who are exploiting tourism in Binh Lieu in particular and Quang Ninh in general.

Ms. Cao Lan (Vinh Phuc) - A tourist shared: “ Stopping at the rest stop at the foot of the mountain to conquer milestone 1305, I was quite surprised when the food stall sold at the right price. No haggling, no taking advantage of the weekend to “make money”. I think that every tourist in Quang Ninh deeply understands this issue, they want to keep customers and tourists will come back, not “come once and then leave forever ”.

At nearly 7pm, Binh Lieu Town is not as bustling and crowded as Mong Cai, Ha Long, Cam Pha… but extremely peaceful. The border town was “bustling” for a few weeks at the end of October, the beginning of November, then returned to its original state.

The accommodation system in Binh Lieu Town currently does not meet the needs of tourists.

Therefore, the accommodation system is not enough to meet the demand. If you want to conquer the 2 milestones 1297 and 1305 to see the paradise of grass flowers, you have to plan a month in advance. But sometimes, that preparation is also "unlucky" if the travel agencies have booked all the motels, hotels, homestays, or houses with spare rooms.

To attract tourists, Binh Lieu district continues to develop a number of new tourism products in the area such as: Homestay accommodation service products in the traditional rammed earth house model (Khe Tien village, Dong Van commune); forest walking tourism products (in the areas of Song Mooc and Khe Tien villages in Dong Van commune) and kayaking tourism products (on Tien Yen river through Binh Lieu district, from Dong Tam commune to Vo Ngai commune) ...

Saying goodbye to the memorable borderland with beautiful memories, friendly, hospitable and simple people. Photo by Truong Anh Ngoc.

It is known that Quang Ninh province is determined to achieve the goal of welcoming 19 million tourists, including 3.5 million international visitors in 2024. To complete the set goal, relevant departments, branches and localities have been implementing solutions to promote, advertise and boost tourism development in the last months of the year, and build new products in the fall and winter to attract tourists.

Quang Ninh people are straightforward, hospitable, friendly - along with the favor of nature, this has created the brand of Quang Ninh tourism.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/san-co-lau-dep-ngut-ngan-noi-bien-gioi-viet-trung-post531112.html