Unique tourism products from Hong Hill sand grains

Sand painting

Along the 192-kilometer long coastline of Binh Thuan, there are countless natural sand dunes. In addition to Mui Ne sand dunes, there are also Trinh Nu sand dunes, Hoa Phu sand dunes, Chi Cong sand dunes, Binh Thanh sand dunes... all of which are beautiful, with smooth, hot sand and always moving. However, Mui Ne sand grains are different, on the surface of the sand dunes there is a fairly high proportion of light pink. Therefore, the locals call it "Pink Hill"; under that layer of pink sand there are many other colors. With the advantage of a multi-colored sand material area, Phi Long Sand Painting Company has exploited sand from Mui Ne pink hill to screen 7 types of natural colored sand to create unique sand paintings. Once I visited Phi Long sand painting workshop on Thu Khoa Huan street (Phan Thiet). At the painting workshop, there are more than 30 workers, most of whom are disabled teenagers, who are working hard on works ordered by customers in advance, such as: Sand paintings of seascapes, countryside, portraits, Phan Thiet water towers, Truong Duc Thanh relic site. Especially the sand painting "President Ho Chi Minh sitting reading a newspaper on a rattan chair" measuring 60cm wide and 120cm long, painted by artisan Phi Long for several months. It is said to be a painting, but the tools here are not pencils or brushes, but only tongs and a tiny coffee spoon to scoop each sparkling grain of sand into a transparent glass block. Besides, there are many portraits of Uncle Ho created by other artisans that are no different from the original photos. Realistic, unique, artistic, the color of the materials does not fade and lasts over time... that is the characteristic of sand paintings, anyone who has used them feels satisfied. Sand paintings have naturally become a valuable cultural and handicraft gift. The artisan has contributed to promoting the image of Vietnam and his homeland Binh Thuan to domestic and foreign tourists with sand grains from Mui Ne pink hills.

That is the story of painting from sand grains, Mui Ne pink hill is also an endless source of materials for artisans to build a "sand sculpture park" displaying dozens of statues on Nguyen Thong street, Phan Thiet city. With the theme of "fairy tale world", each sand sculpture is created based on fairy tales or cultural symbols. Sand blocks taken from the pink hill are compressed by hydraulic pressure between sand and water to create a certain hardness for artisans to carve and shape to create works of art from sand, making many viewers amazed. I still remember a few years ago when the "sand sculpture park" opened, sculptors from 15 countries around the world gathered in Phan Thiet and created nearly 30 magnificent works from more than 300 tons of Mui Ne pink sand. "Sand sculpture park" is a carefully invested art space for young people to return to nature and deeply enjoy the art of sand sculpture.

Sculpting statues from sand of Hong hill

If natural colored sand is a typical source of raw materials for artistic creation, then the beautiful shape of Mui Ne Red Hill is an endless source of inspiration for photographers. Photographer Le Hong Linh shared: “I have taken hundreds of photos of sand dunes and have won 20 gold and silver medals domestically and internationally for Mui Ne Red Hill. However, every time I return to Phan Thiet to visit my wife's hometown, I bring my camera to the sand dunes to hunt for beautiful photos. Because the sand dunes are always moving, they create inspiration for photographers. New sand dunes formed in strong winds create sharp, curved lines like a young girl's breasts, the ever-changing shape of the sand dunes has attracted the creativity of artists. Mui Ne Red Hill alone has thousands of artistic photography works that have won high awards domestically and internationally.”

Artistic photo "Pink Hill Mui Ne" - photo DH

Mui Ne pink sand dunes were formed a long time ago, stretching over a large space with an area of over 50 hectares; the sand surface has 18 diverse colors, but mainly yellow, ivory white, dark red, light red, black mixed together, looking very beautiful. The most unique thing about the sand dunes is that after a strong wind or after a day and night, the appearance of the sand dunes returns to its original state. Local people explain this phenomenon as being due to the sand dunes being affected by natural factors such as: Monsoon, climate, weather... The wind has created extremely unique and novel landscapes and shapes of sand dunes, causing excitement and curiosity for many people. Here, visitors can compete to climb small sand dunes or play the exciting sand sliding game.

Mui Ne Pink Hill is a priceless gift that nature has bestowed on this land of sunshine and wind. Due to the harsh climate, Mui Ne sand hill has become a place of great artistic inspiration. The natural colors in each grain of sand of the pink hill are different from other sand hills. That difference is the subject for artisans and artists to create unique tourism products of Binh Thuan.

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