Ung Hoa - an attractive heritage area

Foreign tourists excitedly take photos to check-in at the Quang Phu Cau Incense Stick Craft Village tourist attraction.

Attractive heritage destination

About 10 years ago, the incense stick making village in Cau Bau hamlet (Quang Phu Cau commune, Ung Hoa district) was still quite unfamiliar to many locals and tourists. However, the unique beauty of this village and the image of colorful bundles of incense sticks arranged in the shape of the letter "S" - the shape of Vietnam, or the shape of the red flag with a yellow star, a heart... have "gone viral" across all social platforms, attracting not only domestic tourists but also many international visitors to Ung Hoa in recent years.

With the typical terrain and landscape conditions of the rural areas of the Red River Delta and unique cultural resources, Ung Hoa has many advantages for tourism development. In particular, the outstanding cultural tourism resources are associated with traditional culture, agriculture and rural areas. In the district, there are 433 relics, including 66 national relics and 106 city-level relics, typically Hoang Xa communal house, Duc Thanh Ca temple, Bac Ky Regional Party Committee relic site, Chay area victory monument and Truong Son Stick Movement homeland museum... The system of relics of the district not only has cultural and historical value but also has value in terms of sculpture and traditional art.

Ung Hoa is also a locality with outstanding advantages in terms of craft village tourism potential. The district currently has 120 craft villages, of which 21 have been recognized. Many craft villages meet the criteria to become tourist destinations such as Trach Xa Ao Dai Sewing Village, Quang Phu Cau Incense Stick Making Village, Dao Xa Musical Instrument Village, Truong Thinh Bamboo and Rattan Weaving Village... In addition, the traditional cuisine with famous specialties has created a brand for Ung Hoa including: Gio Dinh Noi, Moc Ton (dog meat), Van Dinh grass duck, Bat vermicelli, perch porridge and Van Dinh carp soup...

In particular, Ung Hoa is also known as the homeland of Thien Mon Dao martial arts (Du Xa village, Hoa Nam commune) - an ancient, pure Vietnamese martial art, formed and developed in parallel with the struggles to build and defend the country in the history of the country. Thien Mon Dao is associated with the history of Du Xa Thuong land from the 10th century - where there are still traces of King Dinh Bo Linh training his troops and the Bach Linh temple engraved with the name of the founder of Thien Mon Dao. These are the potentials and advantages for Ung Hoa to develop martial arts tourism products associated with sightseeing, experience, practice and educating the tradition of patriotism for the young generation.

Located on National Highway 21B, Ung Hoa also plays an important role in the spiritual tourism route from the center of Hanoi to the special national relic site of Huong Son Scenic Relic Complex - one of the largest spiritual tourist destinations in Vietnam, connecting with Tam Chuc Pagoda (Ha Nam) and Bai Dinh Pagoda, Trang An World Heritage Site, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital (Ninh Binh). The rich culture and the precious heritage system above are the resources for Ung Hoa to develop tourism into one of the main economic sectors of the district, making Ung Hoa the most attractive destination in the southern region of the capital in the future.

Opportunity to "take off"

Despite facing many difficulties and challenges, in recent years, Ung Hoa tourism has affirmed its attractiveness through the number of visitors to the district. In 2023, the district welcomed 239 thousand tourists, in 2024 welcomed about 270 thousand. Based on the specific goals as well as the tourism development orientation of Hanoi Capital, Ung Hoa sets a target of welcoming about 300 thousand visitors in 2025, of which international visitors are about 18 thousand visitors; striving to welcome about 600 thousand visitors by 2030, of which international visitors are about 45 thousand visitors.

According to Chairman of Ung Hoa District People's Committee Nguyen Tien Thiet, the above goals are set on the basis of assessing favorable opportunities for strong tourism development in the current period; the trend of experiential tourism with unique and different elements and the increasing demand for weekend travel and night tours of tourists; the trend of prioritizing nearby, affordable tourist destinations of Hanoi tourists; and the second airport of the Hanoi Capital Region is expected to be located in Ung Hoa and Phu Xuyen districts, leading to the development of urban - service - industry. Based on these opportunities, Ung Hoa tourism is expected to "take off" with specific tourism products such as cultural tourism; night tourism associated with cuisine, shopping, events, night entertainment; eco-tourism, weekend resorts; martial arts tourism; shopping tourism; culinary tourism...

Highly appreciating the potential and advantages of tourism development in Ung Hoa, Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said that it is necessary to preserve and promote the valuable resources of Ung Hoa, while connecting with modern tourism products to create a sustainable tourism model and attract tourists.