Ban Lien - An attractive destination for many tourists in the middle of peaceful mountains and forests

Amidst the peaceful mountains and forests of Ban Lien (Bac Ha, now in Yen Bai province), the simple small houses of the local people have become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

Tourists coming to Ban Lien can experience activities to understand the culture of ethnic minorities in general and the Tay people here in particular such as: visiting terraced fields, planting rice, herding buffalo, picking tea and making organic tea, bathing in waterfalls, having meals by the stream, going to the forest to get bamboo, making traditional chopsticks, weaving conical hats, making green rice flakes, playing traditional games...

BanLien Pine Homestay of Ms. Vang Thi Thong's family is a destination with a strong local character, made of wood and roofed with palm leaves. Ms. Thong's small stilt house has become an attractive destination for tourists from all over. With the spirit of daring, she turned the traditional house into a homestay, where the agricultural life, culture and quiet landscape of the Tay people are.

Before 2019, her life was closely linked to farming and raising livestock. Ms. Thong recalls that there were times when she did not have 20,000 VND left in her pocket, but she was still determined to get rich to improve her life. The idea of developing community tourism came to her when a village meeting introduced the GREAT project, supporting people in the highlands to start a tourism business. On the first day of attending the village meeting, she did not understand what "homestay" meant. Her Mandarin was still broken at that time, she read and spoke incorrectly, but that confusion became the motivation for her to persevere in learning, not skipping any training sessions.

Ms. Thong said that at first, she just thought simply: “My house has a kitchen, food, and stories. If guests come, just open the door. I started with small things: cleaning the house, rebuilding the bathroom, buying bedding, curtains, and preparing every little detail for the homestay.”

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted homestay operations, she is not discouraged. She and her husband are still persistent in renovating every corner of the house, taking care of the garden, painting the stilt house, cleaning every kitchen shelf, every corner of the room so that when guests come, they can have a comfortable experience.

Ms. Vang Thi Thong in her family's kitchen. (Photo: Trinh Huyen)

“I just thought that if guests come, we will have a decent house to welcome them. If not, we will renovate it for our family to live in,” Ms. Thong shared.

During the time when there were no guests, she took advantage of the time to learn online tourism skills, homestay management, and English communication. Each class was a step in preparation for the day BanLien Pine Homestay reopened. At that time, the Internet was not popular in the village, and sometimes she had to walk several kilometers to get a signal to study online. Her efforts were gradually recognized with certificates of merit, a testament to her perseverance and dedication.

The special thing about BanLien Pine Homestay is the experiential tourism model. Tourists not only sleep but also participate in the daily activities of the local people: participating in planting, harvesting, preparing traditional dishes, taking care of the vegetable garden, learning how to make green rice, sticky rice cakes or harvesting tea. They even organize small ceremonies according to local customs with her family. These experiences help tourists get closer to Tay culture and understand the peaceful life of the local people.

The efforts during the early years of starting a business finally started to pay off. When the program “Haha Family” chose BanLien Pine Homestay as a filming location, her homestay suddenly became famous. From here, the number of guests began to increase gradually, including foreign tourists. To ensure quality and avoid overload, she still kept the habit of leaving a few days free each week, arranging, preparing the homestay, and taking care of the agricultural products.

Mr. Vang A Vuong - Head of Village 3, Ban Lien Commune, shared that Ms. Thong is a very agile, sensitive, active person and always learns to communicate well. Her tourist spot is loved by many guests, many of whom come back for the second and third time.

Certificates of merit and recognition for Ms. Thong's family's activities in tourism development. (Photo: Trinh Huyen)

In early 2025, Ms. Thong's family was awarded a certificate of merit by the Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lao Cai province for their outstanding achievements in tourism activities of Lao Cai province and Yen Bai province (before the merger).

“Although roads and means of communication are still difficult, the potential for community tourism development in Ban Lien is still very large thanks to the beautiful natural landscape, cool climate, and the traditional cultural life of the Tay people still preserved intact. From there, people also have more opportunities to develop the economy and increase their income. However, if tourism is developed without cultural preservation, it is easy to lose its own identity. Ms. Thong often tells people to preserve their stilt houses, their way of dressing, and their language. That is the attractive highlight for tourists to come to the village,” said the Head of Village 3 of Ban Lien Commune.

Tourist Le Hoang Phuong Vy (25 years old), from Hanoi said: “I booked a room early after the effect of the Haha family program but my schedule was full. I only had the opportunity to go to Ban Lien in September. I came here because the scenery was beautiful but I wanted to stay longer because the people here are very generous and hospitable.”

When the homestay started operating, Ms. Thong knew that to stand out in the competitive experiential tourism scene, applying digital technology was essential. She learned how to create a fanpage, write an introduction, shoot videos, edit via CapCut and plan communications using ChatGPT. Thanks to that, she could tell the story of the village, the small kitchen, and the hot cup of tea to invite guests from afar in a vivid and intimate way without being afraid of the camera.

Tourists experience tea picking in Ban Lien. (Photo: NVCC)

Ms. Thong's joy comes not only from her personal success, but also from connecting with other families in Ban Lien to welcome guests. After becoming known to many people thanks to the Haha Family Program, she did not keep her own secret but proactively promoted all other homestays in the village. She regularly posts pictures, introducing the experiences of tourists at Ms. Can's house, Mr. Nang's house, or Mr. Binh's couple's house, and skillfully connects families with guests coming to the village.

Thanks to this approach, homestays in Ban Lien have the opportunity to reach customers, attract a stable number of guests, and regular visitors get to experience many different locations in the village. This uniform promotion not only helps each household develop its economy but also creates a sustainable eco-tourism network, and is also a way to preserve Tay culture and promote clean agricultural products./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ban-lien-diem-den-hap-dan-nhieu-du-khach-giua-nui-rung-yen-binh-post1073499.vnp