Touch Ha Giang: Attractive destination

In most tourist destinations around the world, or in New Zealand itself, tourists will experience comfort and modernity, in other words, it is resort tourism. Many people choose to travel by tour, follow a tour guide and go to famous places. However, in Ha Giang, experiential tourism is probably the most suitable type, especially emotional experiences, when visitors can actively search, explore and learn new things.

Mary Jane Casanes was soon convinced that those thoughts were correct. In an increasingly shrinking world, tourists to Ha Giang are not only attracted by majestic and poetic landscapes such as Ma Pi Leng pass, Tay Con Linh peak, Quan Ba ​​twin mountains, and Hoang Hoang terraced fields. Su Phi, Dong Van Stone Plateau..., but also because of the unique cultural diversity in each village. With the hospitality of local residents, when coming to Ha Giang, people are often invited to participate in festivals, cultural, religious and belief activities that clearly express their views on lifestyle, truly reflecting the history of formation and development of an entire human community.

In recent years, Ha Giang province has not only attached importance to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities, but also paid attention to building a cultural environment at destinations, associated with the development of ethnic minorities. develop community tourism, because this is the most sustainable and effective way to develop. Like the assertion of Dr. Vu Nam, Deputy Director of the Tourism Market Department (General Department of Tourism - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) in the Workshop "Developing tourism products in Ha Giang province in the period 2021 - 2025, vision 2030": Cultural environment is considered a resource and basis for the development of tourism activities and services at community tourism destinations; increases the competitiveness, experience, uniqueness, and attractiveness of the destination.

According to information from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Giang province, the province currently has more than 50 traditional festivals, preserving typical customs and practices of ethnic groups, and 16 cultural and tourist villages. community (CHDLC) associated with the unique culture of the Mong, Dao, Tay, Lo Lo, Giay, Bo Y, La Chi... with a total of 1.600 households and over 7.000 people. Each village is usually a place where one or several ethnic groups live together according to traditional customs and practices, creating a unique cultural identity. For example: Lo Lo Chai CLC Village (Lung Cu commune, Dong Van district), is where the Mong and Black Lo Lo ethnic people live in houses with walls and tiled roofs, making a living mainly by weaving. brocade, embroidery and carpentry; Community Culture Village in Ha Thanh village (Phuong Do commune, Ha Giang city), is where 120 Tay ethnic households gather, still maintaining traditional occupations such as making rice mortar using water power, and making music. tools, making ethnic cakes. Meanwhile, the CLC Village of Lung Cam village (Sung La commune, Dong Van district) - where the three ethnic groups Lo Lo, Mong, and Hoa live - still preserves intact houses with traditional architecture with roofs. Roofed with tiles or thatch, the walls are made of clay and have a hand-laid gray stone fence outside...

Besides, the entire Ha Giang province has 3 national treasures recognized by the Prime Minister (Sung Khanh Pagoda Stele, Binh Lam Pagoda Bell and Lo Lo Bronze Drum pair); 61 historical-cultural relics and scenic spots are ranked (of which, 31 are national-level relics and 30 are provincial-level relics); 24 heritage sites were included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In particular, Then Tay Practical Cultural Heritage was registered by UNESCO on the list of representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. In recent years, the work of restoring and embellishing relics has received attention from all levels and sectors, with 29/61 ranked relics being restored and embellished; 34 intangible cultural heritages invested in restoration...

That traditional cultural identity is the material for Ha Giang to build unique and characteristic tourism products that attract tourists. Through that, people have proactively developed community tourism associated with economic development, creating stable livelihoods, improving income and life; At the same time, raise awareness in restoring and preserving traditional cultural values, protecting the ecological environment and tourism resources.

See you again in Vietnam

Last September 9, Ha Giang province was honored by the World Travel Awards (WTA) as: Asia's Leading Emerging Tourism Destination 2023 (Asia's Leading Emerging Tourism Destination 2023). . This is an important category in the WTA award system, focusing on evaluating related criteria such as environmental landscape, cultural identity, heritage values, security, safety, and human image. civilized, friendly people, introducing, discovering and experiencing new destinations in Asia...

Previously, Ha Giang was also many times on the list of ideal destinations voted by prestigious travel magazines around the world. In 2022, Hmong Village resort will be honored as an ASEAN green hotel; In January 01, Nam Dam village cultural tourism village (Quan Ba ​​commune, Quan Ba ​​district) received the ASEAN award in the field of community tourism for the 2023rd time. The New York Times ranked Ha Giang in the 3rd position. 25 in the list of 52 most ideal destinations for global tourists to explore. Canadian travel newspaper The Travel voted Ha Giang as one of the 10 most beautiful destinations in Vietnam. Most recently, 18 community tourism cultural villages of Ha Giang province were also honored to be selected to promote and introduce on the website of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC)...

Talking about Ha Giang, it is impossible not to mention the remarkable event, in 2023, Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark successfully passed 3 re-evaluations by UNESCO to maintain the title of Park. UNESCO global geology continues to be a pride for every Ha Giang citizen. Since the Dong Van Karst Plateau was recognized as a UNESCO Global Geopark, the appearance of Ha Giang in general and the Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark region in particular has flourished, and its cultural heritages have improved. Preserved and promoted cultural heritage, geological heritage, and biodiversity have become attractive destinations for domestic and foreign tourists.

That's what I told Mary Jane Casanes what I knew about Ha Giang. As a greeting, I printed out for Mary Jane Casanes the photo I took of her and her friends on the summit of Ma Pi Leng. On the back of that photo I carefully wrote the words: A gift from a Vietnamese friend! I believe that, in the kiwi country, every time she looks at this photo, Mary will not forget the message: See you again in Vietnam...