Conquering Nam Xuan Lac

Those who have visited the Nam Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area ( Bac Kan ) are left with a feeling of excitement and awe at the majestic beauty of nature, mixed with surprise at the traces of the French colonial period hidden deep within the ancient forests. Nam Xuan Lac possesses a mysterious and captivating allure yet to be awakened and explored.

A giant ironwood tree in the Nam Xuan Lac forest. (Photo by NGOC TU)

Conquer the ancient forest

We began our journey from Bang Lung town in Cho Don district. The town is nestled in a fairly large valley. A special feature of this mountain town is a spring that gushes out crystal-clear water, said to originate from the Phia Booc mountain range and other high mountains in the area. Highway 254 stretches like a soft silk ribbon, winding through the hills and mountains. In the distance, the villages of the Dao and Tay people are dotted with vibrant red rice blossoms against the early morning sky.

It takes about five hours to travel from Hanoi to the Nam Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area. The real challenge only arises for those who venture into the old-growth forests. The group had two special "guides": Ms. Ma Thi Na, Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, and Mr. Ma Doan Khang, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cho Don District.

The headquarters of the Conservation Area Management Board is nestled under the canopy of the old-growth forest. Immediately behind the headquarters are enormous natural trees and vines as thick as a wrist, hanging down like pythons – a sight that truly captures the essence of a conservation area. The Director of the Conservation Area, Luong Quoc Hai, said there are nine routes to explore and conquer the Nam Xuan Lac forest. With the advice of local "guides," our group chose the route from Cau Muc Junction - Dau Cap Binh Trai - Phja Khao.

Before leaving, we went to light incense at Tien Son Temple at the foot of the white mountain (called Phja Khao in the Tay language). This was almost a given for those visiting this mysterious land for the first time, where countless relics exist, connected to the fates of miners who perished during the colonial period.

Ban Thi is a mining area, home to the largest lead-zinc mine in Vietnam. Since 1909, the French colonial government has brought machinery, mine shafts, ore hoists, and railways to this remote and isolated region. Even today, the Ban Thi mine continues to supply tens of thousands of tons of ore to the country annually.

Our group included Mai Hoa, a 22-year-old girl born in Hanoi who has been living and studying in California (USA) for over 10 years. Nothing provides a more authentic assessment of Nam Xuan Lac than Mai Hoa's experience, as a Vietnamese expatriate returning home and visiting for the first time.

Mai Hoa wrote, "To say the road to the summit of Phja Khao is not difficult is a lie. Winding around the mountainside, precariously perched on rocks upon rocks, the road, built almost solely for mining purposes, is only wide enough for one car. Sitting in the car, swaying precariously along the bumpy road, marked by the tracks of trucks carrying goods, I felt both apprehensive and deeply savored the flavor of the duck pho I had for breakfast that morning. Climbing the mountain is certainly not for the well-fed."

The cave was cool and dry in the humid weather. The scent of osmanthus flowers mingled with the faint smell of earth and mud. Here was a water storage cellar, there was the bare steel frame remaining from the sophisticated ore-carrying trolley system built during the French colonial period – much of which had been dismantled to be used as raw material for the Viet Bac campaign in 1947. A deep reddish-brown rust color lurked behind the trees that had flourished for over a hundred years. The age of these steel plates must be comparable to the nails and screws on the Long Bien Bridge.

The road through the Nam Xuan Lac forest, from Ban Thi to Xuan Lac commune, is about 20 km long, enough to make anyone who walks it break a sweat. The French built the road using large stones to traverse the forest. The road served both as a pleasure route for the French on horseback and as a means for horses to transport ore. After hundreds of years, it still exists, although much of it has been overgrown by vegetation.

On the stone-paved path deep in the forest, Mr. Luong Quoc Hai, Director of the Conservation Area Management Board, shared that this system of trails, dating back to the French colonial era, stretches for tens of kilometers. The road surface is flat, and the embankment on the negative slope is reinforced with sturdy stones; despite being hundreds of years old, it remains relatively intact. The moss-covered green stones, fitted together perfectly without mortar, still stand tall after centuries.

Along the way, centuries-old trees stood proudly and majestically, curiously "looking" down at us, observing the group engrossed in exploration. The Nam Xuan Lac forest is a paradise for ironwood trees, so it wasn't difficult to encounter giant tree trunks along the way. Four or five people holding hands couldn't even encircle the trunk of an ironwood tree, demonstrating just how small humans are in the face of nature. Countless times, our group had to crane our necks, even dropping our hats, to admire the colossal trees from root to tip.

Unleash your potential

Having trekked through the forest countless times on patrol, despite her small stature, female forest ranger Mung Thi Hoai nimbly navigated the rocky terrain, leading us along. The men were breathless after a few kilometers of forest trail, their legs aching, but they persevered, fearing the ranger's disapproval.

As Hoai walked along, she recounted in detail that the nature reserve covers an area of over 4,155 hectares, including a strictly protected zone of 2,552 hectares. The reserve is home to 653 species of higher plants belonging to 440 genera, 142 families, and five divisions, of which 54 are rare species, 50 are listed in the Vietnam Red Book, and nine are listed in the IUCN Red List.

After hours of struggling with the terrain, we finally reached the location of the ore hoisting cable system on the mountaintop. For over a hundred years, the iron pillars have stood tall amidst the wind and rain. It's a difficult feeling to describe for anyone who comes here and witnesses the remnants of the colonial regime. The reddish-brown iron pillars are rusted, but the suspension cables still hang loosely across the mountain like the ropes left behind by forest workers.

I had a feeling that with just a little repair, this cable car system would be running smoothly again. And instead of carrying ore, how wonderful it would be to carry tourists! Our train of thought was interrupted when Ms. Ma Thi Na, Deputy Secretary of the Cho Don District Party Committee, called out. In her hand, she held a broken piece of terracotta tile, with French writing still clearly visible on it.

She recounted that, according to many documents and accounts from elderly people in the area, the support structure of this cable winch system used to have a very sturdy tiled roof; now only the steel support structure and winch cables remain. During the resistance war against the French, many central government facilities moved to Ban Thi commune, including the weapons factory. Our army and people utilized some of the steel from this cable winch system to produce weapons for the resistance.

After an hour's walk, traversing the rocky mountain edge, we reached the core area, where the giant ironwood trees became increasingly numerous. Standing before an ancient ironwood tree, female forest ranger Nong Thi Thuan explained that the reserve contains approximately 2,000 large ironwood trees, each carefully numbered.

Beyond its natural wonders, the Nam Xuan Lac nature reserve also holds countless historical relics and mysteries associated with the nation's struggle for independence.

Currently, Ban Thi commune still has many historical and cultural relics, such as the foundation of the Central Military Ordnance Factory on the top of Phja Khao mountain. In 1947, the Central Committee chose this location to establish the Military Research Institute headed by Professor Tran Dai Nghia.

Phja Khao village was also home to the Central Kindergarten during the resistance war from 1948-1954. It was also where Comrade Pham Van Dong's family lived during the resistance. In Hop Tien and Ban Nhuong villages, the Ministry of Finance was located and worked from February 1947 to 1953. This was also the location where the Government established the first Vietnamese banknote printing factory… Therefore, conquering Nam Xuan Lac is not only about breaking one's own limits in mountain climbing ability, but also about discovering many other interesting things.

However, for decades, like the ore hoisting cable system, the stone-paved roads hidden deep in the forest have kept the ecotourism and historical tourism potential of Nam Xuan Lac dormant. These stone-paved roads are only used by forest rangers and local people.

In early 2024, Bac Kan province approved a project for ecotourism, resort, and entertainment in the Nam Xuan Lac Species and Habitat Conservation Area. The estimated total investment for the project is over 330 billion VND. Five ecotourism, resort, and entertainment destinations and nine tourist routes will be built and developed in Nam Xuan Lac. According to leaders of Cho Don district, several investors have come to inquire, research, and express interest in investing in tourism development there. This is truly a positive sign, and Nam Xuan Lac is "stirring" and awakening.

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