Amidst the remaining challenges, the people of Lan Nong have been and are believing in a brighter future, when the government and the community are working together to open the way and unleash tourism potential, so that this place can not only escape poverty but also become a destination rich in identity on the tourism map of Lang Son.
Hardships in the Hot Springs
In early August 2025, we followed the mountainside with a trekking group (a hiking activity on complex natural terrain) organized by the Lang Son Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center to Lan Nong residential area. Climbing the steep slope on gravel and rocks was already difficult, and after the rain, the path became even more slippery, causing many people in the group to slip and fall, their clothes were dirty, their hands were swollen and sore from holding on to the cliffs and trees to keep their balance. After more than an hour of overcoming these difficulties, in the middle of the isolated valley, the roofs of houses loomed at the foot of the mountain, making everyone feel like they had been recharged after a difficult journey.
Lan Nong - an isolated village in the middle of the forest currently has 13 households with 68 people, mainly Nung ethnic group. Of the 13 households, 100% are poor and near-poor households (10 poor households, 3 near-poor households). Before June 2025, the only way to go from Loi village center to Lan Nong is to hike for more than 1 hour, following the rocky outcrops, with no clear path. Outsiders entering the village, if not familiar with the road, getting lost is common.
“In the rainy season, the sky is dark, the road is slippery, the elderly or children often slip and fall. If someone is sick, they have to be carried to the medical station, which takes half a day,” said Pham Van Tinh, who was born and raised in Lan Nong.
In Lan Nong, there is no national electricity grid, people still use kerosene lamps or solar-powered lamps and fans. There is also no phone signal here, people who want to make a phone call have to climb high cliffs to get a signal. The source of water for daily use comes from streams, so there is often a shortage in the dry season. The main livelihood of the people is growing peanuts, corn, beans and fruit trees. To sell their products, people have to carry them on foot through difficult roads, so life is very difficult and deprived.
Sharing with reporters, Pham Tuan Diep, 16 years old, with a thin figure, said: "I dropped out of school and stayed home to help my parents with the economy to reduce my suffering."
Aspirations to pave the way for reality
For many years, people in Lan Nong have nurtured the desire to find a new road to travel, to somewhat alleviate their difficulties. Although they found a suitable path, they did not have enough funds to open the road. In early 2025, after the people of Lan Nong appealed and received support from benefactors, by April 2025, a concrete road about 4 km long, about 50 cm wide, along the mountainside, enough for motorbikes to circulate, connecting Lan Nong with the center of Van Linh commune (old Chi Lang district) was opened. The total cost of the road is nearly 750 million VND, and so far, people in Lan Nong have contributed and paid about 300 million VND.
Although there is a path, there are still many sections of the road that have not been concreted, are steep, steep, and have many winding turns, but for the people here, it is a big step forward. “With the road, transporting goods and agricultural products is much easier than before. I just hope that my village will soon have electricity and phone signal to connect with the outside world, because now everyone is using 4.0, our place is still… 0.4,” Mr. Pham Van Tinh laughed, his voice mixed with bitterness.
Mr. Linh Van Diep, Vice Chairman of Cai Kinh Commune People's Committee, said: Recently, the commune government has proposed the State to support the expansion and upgrading of the road, and at the same time bring electricity grid and telecommunications infrastructure to the village. However, due to the difficult terrain, high costs, the implementation requires more time and resources, so it has not been invested. In the meantime, the commune still encourages people to work hard to produce and strive to develop the economy.
New direction for Hot Unicorn
Difficulties still exist, but recently, along with a new path, a development direction for Lan Nong has been opened. In early 2025, the Lang Son Geopark Management Department under the Provincial Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center surveyed and selected Lan Nong to build the first "carbon-free tourism village" model in the area - aiming for "net zero tourism" (a form of tourism that aims to balance the amount of carbon emissions generated during operations, by minimizing or completely offsetting those emissions).
Accordingly, Lan Nong residential area has the potential to become a typical "Net Zero" village in the Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark region due to the following characteristics: households live in stilt houses and earthen houses; there are (small) caves and streams flowing from the caves; the village space is clean, with lots of trees; the road in the village leads to the fields where you can cycle; there are bamboo forests; the trekking route from the center of Cai Kinh commune to Lan Nong passes through the mountainside, the valley has majestic landscapes, there are twin mountains and "paleontological fossil cemetery"...
In particular, the people of Lan Nong are mostly Nung ethnic group, living in isolation, so they basically still maintain their customs and practices in daily life, traditional costumes and culinary culture, which will contribute to creating attractiveness for tourists.
Ms. Pham Thi Huong, Head of Geopark Management Department, Provincial Center for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion shared: We want to build a trekking route "Journey to the village named Happiness" combined with experiencing ethnic minority culture. We hope that this direction will create new livelihoods for people, protect the environment and preserve the cultural identity of the Nung people here.
In order to gradually build Lan Nong into a "Net Zero" village, in recent times, the Provincial Center for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion has organized activities such as organizing a contest combined with propaganda to raise people's awareness of preserving traditional stilt houses, cleaning up the space of stilt houses and clean gardens; organizing tree planting activities to create landscapes in residential areas . At the same time, mobilizing people to continue the process of producing peanuts and corn according to environmentally friendly criteria and creating unique dishes from peanuts and corn, aiming to form a brand and packaging for products with the logo of UNESCO Lang Son Global Geopark...
In the past 2 months, the Provincial Center for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion has organized 4 groups of tourists trekking to Lan Nong, providing opportunities for exchange and gradually "sowing seeds" for community tourism services. The trekking route is now starting to attract the attention of tourists who love nature and discovery experiences inside and outside the province.
Mr. Do Hung, a tourist from Hanoi, shared: I have conquered many trekking routes, but the journey to Lan Nong brings a completely different feeling. Passing through the vast custard apple gardens, climbing the rocky mountains to the other side of the village, I felt like entering another world, peaceful, pristine with rich flora stretching on both sides of the path. Although the journey is quite difficult, the scenery and the enthusiasm and sincerity of the people here make me want to come back to truly rest and immerse myself in this space.
Hopefully one day in the not too distant future, with the investment of the State and the cooperation of the community, the road to Lan Nong will be expanded, the lights will dispel the darkness, and the phone signal will be connected to this valley. And then, the smiles of the people here will not only be for tourists, but also happy smiles because the homeland has developed sustainably from the precious assets that nature has given.
Source: https://baolangson.vn/tia-sang-giua-dai-ngan-5056118.html
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