Rustic "island village" in the middle of Lam River
Only a few kilometers from Vinh City, about 50km from Ha Tinh City, but for a long time, Hong Lam village (Xuan Giang commune, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province) has been likened to an "oasis" surrounded by water on all sides. Traffic is difficult by ferry. Generations of "island village" people have followed each other to do agriculture , then struggled to make a living. The elderly and children stayed behind. Even the school was abandoned due to lack of students... But now, Hong Lam has become an experiential tourism destination that attracts many visitors.
The authors of the tourism model here are two young people from the other side of the Lam River - Mr. Le Vu Nguyen Huy and his wife Vo Phuong Trinh (both born in 1992, living in Vinh City, Nghe An). Both graduated from the Vietnam Agricultural Academy, after many years living away from home in big cities, both wanted to find a peaceful place to settle down. Once being taken by friends to visit Hong Lam village, the young couple was very attached to this land.
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Hong Lam village still retains the rustic features of the old countryside. |
Huy said that they both fell in love with Hong Lam from the first time they set foot on the rustic village road, saw the bamboo fences that have been entwined for generations and took a deep breath of the fresh village air. The natural space here is almost still pristine, not yet destroyed by modern architecture.
The more they learn, the more they realize that this land contains stories of human values that are sometimes easily forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life. The village has a history of 500 years, but due to natural disasters, floods and geographical difficulties, residents gradually left the "island" to make a living. Those who remain are mostly middle-aged or elderly. Children are mainly left to their grandparents by their parents who work far away. The villagers are all farmers, very honest and hospitable. Loving the scenery and people here, and realizing the potential of the "island village", Huy and his wife cherished a project to develop experiential tourism.
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Mr. Le Vu Nguyen Huy wants to develop experiential tourism in Hong Lam. |
Unique tourism model
Starting to implement the project, we found it to be very difficult, including the fact that it was “unprecedented”. Mr. Huy said: “There were many difficulties from the beginning to the completion, the most difficult was the mass mobilization work so that all the villagers understood and accompanied us, then the legal documents”.
With a commitment to preserving traditional values in Hong Lam and bringing sustainable values to the community, the idea of Mr. Huy and his wife was supported by the authorities at all levels and the village community. Thanks to the government's guidance and initial removal of procedural obstacles, the Hong Lam Service Cooperative was established in 2023 with the goal of developing indigenous tourism and creating outlets for local products, creating more jobs for the people of the "oasis". Mr. Huy and his wife participated as members of the Cooperative and consultants for the pilot tourism experience model in the village. The remaining members are all Hong Lam residents.
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Mr. Huy presented about the experiential tourism model at Hong Lam. |
Mr. Huy recalls: “The early days were full of difficulties. There was no electricity or water. Transportation was difficult. Facilities, food and drinks... were all very difficult. At first, we even had to carry ice by boat to serve tourists.”
“We do things gradually, without rushing. The scenery and pace of life at Hong Lam are also suitable for “slow living”. Moreover, there is no rush here. Everyone has to… wait for the ferry,” Huy laughed.
The attraction of "slow living" experience tours
The first guests to the "oasis" through Hong Lam Service Cooperative were mostly relatives and friends looking for a "chill" space to "check in"; or simply looking for a peaceful place, hanging a hammock to relax and enjoy the rustic food.
Gradually, through “word of mouth”, more and more tourists know about Hong Lam. According to Mr. Huy, the journey to the “oasis” of Hong Lam is not only about entertainment or eating local specialties but also about “experiencing a normal day” of the “island” people. That is the time sitting and enjoying the wind of Lam River waiting for the ferry with the locals, chatting with them to understand the difficulties and advantages of life on the “oasis”. Then the feeling of floating in the cool air on a ferry, sitting among the goods and necessities...
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Many young people come to the "oasis" to "check in" the sunset scene on Lam River. |
When arriving at the village gate, visitors can feel time slowing down with images that are very familiar but seem to only exist in the memories of the old countryside: small boats, green bamboo fences, buffaloes and cows bathing in the mud and farmers in the fields "selling their faces to the ground, their backs to the sky".
Journey through the village, see simple houses with traces of floods, buffalo and cow barns that are given higher priority than houses. Journey through the fields, see sedge fields, earthworm fields, corn fields, peanut fields... And the cool green casuarina forest with the task of keeping the land from landslides, at the same time providing shelter from the sun and floods on the island.
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Peaceful scene with herds of buffalo and cows bathing in the river on the "island village" Hong Lam. |
According to Mr. Huy: “Our wish when doing tourism in Hong Lam is to build a journey to help visitors experience “slow living”. Because simply everything on the “island” is not rushed. When visitors choose Hong Lam as a destination, they will feel the traditional values of the countryside, be welcomed like people from far away coming to visit, not fussy, everything is just enough but enthusiasm is always abundant”.
Building sustainable community values
Currently, the pilot model of experiential tourism in Hong Lam has created jobs for 10 villagers, initially bringing local agricultural products directly to tourists, such as corn, peanuts, blood worms, fish sauce, Hong Lam "running" chicken... Children who are far from home when returning to Hong Lam have another place to play and participate in community activities. Even more gratifying is that some people have returned to join hands with the Cooperative to develop tourism in their own hometown.
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Tourists wait for the ferry at the gate of Hong Lam village. |
“We often say that building a house on an “island” is sometimes equivalent to building 3 houses on the mainland, the cost and effort are “tripled”. Many things are not readily available here, from bread, vegetables, fresh food, all have to be transported by boat or ordered in advance. Transport to the ferry terminal, get on the boat, then get off the boat again. To bring an electric car to Hong Lam, we have to combine 2 boats, wait for favorable tides to start the engine at the same time to move. Due to the influence of the weather, the depreciation is also very fast, the repair cost increases a lot. On the other hand, we still work on a small scale, many ideas have not been implemented yet”, said Mr. Huy.
“The most meaningful thing we feel when doing tourism in Hong Lam is the values that seem very simple, but are sometimes very difficult to obtain on the “oasis”. Like the happy eyes of the children on the “island” who saw lion dances, mask painting, and lantern making for the first time during the Mid-Autumn Festival held in Hong Lam. Or the return of young people who had left the “island” to make a living far away. Those things have motivated us a lot”, said Mr. Huy.
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Organizing Mid-Autumn Festival for children on the "oasis". |
Despite many difficulties, Mr. Huy shared that the Cooperative hopes that in the future it can build richer experience content, helping visitors understand more deeply the history and culture of Hong Lam village: the Ho Dao family temple relic with more than 500 years of history, the sedge field where the long-standing mat weaving craft village was born... In particular, he hopes to create more and more jobs for villagers, organize many meaningful events to contribute to improving people's lives both spiritually and materially.
Mr. Dang Thai Ha, Vice Chairman of Xuan Giang Commune People's Committee:
Hong Lam Village occupies most of Xuan Giang Commune but is isolated on all sides by rivers. Previously, apart from local people, few people came here. The pilot model of experiential tourism of Hong Lam Service Cooperative was supported by the people, facilitated by the government and initially brought positive results. During the process of implementing the service, the Cooperative also encountered problems related to legal procedures. Authorities at all levels came to inspect, accompany and remove difficulties and guide people to complete the procedures.
Hong Lam is also one of the locations surveyed by the government and departments with the desire to develop an eco-tourism route along the Lam River, but it has not been implemented yet due to the lack of a convenient stop. Tourists coming to Hong Lam still have to go through Xuan Giang ferry. This is the only remaining local ferry in Ha Tinh province. Both ferries are 100% invested by the government, assigned to two people in the village with ferry driving certificates to serve the people's travel.
Mr. Nguyen The Luc - Secretary of Hong Lam village Party cell, Director of Hong Lam Service Cooperative:
The people living in the village are mainly old people, there are also few children. Due to the geographical isolation and poor health care, in recent years there have been very few babies born in the village. The youngest worker in the village is now 40 years old, the oldest is 100 years old.
Hong Lam in the past was poetic, pristine, and the people's lives were simple. Before, there were also visitors, but no one raised the issue of doing tourism here like Huy and his wife. After a period of operation, the experiential tourism model not only created more jobs for the people, created output for products in the village, but also contributed to the construction of new rural areas, supported the upgrading of old roads, and repaired the village hall.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Ngoc, Village Chief and Head of Security Team of Hong Lam Village:
Hong Lam village currently has 135 households and more than 400 people. There are about 300 buffaloes and cows in the village, but there are times when there are more buffaloes and cows than people. Since the experiential tourism model was introduced here, the villagers are much happier. Many agricultural products are also introduced to tourists, contributing to improving the income of the villagers. In particular, due to the large number of people passing by, illegal sand mining in the casuarina forest area has decreased significantly.
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/du-lich-song-cham-tai-oc-dao-hong-lam-post546017.html
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