Tourism in the highlands of Ha Long is flourishing.

Việt Nam•03/04/2025

Ha Long is currently the largest city directly under the provincial administration in the country, with 33 administrative units. Among these, ethnic minority communities mainly live in 11 mountainous and highland communes, areas boasting majestic natural landscapes and diverse cultures. Recognizing this as a key advantage for developing tourism in these highland communes and improving the lives of the people, the city has invested heavily in and is determined to revitalize mountain tourism, thereby building Ha Long into a year-round destination offering a complete experience.

Recreating the coming-of-age ceremony of the Thanh Y Dao people on the stage of the Bang Ca Village Festival in 2025. *Photo: Xuan Hoa.*

Every year, on the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month, the Dao Thanh Y people of Bang Ca commune, Ha Long City, eagerly participate in the traditional Bang Ca Village Festival. The festival is an occasion for the whole village to gather, meet, and pray for a prosperous and lucky new year. This year, the people of Bang Ca commune seem even more joyful as they welcome more tourists, and the festival activities are more diverse and varied.

Along with traditional activities such as rituals, embroidery art demonstrations, OCOP (One Commune One Product) booth displays, and folk games, the village festival also features theatrical performances of the Dao Thanh Y people's coming-of-age ceremony and the Tay people's new rice harvest celebration – two newly recognized intangible cultural heritages of Quang Ninh province.

Meritorious Artisan Ly Van Ut, who is knowledgeable about the traditional culture, spiritual rituals, and culture of the Thanh Y Dao people, shared: "We, the elders of the village, have been very concerned about how to preserve the culture of the Thanh Y Dao people and how to pass it on to the younger generation. For example, with the Dao people's coming-of-age ceremony, which has 16 performances, we discussed shortening it to only 9 performances to be staged, ensuring that the reenactment is both economical and effective."

This year marks the first time the Bang Ca Village Festival has been organized on a city-wide scale. The event is no longer just a festival for the villagers; it has expanded to become an event showcasing and promoting the culture of ethnic minority communities in Ha Long City. Villages such as Tan Dan, Ky Thuong, Hoa Binh , etc., each actively participated with booths introducing OCOP (One Commune One Product) specialties and unique cultural and tourism values.

Mr. Ban Sinh Lam, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Tan Dan commune, said: Currently, the model of visiting ancient lim trees in the commune, owned by Mr. Trieu Tai Cao's family, is attracting tourists. Moving forward, we will study and advise the higher authorities on developing it into a tourist destination, and at the same time propose to the competent authorities to expand the Bang Ca Village Festival to other highland communes, including Tan Dan.

Also in March, Ky Thuong commune, Ha Long City, will host the Ky Thuong Cherry Blossom Festival 2025. This is the first time the festival has been held, with the expectation of exploiting the strengths of scenic tourism combined with the preservation of the culture of the Dao Thanh Phan people. The highlight of the festival is the cherry blossom tree planting activity.

Cherry blossom trees will begin to be planted in Qishang to create a tourist landscape within the next 2 to 3 years.

According to Mr. Bui Van Quang, Director of Agrico Technology Joint Stock Company, the unit implementing the cherry blossom planting project in Ky Thuong, the cherry blossom variety planted in Ky Thuong originates from Okinawa (Japan). Currently, about 1,000 trees have been planted in Ky Thuong and are adapting and growing well. It is expected that in 2 to 3 years, when the trees mature, they will create a unique and attractive landscape for tourists visiting Ky Thuong.

In 2025, Ha Long City will host the Ky Thuong Cherry Blossom Festival for the first time.

To develop tourism linked to landscape exploitation, Ha Long City has approved two detailed plans with a total projected area of 30.6 hectares for planting landscape forests and cherry blossom trees in Ky Thuong commune. In addition, the city has directed Agrico company to continue research to extend the flowering period, thereby creating a unique tourism product for Ky Thuong in the spring, supplementing and diversifying Ha Long's existing tourism products.

A well-connected transportation system provides a boost to mountain tourism in Ha Long City. *Photo: The road to Ky Thuong.*

Over the years, tourism in the mountainous areas of Ha Long has seen many positive changes. Firstly, the transportation infrastructure has been invested in comprehensively and smoothly, creating connections between the Bai Chay tourist center and the highland communes. Key transportation projects such as the renovation and upgrading of Provincial Road 342 (section within Ha Long City - from Km13 to Km37+500); the road from the city center to Dong Lam - Ky Thuong; and the road connecting Provincial Road 342 to National Highway 279 through Son Duong commune... have been invested in, contributing to strengthening regional linkages and creating favorable conditions for the socio-economic life of the mountainous communes of Ha Long, as well as for the flourishing of tourism.

Improved transportation infrastructure has helped unlock natural resources in mountainous areas. As a result, many community-based tourism and agricultural tourism models have been boldly implemented by local people, notably the Am Vap Farm tourism model in Ky Thuong commune, ecotourism in Tan Dan and Son Duong districts, and several ecotourism models combining forests and gardens in Thong Nhat district…

Developing tourism in the highland communes of Ha Long will contribute to creating sustainable livelihoods, motivating people to protect forests, preserve landscapes, and conserve culture... At the same time, it will unlock resources, helping Ha Long to form a diverse and unique system of tourism products, contributing to achieving the target of welcoming 11.5 million visitors in 2025 and further developing community-based tourism and forest park tourism areas.

Dao Linh

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