"Keeping the soul" in the middle of the vast Binh Lieu forest
Nestled in the majestic mountains of the Northeast, Binh Lieu district is a long-standing home to many ethnic minority communities, including the Tay people in Ban Cau village, Luc Hon commune. With a favorable location, unique natural landscapes and a rich treasure trove of cultural heritage, Ban Cau is identified as a place with potential for community tourism development associated with preserving cultural identity. However, the development journey of this village is not without difficulties when facing a series of difficulties in economy , infrastructure, community awareness and the risk of losing traditional heritage.
Mr. Loan Thanh Len, Vice Chairman of Luc Hon Commune People's Committee shared: One of the biggest barriers today is that the infrastructure system has not met the requirements of tourism development. Ban Cau has not yet built a community tourism product, and does not have the necessary supporting works such as a guest house, a resort or a system to introduce local specialties. In addition, the cultural heritage - the invaluable asset of the Tay people in Ban Cau - is facing the risk of rapid decline. The number of remaining traditional houses is only 4/83 houses...
“Currently, Ban Cau does not have enough conditions to develop tourism products, so the people of Ban Cau still mainly live on agriculture and forestry, and work for hire. Households also do not have enough conditions and capacity to develop tourism, so there needs to be investment from businesses to guide and support the people to do it together,” said Ms. Ly Thi Hoang, Head of Ban Cau Village.
Mr. Giap The Phong, one of the four households that still maintain traditional houses in Ban Cau village, confided: Although people want to participate in tourism, most of them do not know where to start, lack knowledge, skills and connections with the tourism market.
Faced with this situation, Quang Ninh province and Binh Lieu district have shown great determination in preserving and sustainably developing ethnic minority villages. In particular, Ban Cau was selected as one of four villages to pilot the construction of a community cultural - tourism village model in the period of 2023-2025 according to Plan No. 161/KH-UBND of the province.
In Ban Cau, 4 typical households have been selected to restore traditional houses for sightseeing and tourism. One special household has been arranged to display traditional working and living tools to recreate the cultural space of the Tay people. This is a fundamental step to gradually form a traditional living space with identity, serving the development of community tourism. Activities of teaching Tay language, weaving indigo, performing folk arts such as Then singing, Tinh lute... are being encouraged to expand.
Mr. Vi Ngoc Nhat, Head of the Department of Culture, Science and Information of Binh Lieu district, said: According to Plan 161/KH-UBND, Cau Village (Luc Hon Commune), Luc Ngu Village (Huc Dong Commune) of Binh Lieu will have rural traffic infrastructure built around Cau Village, Cultural Heritage Exhibition House. In addition, the construction and development of a community tourism village model in Ban Cau is identified as a long-term strategy. In addition to supporting the restoration of traditional architecture, the district is also focusing on instructing tourism skills, communication, and civilized behavior for the people; at the same time, connecting tours with neighboring destinations such as Khe Van waterfall, Binh Lieu forest, and border marker 1305 to create a value chain linking highland tourism.
Since 2023, Binh Lieu district has also implemented a project to preserve Tay culture in association with tourism development. Traditional festival activities such as Mung com moi, Soong co festival, Then singing - Tinh lute festival are held annually and widely promoted. In particular, the book "Learning Tay language" has completed the first draft and is in the process of being edited for widespread printing and distribution in the community and schools.
Not only developing culturally, Ban Cau is gradually moving towards the goal of becoming a green and friendly tourist destination. The commune authorities coordinate to mobilize people to improve the landscape, restore traditional living spaces, organize “Green Sunday”, and encourage the use of environmentally friendly materials. Encourage people Invest in renovating residential spaces into homestays, building clean vegetable gardens, traditional check-in areas to serve tourists; piloting experiential models such as "A day as a Tay person" including activities: harvesting rice, preparing traditional dishes, bamboo dancing, learning Tay language... attracting the attention of domestic and international visitors.
Raising awareness, arousing national pride and promoting active community participation will be the key to both preserving cultural identity and developing the economy sustainably. Ban Cau, despite many difficulties, with the right direction and synchronization between “top-down concern - bottom-up action”, will certainly become a model for developing community tourism associated with heritage conservation in the highlands of Quang Ninh.
Forming a model highland village
The construction of community cultural tourism villages is not only a pilot project at a few individual locations, but also a comprehensive strategy implemented synchronously by Quang Ninh province with many localities. In particular, in addition to Ban Cau (Tay people, commune Six Souls, Binh Lieu), three other points include Luc Ngu (San Chi people, Huc Dong commune, Binh Lieu), Po Hen (Dao Thanh Y people, commune Hai Son, Mong Cai), and Vong Tre (San Diu people, commune) Common People, Van Don) were selected to form a typical community cultural - tourism village model for the period 2023-2025.
In Luc Ngu village, Huc Dong commune, Binh Lieu district, the San Chi people are making efforts to preserve unique traditional values such as hand-embroidered costumes, language and long-standing customs and practices. With the support of the district and commune authorities and the cultural sector, households here have begun to renovate their houses and restore traditional houses. The People's Committee of Binh Lieu district has implemented a detailed plan at a scale of 1/500 for a residential area associated with a community tourism village in Luc Ngu with a budget of 500 million VND, expected to be completed in 2025. The district also coordinates to organize San Chi language classes, open handicraft weaving classes, organize the Soong Co festival, and strengthen communication to promote local identity.
In Hai Son commune (Mong Cai city), Po Hen village is the main residence of the Dao Thanh Y people, where many traditional rituals and festivals are preserved, especially the coming-of-age ceremony - a sacred coming-of-age ceremony. Mong Cai city People's Committee has implemented the planning of the central area of Hai Son commune along with the cultural village in Po Hen, invested in building internal roads, market sessions and environmental sanitation works. Po Hen market has become a place for trade connection and a unique cultural highlight in the border area.
Vong Tre, Binh Dan commune (Van Don) is home to the San Diu community - an ethnic group with a rich folk cultural life with song song co, wedding customs, folk literature... In 2024, Quang Ninh province allocated 6 billion VND to Van Don district (of which 4.2 billion VND from the province, 1.8 billion VND from the district budget) to complete the San Diu ethnic cultural space in Vong Tre. The locality organized the opening ceremony of the Community Cultural - Tourism Village, built a traditional village gate, and added a community house with typical cultural artifacts. The district also published 1,000 books "Folk literature of San Diu Van Don ethnic group" to disseminate in the community and teach in schools.
Not only stopping at the conservation aspect, the community tourism model in ethnic minority villages also opens up a direction for sustainable economic development. Localities have been focusing on integrating OCOP products into the tourism ecosystem: Dong rieng, vermicelli, plums, Van Yen oranges, herbs, honey, star anise essential oil... At the same time, forming experiential tours from Ha Long - Mong Cai - Binh Lieu - Van Don, helping to create a regional linkage chain between ethnic minority cultural destinations. The province also increases vocational training classes for people, especially women and young people, on skills of guiding, communicating, welcoming guests, and preparing traditional dishes, thereby increasing the rate of people directly participating in tourism activities.
With a clear orientation, the synchronous participation of the entire political system and the positive response of the people, the cultural village - community tourism models in Quang Ninh are gradually taking shape in a new look. This is the basis for replicating successful models, aiming at the goal of building model villages, both preserving traditional cultural identity and bringing sustainable livelihoods to people in the highlands and border areas of Quang Ninh province.
In 2024, Quang Ninh province allocated more than VND 28 billion to implement Plan 161 in these three localities. Of which, Mong Cai city received VND 10.5 billion, Van Don district VND 10.9 billion and Binh Lieu district VND 7.4 billion. By 2025, the total investment budget will continue to increase, demonstrating high determination in implementing Resolution 06-NQ/TU.
However, the implementation process still faces many challenges. Some localities face difficulties in planning procedures, and the progress of investment projects is slow. Community tourism activities are unprofessional, lacking the participation of travel agencies and the local tourism team has not been properly trained. The most lacking policy is the policy to support businesses investing in ethnic minority villages. In addition, a part of the population still has concerns and worries when converting production models to serve tourism.
Faced with this situation, the province has identified training and capacity building for the community as key. Dozens of training courses have been organized on accommodation services, traditional cuisine, local tour guides, and on-site tourism skills. At the same time, the province has promoted communication and community tourism promotion on digital platforms, gradually shaping the brand for each ethnic village.
In parallel, Quang Ninh has also actively implemented specific support programs for ethnic minority and mountainous areas such as building cultural houses, community centers, ecological toilet systems, and waste treatment systems at tourist attractions. In particular, the project to restore cultural spaces in ethnic villages has been forming thematic experiential tourism routes such as: "A day as a Dao person", "Experience a highland market", "Artisan telling village stories"...
The construction of ethnic minority cultural and community tourism villages is not only a solution for economic development, but also a practical action to concretize Resolution 06-NQ/TU, gradually creating a breakthrough in the comprehensive development of ethnic minority, mountainous and border areas. Pilot models such as Ban Cau, Luc Ngu, Po Hen or Vong Tre are igniting new confidence, bringing motivation and vitality to the transformation in the highlands of Quang Ninh as well as building model villages in ethnic minority areas in the province. This is not only an immediate orientation but also a long-term strategy for Quang Ninh to become a bright spot in the development of community cultural tourism in ethnic minority areas across the country.
Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/giu-hon-ban-dung-lang-no-am-3357549.html
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