Everywhere you see "hands"
Since Da Nang Golden Bridge is famous in the country and the world, many destinations in Vietnam are rampantly copying the "hand" architecture, it is impossible to count them all.
The "hand" work on the top of the famous O Quy Ho pass, part of Lai Chau province, once again stunned many people. The welcome gate and the hand with the cuffs tied with a bow, the details affirming that it is not the Buddha's hand, are judged by tourists and researchers to destroy the natural landscape of the mountains and forests of the Northwest and alien to the local culture. .
The hand on the top of O Quy Ho pass
O Quy Ho is 2.000m high, one of the four great peaks of the Northwest Pass (along with Ma Pi Leng, Khau Pha, Pha Din), connecting the two provinces of Lai Chau and Lao Cai. O Quy Ho is dangerous and majestic because this is a pass that cuts through the Hoang Lien Son range, the top of the pass is covered with clouds all year round, so it is also the most beautiful place to hunt clouds in the 2 passes. Therefore, the construction of the welcome gate on the top of the mountain with the "hand" has met the reaction of many people.
On the occasion of the 2023 Lunar New Year, the giant Buddha hand built at Cao pagoda on Ma Lim mountain (Ha Linh, Ha Trung, Thanh Hoa) is open to visitors. The hand was built with a glass bridge tens of meters long on the edge of the mountain.
Cao Pagoda is an ancient temple dating back to the Le Dynasty, which still preserves some ancient artifacts such as stone tortoise stele, stone altar, etc., although the ancient pagoda architecture has passed through the lost time. The new pagoda was built on the foundation of the old pagoda.
Last year, the owner of a coffee shop in H. Ke Sach, Soc Trang province also caused a stir when he built a yellow Buddha's hand with painted nails in a 12.000m-wide plot of land.2.
According to Mr. Ho Chi Toai, the owner of the restaurant, in 2019, he asked for permission to build a food and beverage restaurant in combination with a rest stop and was licensed by the People's Committee of H. Ke Sach. However, during the construction process, he came up with many ideas and built more Golden Bridge, Great Wall, Lac Son Dai Phat, Sphinx statue, castle ... to both eat and serve business. sightseeing service.
The painted hand raised the bridge in Da Lat "imitation" of the Golden Bridge in Da Nang
In addition, visitors also encounter many other "hand" versions in famous destinations in the country. “Da Lat Golden Bridge – a beautiful version no less than the original in Da Nang” (advertisement) with a painted hand supporting the bridge. Da Lat alone has had countless "hands" built to collect tickets for visitors to take pictures.
Lao Cai also has a "hand" check-in point of the Buddha, located in a tourist area in Sa Pa city.
The problem of copying impoverishes the destination
Mr. Truong Duc Hai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hon Ngoc Vien Dong Tourism Company, said that there is nothing wrong with "trending" destinations according to the preferences of domestic tourists. However, it is unacceptable to copy the famous check-in point in a defiant way today.
“Sometimes, everywhere we go, we see the 'stairway to heaven', or a heart-shaped photo frame. Copying other people's ideas is the fastest way to invest and the easiest to recover capital, but it also shows that we are making tourism easy, contributing to lowering the value of the destination," said Mr. Hai.
The situation of copying tourism products in Vietnam has long been a problem. In terms of the company, the units "copy paste" the tour program, similar to every detail. Many companies put in effort, spend their money to study the market and destination, then build a tour program, then they are immediately copied by other units, competing on price. Larger the destinations are the same for each product. In the West, this place slaps the pond to catch fish, goes to the garden to pick fruit, listens to ca tai tu... then quickly such models appear elsewhere.
“So, coming to the West, many tourists complain to me, just visit one province to understand the whole region. Copying impoverishes tourism products, making the destination lose its attractiveness to both domestic and international tourists, "said Mr. Hai.
Buddha's hand painted green nails in Soc Trang
According to Mr. Hai, copying the image of the Golden Bridge in Ba Na Hills or copying part of the hand of the Golden Bridge's architecture is typical of "stealing" gray matter in the tourism business in Vietnam. Equally serious, however, is that duplication contributes to the impact of the destination itself, rather than the destination of Vietnam. "Each locality in Vietnam has its own cultural background, why not rely on that to create unique products of the destination that must be copied from elsewhere?", asked Mr. Hai.
Mr. Nguyen Asia, Director of Oxalis Adventure Travel Company - Son Doong tour operator, said that tourism products are still the core of the problem why Vietnam has not attracted many Western tourists in particular and tourists. international in general. “With a new product, we promote the destination effectively. If we ask tourism now what products we have for European - American customers, and what products for Asian customers, surely no one can answer. So what to promote?", Mr. Asia emphasized.
Golden Bridge is a 150m long pedestrian bridge in Ba Na Hills resort located on the top of Ba Na mountain in Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city. This bridge connects the cable car station with some sightseeing spots in the tourist area and is a place to admire the landscape from above.
The bridge supported by two giant stone hands was opened in June 2, at an altitude of more than 6.2018m above sea level, after nearly a year of construction and completion, by a group of Vietnamese architects.
The Golden Bridge has been famous everywhere, voted by many international newspapers as one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, becoming a check-in point not to be missed when coming to Da Nang.
