Manh Danh finds it difficult to develop community tourism.

The clear blue scenery of Ang Cang Lake creates a beauty that attracts visitors.

Exploiting the strength of the lake

Lunar New Year 2021 marks an important turning point, and also brings joy to the people of Muong Ang district in general, and the people of Manh Danh village, Ang Cang commune in particular, as the Ang Cang lake project continues to be built .

The Ang Cang reservoir project has been behind schedule for many years due to difficulties in site clearance ; everything was cleared when 70 households handed over 92 hectares of land for the construction unit to continue implementing the project. The project was completed, handed over, and put into use, bringing practical benefits to the people . Over 400 hectares of rice of the people were proactively supplied with water, more than 10,000 households were supplied with domestic water , ensuring irrigation of over 1,000 hectares of coffee. Since the Ang Cang reservoir project was put into use, it has created a large lake bed with an area of over 30 hectares of water surface, helping the people of Manh Danh village develop aquaculture .

Mr. Lu Van Hung, Vice Chairman of Ang Cang Commune People's Committee, said: Initially, people did not understand the benefits of the Ang Cang reservoir project , so they did not agree to hand over the site. However, with the participation and high determination of the Party Committee and authorities from the district to the grassroots level, the obstacles in people's thinking were resolved. Since the completion of Ang Cang reservoir , the lives of people here have changed significantly. 100% of households in the village have access to clean water and grid electricity; 100% of households have televisions and motorbikes. In particular , 100% of resettled households have spacious houses and stable lives.

Not only is it favorable for economic development according to the cage fish farming model , Muong Ang district identifies that Manh Danh also has the potential to develop resort tourism and community cultural tourism. The basis for this assessment is the potential of a large water surface area, surrounded by majestic mountains, a diverse ecosystem combining many beautiful features, unique and distinctive traditional culture of the people here that are still preserved and conserved . Muong Ang considers these to be interesting tourism products for tourists who love to explore and experience.

The beauty of Ang Cang Lake seen from above.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Truong, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Muong Ang district shared: Based on the existing potential, at the end of 2023, the district coordinated with the Asian Tourism Development Institute to conduct a field survey in Manh Danh. Through the survey, the Asian Tourism Development Institute affirmed that Manh Danh village has many potentials and advantages for tourism development , in line with the orientation of sustainable tourism development associated with the socio-economic development of Muong Ang district.

After unification, Muong Ang district requested the Asian Tourism Development Institute to provide consulting support and help in building the Manh Danh cultural tourism map . Up to now, the unit has built a perspective and simulated the overall architecture illustrating the subdivisions of community tourism development in Manh Danh .

Need cooperation, change awareness

Based on the available potential, analysis and evaluation of experts, Manh Danh village has all the elements to develop community tourism. However, in many aspects, the process of building Manh Danh cultural tourism village still faces many difficulties, especially investment costs.

With the beauty of the lake area, many tourists come to visit, experience and keep pictures as souvenirs.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Truong, currently, the village has no tourism investment projects, investors have only stopped at research and planning. Projects, types of tourism services, entertainment areas, shopping services have not been formed; people have not built tourism products that are symbolic, unique, and attractive. Even the traffic system from the district center to Manh Danh village has not been upgraded , which is a major obstacle when building a community tourism village.

Changing the mindset of the Manh Danh people in doing tourism is also a barrier. Because the people are only familiar with traditional production methods, some people even wait and rely on the support policies of the Party and the State, and do not have the will to strive or the awareness to improve themselves. Environmental sanitation in some areas in the village is not guaranteed; there is still a situation of keeping livestock under the floor, which greatly affects the construction of the village to become a community tourism village...

Traffic infrastructure to Manh Danh village is being accelerated by Muong Ang district in coordination with functional agencies.

To remove the "bottleneck" in building the Manh Danh community tourism village , the Party Committee and authorities of Muong Ang district and Ang Cang commune continue to propagate and change the awareness of cadres, party members and people in building the community tourism village; mobilize cadres, party members, and youth union members to regularly stay at the grassroots level, instruct people on environmental sanitation, create a green - clean - beautiful landscape; mobilize people to preserve and promote traditional cultural values... For tourism skills, such as: Communication, behavior, eating, sleeping... the district will train or take people to visit and learn successful models, and at the same time send specialized staff to help with on-the-job training.

Although Manh Danh has many potentials and advantages, it requires the participation of the entire political system to become a community tourism village. Currently, the district is focusing on completing the planning of the Ang Cang reservoir eco-tourism area ; completing the project to build a Manh Danh community cultural tourism village ; coordinating and directing the acceleration of the development of the inter-district and inter-commune traffic system, especially the route from National Highway 279 to Manh Danh village ; the route from Manh village to Muong Phang commune, Dien Bien Phu city. At the same time, the district calls for and attracts investment to develop restaurant services , motels, and lake tourism... Thereby, people protect ecological resources and environment and preserve and promote the unique culture of the locality, contributing to poverty reduction and improving the lives of people in the lake area.