Ngoc Chien "puts his soul" into the stone

The "fairyland" Ngoc Chien is not only famous for its hawthorn flower season, ancient stilt houses or hot mineral springs, but also has a unique story being written in stone. The movement to beautify the village with pebbles, turning them into unique works of art attracts community tourism here.

Ngoc Chien in the early winter days, the weather is chilly, the clouds drift on the mountainside, the fields after the harvest are covered with the pale yellow color of dry straw. Passing through Muong La commune, following the winding concrete road, the first highlight that appears before the eyes are the elaborately built village gates. The difference is that the main material here is not cement or steel, but tens of thousands of cobblestones collected by the people from the streams. Khua Vai, Na Tau, Luot, Pu O villages... all possess unique stone gates. The stones are skillfully arranged and attached to the gate pillars, fitting tightly and firmly.

Khua Vai village gate, group 1, was solidly built with stone pillars and the roof was covered with po mu wood.

In Ngoc Chien, cobblestones appear everywhere. From the meticulously arranged stone gate to the sturdy stone fence, the clean cobblestone roads leading to the village, or the house gate, porch, stilt house pillars, benches... are all made of cobblestones, cleverly arranged into beautiful, impressive paintings, flowers or shapes.

The internal fences are decorated with stones and pebbles.

Talking to us, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ngoc Chien Commune, said: The Party Committee of the commune has built a thematic resolution on "Developing community tourism associated with preserving and promoting cultural identity" to continue to promote the movement of developing local tourism associated with promoting existing potential. In particular, encouraging people to take advantage of local materials to beautify the village landscape. The commune provides technical support, instructing people on how to arrange stones in a safe, sustainable, and aesthetic way, creating a highlight for community tourism.

Suoi Chien homestay gate is built of stone combined with wood.

With the commune's popularization of the policy, propaganda and mobilization, the villagers have agreed to take advantage of gravel and environmentally friendly materials to decorate and beautify the village landscape, starting from the village's welcome gate. 100% of the funding and working days are contributed by the people, the villages themselves come up with ideas and design the welcome gate model suitable to the national cultural identity to implement together. Up to now, the villagers of 15 villages in the commune have completed 19 welcome gates at the village gate and alleys.   with a total contribution of 1.2 billion VND, all from socialized sources. Each welcome gate has its own unique features, such as the Chom Khau village welcome gate made of wood, the Muong Chien village welcome gate covered with po mu wood, the Pu Danh village welcome gate uses pebbles with letters...

At each village gate, there is a large rock that the locals personally decorated and painted with their village name to welcome visitors.

The large rock was hand-shaped and decorated by Muong Chien villagers and placed at the village entrance to welcome visitors.

We arrived at Phay village, one of the leading villages in the movement. Mr. Luong Van Thuong excitedly said: Since the commune launched the village beautification campaign, everyone has supported it. After finishing the farming work, we tell each other to go to the stream to pick up stones, build walls, and pave roads together. We have to choose each stone carefully and meticulously. Our village is beautiful, some households also run a business renting ethnic costumes, tourists from all over come to take pictures, the people are very proud. Life is much better than before.

Phay villagers next to the artistic stone fence.

What makes the difference and the "soul" of the stones in Ngoc Chien is the unlimited creativity. On the stone walls and cobblestones, people have arranged and painted brocade patterns, images of Bauhinia flowers, peach blossoms and scenes of people's daily life. The drawings are rustic but contain the soul and love for the land. This creativity is also spread through cultural activities, such as bringing the "Artistic Stone Arranging Competition" into the framework of the commune's New Rice Festival, becoming a special activity to attract tourists.

The work Model of a stone stilt house of Muong Chien village participated in the "Artistic Stone Arranging" contest.

The flower motifs are cleverly arranged by the people.

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Linh, a tourist from Hanoi, shared: I was really impressed and surprised when I came to Ngoc Chien. Here, there is a vast nature, a peaceful and rustic village and very special with the way of decorating and beautifying the landscape with pebbles. I can feel the patience, meticulousness, ingenuity and heart of the people here when arranging the stones and pebbles into artistic works, close to nature. I will definitely come back many times and introduce my friends to come and explore and experience this beautiful land.

Children enjoy the unique patterns created on the stone walls.

Women of Ngoc Chien commune are graceful in traditional ethnic costumes, introducing unique local tourism product models.

By "releasing their souls" into the stones, the people of Ngoc Chien not only create a new look for the mountainous countryside, but also create a cultural value, a unique and sustainable tourism product. This is a clear demonstration of turning "internal strength" into "driving force", making Ngoc Chien a bright spot on the Northwest tourism map.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/ngoc-chien-tha-hon-vao-da-Ma9DrjkvR.html