New Phu Tho - journey to awaken heritage and nature

From a vision of connection to a local identity

In the development flow of the Northern midland and mountainous region, “New Phu Tho” is gradually emerging as a diverse tourism space - where nature, heritage and people blend together.

“We are aiming to build Phu Tho into a tourism connection center of the midland region, where visitors can experience nature, culture and indigenous identity in just a short journey,” said Mr. Dang Tuan Hung - Head of Tourism Management Department - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Phu Tho.

That direction is concretized by a series of models of "community tourism", "eco-tourism" and "conservation of traditional craft villages", helping to revive heritage values, while creating sustainable livelihoods for people.

The villages of the Muong and Dao people at the foot of the Ten mountain range (Xuan Son National Park) are always attractive destinations for tourists.

Xuan Son - the journey of "awakening the forest"

In the far west of the province, Xuan Son National Park is considered the “last green gem of the midlands”. After many years of silence, this place is being revived thanks to the model of “community tourism associated with preserving Muong culture” in Du village.

Along the road to the village, stilt houses are seen behind the colorful flower gates. Visitors can experience a day as a Muong person - pounding rice, weaving, enjoying bamboo-tube rice, grilled stream fish and listening to the murmuring of the mountains and the echoes of the forest by the red fire.

“In the past, we only knew how to farm and go to the forest, few people thought that welcoming guests was also a profession. Since tourism began, every house has kept its traditional features from costumes to houses for tourists to visit. The daily dishes of the Muong people will be served to tourists as they are, most of the food is self-raised and grown in the home garden” – Ms. Phung Thi Tuyen at Quynh Nga Homestay in Du village, shared.

According to the Xuan Dai commune government, the community tourism model here is developing in the direction of "preserving cultural space associated with green livelihoods": Growing clean vegetables, raising stream fish, and developing typical OCOP products.

The Muong people in Du village (Xuan Son National Park) still preserve many traditional values from architecture to costumes to introduce to tourists.

Huong Canh - where the flame of pottery is never extinguished

If the mountainous region has green forests, the midland region has “earth and fire crafts”. In Huong Canh town, the traditional pottery craft, over 300 years old, still lives on with the people.

Huong Canh pottery is famous for its special “fire-eating” clay – when fired, it produces a rustic yet durable dark brown color, without glaze or decorative colors. Under the hands of the craftsmen, the clay and fire transform into jars, pots, and pans… with simple yet sophisticated beauty.

Sculptor Nguyen Hong Quang - a young artisan of the village, shared: "Each product is a way for us to tell the story of the land and the people. Tourists coming here can make pottery by themselves, feel the heat from the kiln, and thereby understand more about the profession left by their ancestors."

Phu Tho province is planning to expand the Huong Canh pottery experience tourism route, connecting with ecological and cultural tourist destinations in the province. The revival of the craft village not only retains the cultural soul, but also creates a new highlight in the journey of "New Phu Tho" - where each village and each craft becomes a destination.

Huong Canh ceramic products have been present at many exhibitions at home and abroad.

Hoa Binh Lake - the green color of eco-tourism

On the majestic Da River, the Hoa Binh Lake area (now under the expanded management area of the new Phu Tho) has been forming unique tourism products: community tourism, experiential tourism and eco-resorts.

Lakeside hamlets such as Hien Luong, Vay Nua, Ngoi Hoa, etc. are gradually becoming more bustling, becoming "tourist islands" - where visitors can kayak, sleep overnight on the island and enjoy the cuisine of Muong, Thai, and Dao ethnic groups.

Mr. Dinh Xuan Tung - Vice Chairman of Muong Hoa Commune People's Committee - shared: "If continued to receive systematic investment, Hoa Binh Lake will certainly become a highlight of the new Phu Tho eco-tourism - both exploiting and preserving the landscape, environment and cultural identity of the ethnic communities living along the lake area".

Traveling on Hoa Binh Lake in late autumn and early winter will bring extremely interesting experiences.

Joint development - a new comprehensive Phu Tho

From Muong Xuan Son village, Huong Canh pottery village to Hoa Binh green lake, “new Phu Tho” tourism is forming a “continuous chain of experiences” – where forests, land and water blend into a unified journey.

A representative of a travel agency in Viet Tri said: "The valuable point of Phu Tho is that you can go in one or two days and experience the whole village, ancient crafts and ecology - something rare in the midlands."

Community tourism models, traditional crafts and natural ecology not only enrich tourism products, but also affirm the sustainable direction of Phu Tho province, which is "developing tourism on the basis of heritage and indigenous nature".

Awakening value from within

“New Phu Tho” is not only a geographical expansion, but also “a new way of thinking about development” – where people know how to listen to the voice of the land and forests to create value for the future.

From the sound of Muong gongs in the middle of the forest, the Huong Canh pottery wheel to the boat gliding on the lake… all resonate with the same message: “Heritage and nature only truly live when lit by the people who are preserving it”.

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/phu-tho-moi-hanh-trinh-danh-thuc-di-san-va-thien-nhien-ar991301.html