Return to Sa Dec

Taking advantage of a business trip to Dong Thap province to revisit historical sites, we were guided by local colleagues to visit the Huynh Thuy Le ancient house, located on the banks of the picturesque Tien River, a place we had been eager to see for a long time.

Young women from Dong Thap pose for photos at Sa Dec flower village.

On this return visit, we suddenly discovered a developing city of Sa Dec that, with proper planning and investment, could become an attractive tourist destination for both domestic and international visitors.

The Lunar New Year flower season is bustling.

My first impression upon returning to Sa Dec was the bustling atmosphere of the gardeners preparing for the upcoming Tet flower season. The flower festival was a few weeks ago, so there weren't many flowers in bloom yet, as the farmers had already planned for the festival and were now focusing on the Tet flowers.

From the entrance gate of Sa Dec city, both sides of the road are bustling with people and vehicles, mainly those involved in flower cultivation and trading, from watering to supplying pots and fertilizers. Every so often, you encounter the beautiful sight of Sa Dec flower village: flower beds planted on elevated ground to avoid flooding, creating a visually appealing contrast with the traditional flower villages of Ha Dong, Da Lat, or Sa Pa.

Typically, flowers begin to bloom in abundance around the 20th of the 12th lunar month, marking the busiest time of the Tet flower season when traders come to transport flowers to supply Ho Chi Minh City and other places.

When I spoke with young reporter Kim Ngan from Dong Thap Newspaper, I learned that in recent years, the number of visitors to Sa Dec flower village has increased annually thanks to the local authorities proactively organizing spring flower festivals associated with the traditional Lunar New Year and especially the first flower festival taking place on New Year's Day 2024.

The old houses of Sa Dec are one of the main must-see destinations.

While Da Lat boasts characteristic flower landscapes of its hilly and valley regions, Sa Dec is distinguished by its riverside scenery, featuring vibrant flower boats both on the docks and on the boats themselves. Thanks to this, the flower products from Sa Dec's flower villages are more widely consumed in other provinces and cities, supplying the flower festival. This has also led to increased income for local people, especially those in the flower-growing areas, due to the growing demand for flower basket weaving, fertilizer supply, and transportation services.

Commenting on the recently held flower festival, Ms. Kim Ngan said: "The activities were much more diverse, including artistic flower and ornamental plant arrangements; exhibitions of domestic and international flower and ornamental plant products; a flower and ornamental plant market; an exhibition of photos of Sa Dec past and present; an exhibition of ornamental plants; a program recreating the ceremony of paying tribute to ancestors and honoring the flower and ornamental plant cultivation profession in Sa Dec. In addition, there were workshops to enhance the value chain of the flower and ornamental plant industry; a conference connecting trade in flower and ornamental plant products... food stalls, and physical games. Each evening of the festival featured accompanying cultural and artistic activities such as releasing lanterns on the river, visiting the OCOP product booths (One Village One Product program) of the province, allowing visitors to experience the flower-filled atmosphere of the riverine region and purchase local agricultural specialties." An estimated 245,000 visitors attended the first Sa Dec Flower Festival, including 2,000 international tourists.

Besides the bustling scenery of Sa Dec flower village, we were also impressed with the road infrastructure from Cao Laanh city to the districts and cities in the province. From Lap Vo district, even with a local guide car from a newspaper, my driver couldn't keep up, and the guide car had to stop twice to wait for my car to turn back because we got lost at an intersection with a red light.

Unique old houses by the Tien River

We arrived at the Huynh Thuy Le Ancient House (often called the Sa Dec Ancient House), located on the Sa Dec River (a branch of the Tien River). A group of about 10 French tourists were visiting the ancient house. They enjoyed tea, tasted ginger jam, and listened to an explanation about the house's history. In the living room, there were many black and white photographs of the house's owners, Mr. and Mrs. Huynh Thuy Le, and their five children.

French tourists visit the ancient house in Sa Dec.

In particular, visitors showed great interest when introduced to the novel and film of the same name, *The Lover* (L'Amant), which features a young Huynh Thuy Le and a French woman named Marguerite Duras. Published in 1984, the novel won the Goncourt Prize – the most prestigious award in French literature – and has been published in 43 languages. Their love story was adapted into a film in 1986 by director Jean-Jacques Aninaud, starring Hong Kong actor Tony Leung as the male lead and Jane March as the female lead. The house served as the main setting for the film.

The house is quite grand and still sturdy despite being 128 years old. Its front overlooks the Tien River, situated amidst a bustling residential area with many boats plying the river, adding to the historical significance and making it arguably the most distinctive ancient house in the Mekong Delta.

From the outside, the house has a French villa architectural style, but the interior bears the strong imprint of Chinese architecture with wood as the main material. In the central section, the floor is slightly sunken. This is a deliberate construction detail by the homeowner, as according to feng shui, wealth flows to the lowest point. An altar dedicated to Guan Yu is placed in the center of the main section, in accordance with Chinese beliefs. The house still preserves many valuable items such as a mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden bed used for the homeowner's afternoon naps, and wooden curtains that were drawn across the doorways to let guests know the owner was resting. The house has been classified as a national historical monument since 2009.

Mr. Tran Vo Hoang Nam, a tour guide at the ancient house (belonging to Phuong Nam Cultural Tourism Area Co., Ltd., headquartered in Lap Vo District, Dong Thap Province), happily added: “On average, the ancient house welcomes about 3,000 visitors per month, with peak periods reaching 4-5,000 visitors per month, and usually more Western tourists than Vietnamese. Among the tour groups, the largest number are from France, perhaps because many have read the novel written by the author about her first love with Mr. Huynh Thuy Le, so they are very eager and book 3-4 day tours along the Mekong River route - from Cambodia down or from Ho Chi Minh City up.”

Van Phong

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202402/tro-lai-sa-dec-46107df/