In Bản Chang, listen to the forest and water tell stories.

After crossing the Gió Pass, the road leading to Bản Chang Lake narrows beneath the shade of lush green trees. The car slows down amidst the scent of damp earth and the sound of wind rustling through the pine forest. Bản Chang Lake is less than 2km from National Highway 3, but upon arriving, visitors feel as if they have stepped into a different rhythm of life.

Ban Chang Lake appears picturesque, possessing the peaceful beauty of the Ngan Son highlands.

A peaceful resting place

The morning at Ban Chang Lake (Ngan Son commune) is so peaceful that you could hear the wind rustling happily with your eyes closed. The nearly 40-hectare lake, nestled amidst lush green pine hills, lies calm and still like a long mirror. By the lake, in a small courtyard, young Doanh Hong Na is busily relighting a charcoal stove. Several foreign tourists, having just returned from a stroll, sit around a wooden table drinking hot tea.

Na told us an interesting story: A Russian guest, after eating some wild greens, asked, "What's this vegetable called?" Na replied, "Lazy vegetable." The guest was stunned for a few seconds before bursting into laughter: "In my country, we call it premium organic, but here, the name perfectly reflects... my mood."

"Lazy vegetables"—the name sounds funny, but that's how locals refer to vegetables that grow naturally in the forest, meaning they don't need fertilizer, pesticides, or much care; they just grow green on their own after the rain. Concluding the story, Na excitedly added: "The locals around the lake are used to eating them, so they find it normal. Now, tourists from the lowlands and Westerners love them the most."

Young woman Doanh Hong Na is the owner of NaNa Farm, a lakeside retreat that has recently become popular among young people. Recounting her early days as an entrepreneur, Na's voice is gentle: "In 2023, I started setting up the first resting areas by the lake. Initially, it was just a few tables and chairs, some homemade food, and a few camping spots to meet customer demand..."

A foreign visitor happily enjoys "lazy vegetable" – a rustic wild vegetable dish with a unique flavor of Bản Chang.

Foreign visitors particularly appreciate the peaceful atmosphere that Bản Chang offers. They don't need many services. Some just sit by the lake all afternoon, others enjoy picking vegetables, gathering firewood, and cooking. They say it feels like living a different life here. Looking with clear eyes at the women washing vegetables behind the stove, Na smiled: "The women around the village are used to visitors now. They wave and greet foreign tourists with great enthusiasm."

Na told me about the changes in the lives of the people around the lake. Previously, they mainly lived off the forest, farming and planting trees. At that time, Ban Chang Lake was just a familiar body of water for the locals. But in recent years, as more tourists have started visiting, life around the lake has gradually changed.

Some families make cakes and local food to sell to visitors on weekends. Others bring wild bamboo shoots, wild vegetables, pickled persimmons, and chestnuts to store at the farm. Women who were once only familiar with farming now know how to make colorful sticky rice, grilled chicken, and bamboo-cooked rice.

But the biggest change, according to Na, is that more people are voluntarily cleaning up. The pine forests around the lake are also being preserved more carefully than before. People are beginning to understand that visitors come here for the cleanliness, tranquility, and greenery.

The lake is still clean, the forest is still green.

In the afternoon, we walked along a pine-covered slope by the lake. A cool breeze blew up from the water. In the distance, a few camping tents began to light up. After the provincial merger, Ban Chang Lake has welcomed many new visitors. In the past year, NaNa Farm has served approximately 6,000-7,000 visitors, with the busiest days being weekends and holidays. The number of Western tourists has increased significantly thanks to social media and word of mouth.

Gatherings and social events by the lake create a warm and friendly atmosphere, fostering connection between tourists and local people.

However, tourism in Ban Chang is still very new, and many water-based services have not yet been developed, so visitors mainly focus on relaxation, camping, and experiencing local life. There is also a shortage of manpower. At times, Na almost single-handedly managed everything from cooking and cleaning rooms to welcoming guests.

Then she suddenly spoke in a softer voice: "But I still want to take things slowly. What I hope is that this place will develop moderately, so that the people can have more income but still preserve the forest, the lake, and the traditional way of life."

I nodded. This is the biggest concern of sustainable tourism: how to develop without destroying? How to attract tourists without losing the soul of the land? And hearing Na's words, I felt more at ease, because here there are young people like her, people who love their homeland so much that they are willing to "slow down" to preserve what is most valuable.

Darkness falls quickly in Bản Chang. By the lake, the children still run and play under the pine trees. In the small kitchen, Na is busy preparing more food for the late-arriving group of guests. Smoke rises slowly from the stove in the chilly air.

Before parting ways, Na recounted, as if afraid I might forget Bản Chang in other seasons. Spring here brings white plum blossoms along the forest edge, and early morning mist blankets the lake. Summer is the season for wild vegetables and ripe plums; sitting in the afternoon listening to the wind rustling through the pine trees is a relaxing experience. Autumn offers golden rice fields, wild chestnuts, and preserved persimmons. In winter, visitors love sitting by the charcoal fire, roasting potatoes, and enjoying a steaming hot pot of vegetables in the chilly highland air.

Na smiled and said, "Every season here has its own charm; you just need to slow down a bit." These simple things, it turns out, are what many city dwellers are searching for.

On the way back, I kept remembering what Na had said when we were standing by the lake. She said she only hoped that in the future, when there would be more tourists and more jobs for the local people, the lake would remain clean and the forest would remain as green as it is now.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/du-lich-thai-nguyen/202605/ve-ban-chang-nghe-rung-va-nuoc-ke-chuyen-4350b98/