The beauty of Mo Hra-Dap village through the lens of photographer Ngo Tran Hai An

With more than 250 thousand followers on Facebook, 8x photographer Ngo Tran Hai An (from Lam Dong) is one of the influential faces in the travel community. He has traveled to all provinces and cities in the country and more than 40 countries, and at the same time used photography to promote the beauty of Vietnam to the world .

**Pounding rice. Photo: Ngo Tran Hai An**

This time, he returned to Gia Lai to take a photo series as part of the project “Honoring Vietnamese ethnic culture”, recording the beauty, life and working spirit of the Bahnar people. The fact that an influential photographer on social networks chose Mo Hra-Dap (To Tung commune) as a stopover has helped this village gain more attention on the community tourism map.

His photo collection captures many moments of the day, each moment is a slice of culture and life full of inspiration. That is the morning following Bahnar girls to the stream to get water, going to the communal house to record images of teaching weaving, spinning and weaving skills between generations.

In the afternoon, the scene of pounding rice, the image of boys dressed as "mud ghosts", reenacting the ritual of leaving graves to bid farewell to the deceased or the elderly wandering with the sound of gongs. Meanwhile, young women grilled chicken, cooked sticky rice to entertain guests, the smoke swirling around their hair. Their faces lit up in the sunset.

And when the sun sets behind the mountains, the gong festival begins. The whole village is lit up by the fire, the sound of gongs echoes throughout the hills...

Weaving tradition. **Photo: Ngo Tran Hai An**

In each frame, viewers seem to touch the breath and life of the Bahnar people: innocent, rustic, full of life... Mr. Ngo Tran Hai An shared about the photo series: “When light, people and memories meet, the photos become a tribute to time. There are things that if we don't have time to see today, we may not see them again tomorrow. That's why I want to carry out this photo project, a journey to record the beauty and cultural breath of the Bahnar people in Gia Lai with all my love for photography and respect for national heritage."

The photo series of Mo Hra-Dap that he shared on social networks quickly received love and comments. Many people expressed their desire to visit the beautiful Bahnar village hidden in the mountains and forests of Truong Son Dong.

The fact that social media influencers like Hai An choose community destinations to film and tell stories is opening up a way to promote the image of localities. Instead of loud campaigns, genuine, emotional and culturally profound frames create a strong influence, touching the hearts of viewers.

Mo Hra-Dap thus emerges not only as a developing community tourism destination, but also as a vibrant cultural space, where time, people and tradition are still intertwined in every wisp of kitchen smoke and every beat of gong. And through the lens of photographer Hai An, that beauty is told in the gentlest language, of light, of love and appreciation.

The beauty of Mo Hra-Dap through the lens of photographer Ngo Tran Hai An: