Hai Son Commune: Building advanced and modern new rural areas

With the advantages of forests and forest land, natural landscapes and cultural identities of ethnic groups, Hai Son commune after the merger aims to become an advanced, modern, rich, civilized, and border-regional commune.

Experience picking ripe blackberries at Ma Thau Son hill tourist destination, Hai Son commune.

Hai Son commune was established on the basis of merging Bac Son and Hai Son communes of Mong Cai city in the past. The commune has mountainous terrain, fertile land, natural forests, and large planted forests. Over 90% of the commune's population are ethnic minorities, mainly Dao, Tay, and San Chi ethnic groups with unique cultures. These factors create clear advantages in developing forestry economy , ecotourism, community tourism, and production of typical products associated with the OCOP program.

Mr. Le Van Cuong, Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, said: Hai Son has over 70% of its area covered by forests and forestry land, including hundreds of hectares of forests being planned for planting, developing large timber forests, and developing sustainable forestry. Along with that is the system of hills, streams, natural waterfalls and villages with strong cultural identities of ethnic minorities, which are ideal conditions for developing eco-tourism and community tourism, associated with the red address of the Po Hen National Historical Site.

Product packaging at Thanh Loi Golden Flower Tea Growing and Processing Facility (Than Phun village, Hai Son commune).

With the favor of nature and unique cultural features, Hai Son is one of the tourist destinations in the 4 routes, 15 experiential tourist destinations of Mong Cai City in the past, with typical traditional cultural features, such as: Border Sim Flower Festival, Po Hen Market, Cap Sac Ceremony, Dao people's antiphonal singing; Going to the fields festival, Tet Muoi Tu, singing Soong Co, pushing sticks, spinning tops... of San Chi people; unique cuisine , such as: Black duck, hill chicken, wild honey, yellow flower tea, Dao ethnic 3-color rice. Sightseeing and check-in spots: Milestone 1347 (2), Dang family hamlet mural village, 72-room waterfall, Ma Thau Son sim hill, Pa Nai stream, Phinh Ho lake... have created a unique feature in the journey of the border experiential tourism chain.

The Po Hen Martyrs Memorial (Po Hen National Historical Site) attracts thousands of tourists, students and pupils every year. Border patrol routes are being upgraded, opening up opportunities to connect community tourism sites with tourist destinations such as Bac Phong Sinh, Hoanh Mo, Mong Cai International Border Gate, etc., creating a chain of attractive destinations.

Natural forest in the 72-bay waterfall area, Hai Son commune.

Implementing the large timber forest planting project, the commune has planted lat, lim, gioi trees, combined with the development of medicinal plants under the forest canopy, such as yellow tea flower, morinda, purple cardamom, etc. This is a direction that helps people both earn income from wood and protect the forest ecosystem, while opening up the possibility of combining the development of forest experience tourism.

Traditional spinning top game at the 2025 Hai Son Commune Ethnic Culture Festival.

Mr. Le Van Cuong added: “We are coordinating with businesses and cooperatives to organize raw material areas and build brands for OCOP products such as Hai Son wild honey, Mong Cai pigs raised on hills, and yellow flower tea. In the area, there is currently a facility growing and processing Thanh Loi yellow flower tea, a product favored by the domestic market. The goal is that by 2030, Hai Son will have at least 5 OCOP products with 3 stars or more.”

Currently, the average planted forest area of the commune is over 1,200 hectares/year, forest coverage is 73%; average income by early 2025 is 86 million VND/person/year.

Po Hen National Historical Site is a red address in the Hai Son border tourism journey.

In the 2025-2030 term, Hai Son has identified the following overarching goals: Improving the quality of economic growth, unleashing the strength of the private economic sector, maximizing opportunities from mergers, promoting complementary advantages, linking regions and spaces to create breakthrough developments; applying science and technology to circular and organic agricultural and forestry production. On the basis of effectively exploiting the advantages of natural landscapes, ethnic culture, diversifying products and services, Hai Son becomes a key destination for experiential and community tourism, associated with the red address of the province and the whole country. The commune identifies 3 main pillars for socio-economic development: Developing sustainable forestry economy; Building typical agricultural products associated with the OCOP program; Developing experiential and community eco-tourism associated with the red address.

Hai Son is an attractive tourist destination with golden rice fields.

Accordingly, the commune continues to implement the Project on planting large timber forests, associated with forest allocation and land allocation to households with sufficient capacity, creating long-term livelihoods; at the same time, encouraging economic models under the forest canopy such as beekeeping and medicinal plant cultivation. Developing community tourism models in Dao villages such as Pac Si, Than Phun, Po Hen, combined with border tours, visiting Landmark 1347 (2), Po Hen Martyrs Memorial, helping people both preserve culture and earn income from tourism.

Developing intercropping forestry under the forest canopy is bringing quite high income to some households in Hai Son commune.

Standardize and develop OCOP products, focusing on initially branded products such as wild honey, Mong Cai pig, golden flower tea, golden cassava, etc., gradually forming production - processing - consumption cooperatives. Review and improve the quality of community tourism products, eco-tourism, and experiences associated with preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Dao Thanh Y Ethnic Village and preserving some intangible cultural products. Arouse the creativity and proactiveness of the people in community activities, preserving cultural traditions in families and villages, in order to attract visitors' demand for experiencing community cultural tourism.

The commune focuses on mobilizing resources from national target programs, combining public investment capital, preferential credit capital and socialized resources to complete rural infrastructure, transportation, electricity, clean water, and environmental sanitation. Promote digital transformation in agricultural and forestry management and production, enhance skills training for people in market access, product promotion and tourism connection via online platforms.

Phinh Ho Lake, Hai Son Commune.

Hai Son identifies building an advanced new-style rural commune as a central and continuous task. The commune continues to improve the new-style rural criteria in terms of environment, income, culture, and security and order; at the same time, mobilize people to actively participate in the "Bright - green - clean - beautiful" movements, building a new, civilized and safe cultural life in the border area.

Hai Son today is not only a border commune with a heroic revolutionary tradition, but also a land that is rising strongly from the internal strength of nature, people and solidarity. With high political determination, consensus of the entire political system and people with development solutions in the right direction, Hai Son is gradually realizing the goal of becoming an advanced, modern, rich, civilized new-style rural commune - a typical commune of the highlands of Quang Ninh in the period of integration and development.

Huu Viet

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/xa-hai-son-xay-dung-xa-nong-thon-moi-kieu-mau-hien-dai-giau-dep-van-minh-3370945.html