An Giang Province offers culture and crafts with tourism

Lying on the west of the Mekong Delta, An Giang Province attracts more than five million domestic and international holidaymakers annually, making it the key tourist destination in the region.

Holidaymakers are excited to join in the village activities

To be able to attract more visitors, An Giang Province has developed several traditional handicraft villages and linked them with tourism. So far these villages have proved to be very effective.

An Giang Province has developed 34 traditional handicraft villages to date, many of which were founded a long, long time ago, with each traditional craft village having a cultural base with its own identity.

These are well-known in the country like blacksmiths Phu My village in Phu Tam District; Tan Chau town’s famous silk of Lanh My A brand– a kind of cocoon silk fabricated by original formulas, making it a unique product that many women dream of in the 20th century; 100-year-old Chau Giang Brocade village, which makes exquisite brocade, a perfect combination between traditional and modern and also unique in producing Cham ethnic minority specialty with a number of patterns; and Cho Thu lumber village in Cho Moi District.

Several new traditional craft villages  to make arts and crafts products from available materials from the countryside like bamboo, thot not tree or palmyra tree for numerous sugars, drinks and food, water hyacinth, are all popular gifts bought by visitors.

Nguyen Van Len, director of An Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the province is launching a variety of tours such as tours for Buddhist followers, ecological tours, and agricultural tours.

Authorities also held seminars ‘Sustainable growth of arts and craft production in economic downturn’ to help enterprises and businessmen to penetrate markets locally and internationally. In addition, the People’s Committee organized fairs to display arts and craft products.

The province has plans to preserve and develop traditional crafts villages. In the first phase, the province will spend VND60 billion ($2.9 million) on 43 projects and in the second phase, VND4.3 billion will be invested in seven projects.

An Giang Province therefore has offered jobs to more than 33,000 residents with average salary of VND1.3 million a month, said Huynh The Nang, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee.

In some special tours designed for tourists, visitors will have a chance to see artists from traditional craft villages making a shirt for visitors, weaving bamboo products or participating in baking cakes.

Coconut palms - symbol of Ben Tre

Visitors to the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre now have the chance to enjoy its famous fruit, traditional craft products and folk culture.

 

They can travel in a small along the rivers or canals in the shade of coconut trees and stop on the way to relax in fruit orchards and coconut gardens.

Ben Tre is located in the lowest part of the Mekong River basin, some 85km south of Ho Chi Minh City. It has three main islands wedged between the Tien Giang River to the north and the Co Chien River to the south, with the Ham Luong River running straight down the middle. All of these rivers are offshoots of the Mekong as it splits out into many fingers before flowing into the South Asian Sea.

The province is famous for its rice and fruit cultivation, but its traditional life has changed little over time, with tourists wandering through the markets, sipping coffee, taking boat trips and visiting local museums.

Coconut palms have become the symbol of Ben Tre since land was first reclaimed in the southern part of the country. During the war, coconuts were used to make coconut oil, which served as a viable substitute for kerosene. The province now has nearly 36,000 hectares of coconut plantations that have survived through protracted wars and remain dear to the hearts of local people.

There was a time when many people in Ben Tre felled coconut trees for some economic reasons, but now they have replanted them, producing around 242 million coconuts each year.

Many handicrafts are made from coconut materials including sandals, dolls, small baskets, bed lamps and vases. Tourists can visit local coconut candy factories to watch the candy being made and also buy some to take home as special gifts for their family and friends.

In addition to coconuts, Ben Tre is also known as the "king" of specialty fruit, with 41,000 hectares of orchards yielding 375,000 tonnes of fruit a year. Some of the province's unique specialties include milky yellow-fleshed and stoneless durians, green-skinned pomelos, Cai Mon mangosteens, high-yield "Four Season" mangos, and special Mo Cay oranges.