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.

Southern provinces celebrate Khmer festival

 

A delegation from the Southwest Region’s Steering Committee, led by its deputy head Bui Ngoc Suong, visited the Khmer ethnic community in the southern province of Soc Trang on October 11 to wish them well during the 2012 Sene Dolta Festival. 

The delegation visited the provincial Patriotic United Buddhist Association and the southern school of complementary Pali education, and presented gifts to monks and nuns from the Khleang and Prek On Dok pagodas, as well as poor households in the locality. 

Later the same day, another deputy head, Huynh Minh Doan, also visited the association and people of the community in the southern province of Bac Lieu. 

Doan said that he hopes the people will promote solidarity for economic development and poverty reduction. 

On October 10, the steering committee held a get-together for officials, monks, nuns and students of the Khmer community from the Mekong Delta region. 

On this occasion, the 400-year-old Pysey Varapram pagoda in the southern province of Tra Vinh received a National Relic Site Certificate. 

During the war, the pagoda was a secret base of many prominent revolutionary leaders. 

An Giang provincial authorities also recently paid visits to 65 Khmer pagodas across the province. 

Sene Dolta is one of the largest Khmer festivals that pays tribute to ancestors and those who have made big contributions to the homeland. 

It is held from the 30th day of the 8th lunar month to the 2nd day of the 9th lunar month each year, which this year falls on October 14-16. The majority of the Khmer population in Vietnam live in the southwestern region, which counts 453 Khmer pagodas.

Source: Vietnam+

 

Celebrate the rice season in Mu Cang Chai

In the rural district of Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai Province, northeastern region, the harvest season in mid-September is the most important event of the year and is celebrated as such.

The area is populated by the H’Mong – a group of minority people who live their lives around rice and corn cultivation.

This area’s rice cultivation is very different from the deltas of Mekong and Hong rivers, as there is only one harvest season and the rice productivity here is not as high as in the deltas.

Every year, the H’Mong will flood the fields that are built on the slope of the hills, to prepare for the planting of seeds in April or May and wait four months until harvest. The harvest season comes early or late depending on the weather.

In recent years, the authorities of Mu Cang Chai have held a celebration ceremony at harvest time, usually in the middle of September. The event attracts tourists to enjoy the splendid scenery of the mountainous area as well as the typical culture there.

Endless green rice fi elds on the slopes of hillsi

A H’Mong boy signs ‘hello’ to foreign and local tourists - Photos: Pham Tha

Historic homes offer tranquil tourist retreat in Nha Trang

The coastal city of Nha Trang is located in Khanh Hoa Province in the south-central region of Vietnam, 440km north-east of HCM City. Known for the friendliness of its people, the city is flanked by nearly 10km of white-sand coastline, where the clear waters are warm all year round.

Leafy: Nguyen Xuan Hai's house has been singled out to serve sightseeing tours.

Gnarly: Hai often entertains visitors with tables and chairs he sculpts from tree roots.

Shady: The house sits in the middle of a massive garden, providing a complete cool atmosphere.

But don't be fooled into thinking Nha Trang is just a beautiful beach-side location – there's so much more. You can check out the city's ancient houses, a fascinating example of the cultural heritage that is being preserved by local people.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Khanh Hoa has around 50 old houses, mostly located in the districts of Dien Khanh and Ninh Hoa, and Nha Trang City. One-third of the houses are more than 100 years.

About 4km from the city centre, Phu Vinh Village in Vinh Thanh Commune, is well-known in the area for its old houses, many of which bear unique characteristics. The city's culture sector has singled out six houses that are almost intact, including old-style interior decor as well as vintage household objects.

Visiting these houses will give you an insight into old customs, worship practices and the way local people lived many years ago.

There are two different ways to Phu Vinh Village: by car or by boat. Under the August scorching sun, I decided to take a boat along the Cai River, which starts 900m above sea level in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak and runs through Nha Trang.

It turned out to be a smart choice. As I was heading up river to the village, I felt completely relaxed. Along the way you can see some quintessentially Vietnamese landscapes of palm trees on the river banks and makeshift bamboo bridges crossing the river.

About 30 minutes from the pier at the foot of the Po Nagar Temples complex, the boat stops at a small pier on the property of 72-year-old Nguyen Xuan Hai. His property in the village is open to visitors as an example of the area's traditional architecture. Surrounded by a garden, from the pier to the house you will stroll along a path filled with green trees blowing in the breeze.

This is one of the only six antique houses left in this village. The houses were all built according to a layout of three rooms in a structure supported by 36 pillars.

Hai's house has been extremely well preserved and he boasts that the house has never undergone major repairs during the six generations that have lived here.

Built 200 years ago, the house still has its original wooden doors, altars and pillars, which are carved with inscriptions. In accordance with tradition, altars for worshipping the family's ancestors take a central position in the house.

Like other houses in the village, Hai's faces the southeast and has a roof of yin and yang tiles. That's why Hai told me "you would feel like there is an air conditioner running inside the house even when it's hot outside".

The house is located in the middle of a massive garden covering more than 1,000sq.m and filled with fruit trees and indigenous plants. If you come at the right time, Hai may even treat you with some seasonal fruit in his garden.

The house's owner also spends his free time sculpting tables and chairs from tree roots from the area. He regularly entertains visitors to the house and garden, sipping green tea or a soft drink and enjoying the pleasant atmosphere.

It's easy to see why this part of south-central Vietnam attracts people from all over the world. From the laid back atmosphere of the magical islands and beaches to the old houses by the Cai River, all give you a sense of the diversity and beauty of Vietnam.