Discover the thousand-year-old ancient village in Nam Dinh

Possessing a peaceful space with a stone bridge across a poetic river, hundreds of years old houses, village ponds, wells..., Dich Diep ancient village (Nam Dinh) has the ancient beauty of a Northern Vietnam's Red river delta village. Vietnam Impressive Travel

Located about 110 km from Hanoi and more than 20 km from Nam Dinh city center, Dich Diep village (in Truc Chinh commune, Truc Ninh district) is one of the ancient villages in the northern Vietnam.

According to local people, Dich Diep village was formed around the beginning of the 11th century, with the original name of Dich Diep Trang.

This place still retains the ancient beauty of a traditional Vietnamese village with banyan trees, temples, pagodas, water wells... becoming a "healing" destination for tourists looking for a peaceful place.

The village still preserves 6 ancient house gates, 1 ancient village gate, 2 wooden houses (1 house over 100 years old and 1 house over 200 years old with roof tiles), 1 rolling bridge across the river and 3 water wells at the end of the village.

Among them, the most noticeable place in Dich Diep village, attracting the attention of tourists when coming here, is the southern gate, connected to the stone arch bridge built in 1864.

When walking in the village, visitors will also encounter ancient gates, mainly built in the style of parabolic arches, with soft, curving designs.

The gate roof is tiled, connected to the gate arch by two vertical pillars, elaborately carved. The gate surface is also elaborately decorated, with embossed characters expressing the homeowner's motto or character.

Depending on the location, terrain, and conditions of each house, the gate arch has different scales and grandeur.

Another interesting thing is that in Dich Diep village there is a "green treasure" that is over 900 years old. It is an ancient Bodhi tree that is over 20m high, with a trunk that is so "huge" that it takes about 5 adults to hug it. Around the tree trunk are large roots about 40cm long, growing long and clinging tightly to the ground.

With its historical values, in April 2021, the ancient Bodhi tree in Dich Diep village was officially recognized as a Vietnamese heritage tree by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment.

Source: https://impressivevietnamtravel.com/blog/bich-diep-ancient-village-in-nam-dinh.html

Highlights of Hanoi Night Tourism Products 2024

According to information from the Hanoi Department of Tourism and the People's Committee of Ba Dinh District, at 6:00 p.m. on November 29, at the culinary street space of Ngoc Dao Ngu Xa, Truc Bach Ward, the opening ceremony of the tourism product promotion program "Hanoi Night 2024" will take place and the announcement of the Decision to recognize 3 tourist destinations: Quan Thanh Temple, Voi Phuc Temple and Dao Ngoc - Truc Bach, Ba Dinh District. At the same time, Ba Dinh District officially opened the tourism product of Metro Line No. 6 at Dao Ngoc Ngu Xa. Footprint Travel Vietnam

The program with the theme "Truc Bach Night" will take place at the outdoor stage of the culinary street of Ngoc Dao Ngu Xa; chaired by the Hanoi People's Committee, in coordination with the Department of Tourism and the People's Committee of Ba Dinh District.

The program promises to bring an interesting journey of experience with inspiration from the Bao Cap era (Government subsidy period), recreating the daily life of people in this historical period. For the first time in Hanoi, the entire event space will be set up like a film studio with the background of a real neighborhood, with tram cars, department stores... helping visitors to return to the memories of one of the special periods of the country.

Coming to the event, visitors will visit and experience the “Hanoi Street Museum” with unique art activities, enjoy rich cuisine and stories of Hanoi; enjoy the vibrant, bustling atmosphere of the performances. In addition, with the romantic and poetic scenery of Truc Bach Lake, the event will create an ideal relaxing space for visitors to immerse themselves and admire the beauty of the natural landscape.

Activities throughout the event (from November 29 to December 1, 2024): The program recreates the activities and daily life of people in different historical periods of Hanoi; sightseeing and admiring the beautiful scenery at some tourist attractions around the event area such as: Thuy Trung Tien Temple, Truc Bach Lake, Dao Ngoc Ngu Xa; organizing themed workshops such as: Decorating Bao Cap coupons, puzzle games, costume rental, themed photography; specially designed "Bao Cap" booths with many different themes, combined with resonant decorative sound and lighting systems.

Notably, Metro Line 6 - Hanoi Street Museum will officially open on this occasion, people and tourists can experience community interactions on different topics on 4 cars of Metro Line 6. The program "Cultural Harmony" aims to create an impressive journey, connecting tourists with the rich history and traditional culture of the capital city.

According to the People's Committee of Truc Bach Ward, each tram car will carry a typical culinary theme of Hanoi and Vietnam such as: Lua - Thoc - Gao (rice), Pho - Bun - Soi (vermicelli, noodles), Bep - Chan - Mam (kitchen - cupboard - tray)... The cars seem to form trains carrying heritage, "mini museums" of culture and cuisine, a notable highlight for tourists who want to find old memories and want to learn about the history and culture of Hanoi.

In addition, there are also activities to visit, learn and experience wood-fired coffee roasting; making coffee scented bags, miniature food models, and figurines... throughout the days of the event.

The series of interactive community experience activities has the participation of many guests such as: Researcher and producer of ancient Shan Tuyet Tea - Tu Quoc An; Culinary expert Nguyen Phuong Hai; Journalist Nguyen Dinh; Journalist Vinh Quyen; Journalist Nguyen Luu; Writer Trung Sy; Writer Le Phuong Lien; The daughter of Me Tri green rice village - Ms. Ly; Refined coffee brand; Pho Thin Bo Ho brand; Pho cuon Huong Mai brand; Circus group in front of the alley; Youth Theater...

Coming to "Truc Bach Night", people and tourists have the opportunity to visit the space of old Hanoi with electric poles that are over 100 years old, public water taps, neighborhood bulletin boards, with street economic occupations during the Bao Cap period and means of transportation of old Hanoians... recreating the Bao Cap-era wedding; the Bao Cap-era beer street music and food festival...

With this event, the Organizing Committee hopes to attract more and more tourists to Hanoi, actively contributing to the overall tourism development of Vietnam and contributing to the socio-economic development of the capital city.

Source: https://footprintvietnamtravel.com/news/hanoi-to-launch-the-promotion-of-hanoi-night-tourism-products.php

Travel to Mang Den to discover the mysterious beauty

Emerging as an attractive tourist destination, Mang Den is considered a miniature Da Lat in the North Central Highlands with its climate, indigenous culture, cuisine and many unique natural features. However, the lesson of Da Lat urbanization and transformation is the problem to keep Mang Den intact with its inherent appeal. Ethnic Travel

Immensely chilly, lingering in the morning and evening mist, endless cherry blossoms, babbling waterfalls and the sound of drums and gongs... Mang Den gently welcomes visitors all four seasons like that. In recent years, Mang Den (Kon Plong district, Kon Tum ) has emerged on the Vietnamese tourism map and is sought after by many people because of its intact climate, indigenous culture, cuisine and many unique natural features.

Mang Den night is cool at about 15 - 18 degrees Celsius at an altitude of 1,200m above sea level. Not having the hustle and bustle of large tourist areas, Mang Den stands out with its pristine beauty, cool climate and strange peace. Here there are poetic natural paintings with primeval forests, clear lakes... forests cover up to 83% of the area. And the 5-needle pine species typical of the highlands still covers the forests here, so people consider Mang Den the second Da Lat of the Central Highlands .

Many people were surprised by the beauty of Mang Den as if it were a recreation of Da Lat several decades ago, not too crowded, not too noisy, the beautiful green pine forests, along with Pa Sy Waterfall, 36-household area, Dak Ke lake, Wooden sculpture garden, Mang Den market, Mang Den Art garden, Kon Pring community tourism village... all were built to make everyone amazed.

Endowed with natural landscapes, indigenous culture, cuisine and many unique features that are rare elsewhere, Mang Den is like a princess who has just woken up to become the driving force for Kon Tum's smokeless economic development. Visitors to Mang Den not only find peace in the midst of nature but also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the lives of indigenous people. This is an advantage that few places in Vietnam can match, a place that still retains the wildness of nature but is still close enough to connect with major cities.

Source: https://ethnictravelvietnam.com/blog/sustainable-tourism-for-mang-den/

Explore Da Dia stream in Gia Lai - a little-known wonder

Stone stream of Van village in Gia Lai is an ancient rock rapids millions of years old, located on both sides of a babbling stream. The stone pillars at Van village have a unique shape, hexagonal shapes stacked on top of each other stretching about 1km. Surrounding the ancient rock rapids and stone stream are vast green natural landscapes, majestic and magnificent mountains, creating a beautiful and rare natural scene. Asiatica Travel

The ancient rock stream at Van village is one of the unique and rare geological heritages of the Central Highlands in general and Gia Lai province in particular. Currently, the ancient rock fields in Gia Lai are becoming famous tourist destinations. The ancient rock stream of Van village is listed on the Gia Lai tourism map, along with famous destinations that need to be preserved in the province such as: Chu Dang Ya volcano, To Nung Lake, hundred-year-old pine trees from the French period... 

How to get there

The ancient rock field runs along both sides of the stream, located in Van village, Ialy town, Chu Pah district, Gia Lai province and about 45km from Pleiku city center .

From Pleiku city, you go straight along Highway 14 towards Kon Tum for about 16km => turn left onto Tl 673 (the road to Ialy hydroelectric plant) for about 20km => then turn right and continue for about 2.5km to Van village. From Van village, you can still continue by motorbike or car for another 2km to reach a coffee plantation. Here you have to walk along a trail along the stream for about 500m to reach the rock field with the poetic stream of Van village.

The route to explore the stone stream is pretty long, crossing a small trail is a bit difficult, but when you see the amazing natural scenery of the stream and the beautiful natural stone blocks, you will feel it is worth it. According to the locals, the stream has many names in the language of the Jrai people (Ruai, Jrai Pha, ...). This stream flows between the territory of Ia Phi commune and Ia Ly town, flows through many Jrai villages and then flows into the reservoir of the Ia Ly hydroelectric plant. In particular, the section passing through Van village (Plei Van) suddenly appears an ancient stone field, strangely shaped, stretching for kilometers ...

The ancient stone field of Van village  has many exposed sections, notably two very beautiful sections only a few dozen meters apart. In these sections, next to the stream, the large hexagonal stone pillars seem to have been arranged by some miracle, lying next to each other, flat and majestic as if "challenging" the power of time.

There are hundreds of such stone pillars arranged in a field stretching for kilometers, from which this stream is also called Da Dia stream (with ancient beauty similar to Ghenh Da Dia - a special national monument in Phu Yen).

According to research by geologists, this ancient rock formation has existed for over 100 million years!!!

Seen from above, the rocky cliffs look like giant, unique honeycombs. Between the two rocky banks is a babbling stream, weaving through the crevices of the rocks, creating white foaming waves. 

Ancient rock field and stone plate stream of Van village have extremely wild and rustic scenery, surrounded by immense mountains and forests, the sound of flowing streams, chirping birds... Feeling the scent of the forest, the mountain wind mixed with the fresh air of the stream, you will never forget.

Whenever asked about the ancient rock rapids or the stone plate stream, the eyes of the people of Van village shine with pride for their homeland, it is a gift that Yang (Giang, meaning heaven) has given them. All activities in their lives are close to the stone stream: drinking water, fishing, bathing in the stream, games during holidays and Tet. They hope that the beautiful scenery of their homeland will always be preserved and protected forever for future generations.

The stone stream in Van village, Chu Pah district, along with the ancient stone field in Don Hyang village, Mang Yang district, and Ong stone mountain in Hra village, Kong Chro district, all belong to Gia Lai province, and are all special and rare geological heritages of the Central Highlands region. Not only that, the ancient stone fields are also places of wild beauty and undiscovered tourism potential.

Source: https://asiaticatravel.com/travellers-eyes/visit-ancient-stone-stream-in-gia-lai.asp