Dong Van Stone Plateau - the charm of the mountainous region
Dong Van Karst Plateau, Ha Giang province, is the only Global Geopark in Vietnam and the second in Southeast Asia to be officially recognized as a Global Geopark by the Global Geoparks Network Advisory Council (UNESCO) since 2010.
With a series of geological, stratigraphic, architectural heritages and unique cultural features of the highland people, Dong Van Stone Plateau has a wild, pure and mysterious beauty.
"Stone forest" on the Dong Van stone plateau, Ha Giang. (Photo: Minh Tam/VNA)
Recently, the Prime Minister approved the Master Plan for conservation, restoration and promotion of the value of Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark for the period 2012-2020, with a vision to 2030.
Hidden beauty of the mountainous region
After passing through more than 100km of mountain pass with dizzying hairpin bends between a deep abyss on one side and layers of cat-ear rocky mountains on the other, the wild and majestic scenery of Dong Van Stone Plateau appeared in the misty clouds, making us truly overwhelmed.
Standing on the top of Ma Pi Leng Pass, the Nho Que River flows like a strip of silk across the mountain, making the scenery of this land magical and poetic. The Dong Van Stone Plateau is incredibly beautiful, from the Mong people's houses perched on the rocky mountains to the terraced fields stretching along the mountain slopes.
The beauty of the land is also embellished by the ethnic people here with rammed earth houses, stone fences and colorful, unique ethnic costumes.
Dong Van Stone Plateau, Ha Giang province is a rocky mountain area over 1,000 meters high, including four districts: Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh and Quan Ba with an area of over 2,300 square kilometers.
There are currently more than 250,000 people living here with 17 ethnic minorities, accounting for 90% of the region's population, of which the Mong ethnic group accounts for 70% of the population, up to more than 230,000 people. This is the region with the largest concentration of Mong people in the country.
According to the assessment of the Advisory Council of the Global Geoparks Network (UNESCO), Dong Van Karst Plateau is one of the special limestone areas, containing typical imprints of the history of the development of the Earth's crust, natural phenomena, unique aesthetic landscapes, high biodiversity and long-standing cultural traditions of the indigenous community.
Dong Van Stone Plateau converges a series of unique heritage systems such as the Geological Heritage with Can Chu Phin fossil forest, Lan Chai fossil cemetery, Lung Pu-Khau Vai-Meo Vac junction fossil site, Ma Le coiled hand fossil site, and Chong thoi fossil site (Dong Van town).
The geological heritage includes the Lung Cu-Ma Le geological section, the Frasni-Famen stratigraphic boundary at Si Phai pass; the geomorphological heritage with the famous Quan Ba twin mountains, Pai Lung needle tower, Thuy Mac valley, Khau Vai stone forest... and many architectural-historical-cultural heritages-scenic spots such as Dong Van ancient town, Vuong's House relic, Pho Bang town..., ethnic cultural villages and cultural tourism villages.
Despite its great tourism potential, Dong Van has yet to fully exploit these advantages. In 2012, the number of tourists coming here was only 330,000, of which less than 20,000 were international visitors.
Besides, the spending level of tourists when coming here only fluctuates from 15-25 USD/day/person, much lower than the average spending level of tourists coming to Vietnam.
Heritage conservation goes hand in hand with tourism development
Dr. Nguyen Le Huy, Head of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark Management Board, said that Dong Van Karst Plateau is one of the most disadvantaged areas in the country. Resources for people's livelihood and the economy such as arable land, domestic water, farming water, and fuel are still very scarce. Infrastructure such as transportation and tourism infrastructure are also greatly affected by the terrain of the Karst Plateau.
In addition, the living standards and tourism awareness of the people, especially ethnic minorities, are still poor. The low quality of human resources for the tourism industry, which do not meet the development requirements, has significantly affected the quality of tourism products and services in Dong Van. Tourism promotion activities have not been really invested in, so they have not been highly effective.
Recognizing the above difficulties, the professional agencies of Ha Giang province, with the help of the consulting unit, Hanoi National University, have developed a master plan to preserve, restore and promote the value of Dong Van Geopark, focusing mainly on two parts: Heritage conservation, scientific research and tourism development.
The planning for the preservation and promotion of heritage values is first of all aimed at fulfilling the commitment to the international community on the preservation of geological heritage, cultural heritage and geoecology of Dong Van Stone Plateau.
Next is to exploit the value of heritages to serve tourism development, considering tourism as a new livelihood for the ethnic minority communities on the rocky plateau. This is the new model orientation of the Global Geopark Network (UNESCO) specifically for Dong Van because unlike other geoparks in the world that are often transferred from tourist areas, there is already good tourism infrastructure but not many residents living around the area.
Dong Van Geopark has a population of over 250,000. The above steps are also to meet the assessment of Dong Van's membership status in the Global Geoparks Network in 2014.
According to Dr. Nguyen Le Huy, in the past two years since Dong Van Karst Plateau was recognized as a Global Geopark, Ha Giang province has implemented a number of image promotion programs through connecting the website of Dong Van Karst Plateau Management Board with the websites of media and tourism agencies, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and embassies of other countries in Vietnam to bring information about the Karst Plateau closer to tourists. Initially, these activities have also had positive results.
Currently, the province is also building a project to promote the image of Dong Van Geopark and Ha Giang province through two airports, Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat, in which it is planned to establish an information center at Noi Bai Airport.
The Dong Van Geopark Management Board has also developed projects to introduce and call for investment from businesses in the Dong Van Stone Plateau. It is expected that this year, a number of projects to build hotels and service areas will be initially implemented here.
Hopefully in the near future, Dong Van Stone Plateau will become one of the favorite destinations for domestic and international tourists when coming to Ha Giang, the northernmost place of the country./.
According to (Vietnam+) - LC
