Quy Chau - ideal destination for community tourism

(Baonghean) - Possessing many scenic spots as well as historical and cultural relics, Quy Chau land has been, is and will be an ideal destination for tourists who love to learn and explore the cultural values ​​of ethnic groups as well as enjoy and immerse themselves in nature.

Sedimentary attraction

About 140 km northwest of Vinh City, Quy Chau - the central land of the ancient Quy Phu still retains many wild and peaceful features. The pace of life here is gentle, the diligence is like the water wheels turning on the poetic Hieu River...

From Tan Lac town, going west along Highway 48, visitors will come to the ancient Thai village of Hoa Tien (now Hoa Tien 1 and Hoa Tien 2 villages, Chau Tien commune). Looking from Chau Tien bridge across Ta Chum field (the border between Quy Chau and Que Phong districts), you will see the quiet stilt houses, located close together in a chessboard shape.

The stilt houses in Hoa Tien are usually located halfway up the mountain and facing the Nam Quang River; designed with 3 to 5 rooms, of which the outermost room is located next to the main staircase and is used for receiving guests and drinking rice wine; the inner rooms are where the family lives. The lower floor is where agricultural tools, wood, firewood are stored... and of course, the most spacious and airy space is for weaving looms and brocade weaving, which is the traditional profession of the local people here.

Quy Chau Melody (Waterwheel of Hoa Tien villagers, Chau Tien commune).

Next to each loom is a display area for the family's brocade products. The women of Hoa Tien village are surprisingly skillful. The skirts, scarves, carpets, handbags, and belts are woven with sophisticated patterns and are created entirely by hand, from growing mulberry, raising silkworms to spinning silk, dyeing thread... It is known that Hoa Tien brocade has long been popular with many people.

Ms. Sam Thi Huong - Head of the Brocade Cooperative revealed: The cooperative's brocade has been present in the markets of Hanoi, Laos and Thailand. The brocade weaving profession has brought stable income to hundreds of local workers. Hoa Tien clearly, fully and deeply represents the cultural identity of the Thai people and is one of the prides of Quy Chau land - a land containing many legends and traces of the origin of the ancient Vietnamese people.

At Tham Om cave (Chau Thuan commune), archaeologists found 10 labor tools, including 1 labor tool made of quartz stone, considered the first production tool made by primitive people, as well as discovered many more human remains and teeth of Homo sapiens; at Co Ngon cave (Chau Binh commune), many stone tools about 7 - 8 thousand years old and many pieces of pottery from the Metal Age about 4,000 years ago were also found...

A part of the ancient people's life is expressed through the cultural colors that are still preserved intact at the Hang Bua Festival held every spring. Before the festival, the local people often make a pilgrimage to the sacred temple of Muong Chieng Ngam - the place to worship the three tutelary gods Xieu Bo, Xieu Ke, Xieu Luong who contributed to the founding of the village.

Bua Cave, Chau Tien Commune (Quy Chau).

Entering Hang Bua festival is a time to live with the cultural values ​​of thousands of years. That is true, because a series of cultural and sports activities such as: Crossbow shooting, throwing con, pushing sticks; writing Thai characters; spinning, weaving brocade; rolling incense; performing folk songs and dances such as nhuon, xuoi, lam, xap, khac luong… have shown that.

Realizing potential

In 2014, the People's Committee of Quy Chau district had a policy to develop community tourism in Hoa Tien village. The district selected and supported 10 families to visit and study in Lac village, Mai Chau district (Hoa Binh province) and Nua village, Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong) to build a community tourism model. The 25th District Party Congress (term 2015 - 2020) issued Resolution No. 13 and Program No. 10-CTr/HU on developing community tourism associated with preserving cultural and historical values.

Implementing the above Resolution and Program, Quy Chau district has taken specific actions such as upgrading 10 households selected for survey into community guesthouses; opening a number of accompanying tourism services such as: mountain biking, buffalo cart pulling, rafting on streams; exploiting and expanding more stalls selling traditional products such as: brocade, rattan trays, chairs, blankets, sheets, pillows, Thai mattresses; exploiting local culinary culture associated with specialties of Quy Chau district such as: hill chicken, gourd duck, giang meat, moc rice, pickled bamboo shoots, canh ot, grilled fish, sour meat, canh taro, bamboo rice, and dipping sauces; building tours to guide the preparation of dishes imbued with traditional culture, creating novelty for tourists, especially international visitors...

Visit Om - Chau Binh, Quy Chau.

Thanks to the efforts of the Party Committee and the government, Hoa Tien village community tourism has initially achieved encouraging results. In 2016, Hoa Tien village welcomed 20 groups of tourists, including 4 foreign groups, usually staying for 1-2 days, but some groups stayed for up to 1 week. Mr. Nguyen Hai Anh - a tourist from Hanoi shared his feelings: "Passionate about traveling, I have been to many places but there are few places as interesting as here.

Coming to Hoa Tien village, I was especially impressed with the hospitality of the villagers. I was not a customer or a service user, but a relative or a distinguished guest of the villagers. The traditional dishes here are also very delicious, especially the soup, grilled fish, and duck... I will definitely come back and introduce them to many more friends."

We believe that, with a land that still retains many wild features and countless beautiful landscapes associated with cultural and historical values ​​imbued with national identity, along with the efforts of the Party Committee and government in developing community tourism, Quy Chau will soon be one of the ideal destinations for tourists.

South Scene