(HBO) - Though Cao Phong, like other districts of Hoa Binh, has cancelled annual festivals in response to COVID-19, tourist attractions and religious sites remain open in the district to welcome visitors.
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Visitors to Bong Lai Temple comply with COVID-19 preventive rules.
Hoang Thi Van, a resident in Dan Chu ward, Hoa Binh city, always visits Bong
Lai Temple in Cao Phong on the first days of the New Lunar Year.
She said unlike previous years, the temple was quiet this year because of few
visitors. People were not allowed to go inside the temple, instead they could
only offer incense to pray for luck and peace at the entrance, she said, adding
that free masks and hand sanitiser were provided at the entrance while the
temple operator regularly reminded visitors of adhering to COVID-19 prevention
rules via loudspeakers.
Passenger ship services in Thung Nai were reopened on the third day of lunar
January to serve visitors to Ba Chua Thac Bo Temple. One of the ship owners
said as COVID-19 prevention regulations ban gatherings of many people, all
ships here only let onboard a small number of passengers and strictly complied
with COVID-19 preventive regulations, including only receiving local visitors,
and getting passengers to wear masks and use hand sanitiser.
Bui Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of the district’s People’s Committee, said Cao
Phong has rigorously enforced measures to prevent the spread of the novel
coronavirus, including cancellation of various cultural, sports and tourism
events and strict penalties handed down to violators.
It has also called on the locals to avoid mass gatherings, practice distancing,
disinfect their houses, install the contact tracing app Bluezone, voluntarily
complete health declarations, and others, he noted.
Home to a number of renowned religious sites, such as the temples of Ba Chua
Thac Bo, Bong Lai and Dong Son, and the pagodas of Khanh and Quen Ang, Cao
Phong is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Hoa Binh on the
occasion of the Lunar New Year.
According to its division for culture and sports, visitor arrivals to local
religious sites during the Lunar New Year 2021 were only equivalent to 20
percent of last year’s figure./.
Spanning thousands of hectares and winding gracefully along mountain slopes, hillsides, and riverbanks, the terraced rice fields of Lac Son District present a stunning and captivating beauty. This region, renowned for its remarkable terraced landscapes, is also the centre of Hoa Binh Culture known for numerous archaeological sites.
The life of Mong people in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes of Mai Chau district has improved much thanks to tourism development.
The man-made Hoa Binh Lake, with a water surface area of approximately 9,000 hectares and a capacity of 9.45 billion cubic meters, stretches over 200 kilometers from Hoa Binh to Son La provinces. With the goal of developing into a national tourism area, the Hoa Binh Lake tourism area is expected to not only become the largest tourism centre in the province but also one of the 12 key tourist destinations in the northern midland and mountainous region of Vietnam.
Da Bia hamlet, now Duc Phong, in Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, was once almost isolated from the outside as the only way to the hamlet was to get a boat ride across the Hoa Binh reservoir. However, as its tourism potential has been unleashed, the hamlet has established itself as one of the most attractive destinations on the tourism map. It has even received the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Awards in 2019.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province welcomed over 684 thousand visitors to visit and relax. In which, over 516 thousand domestic visitors and more than 168 thousand international visitors. Total revenue from tourism is estimated at over 821 billion VND.
Da Bac district, bestowed with stunning landscapes, is developing ecological and resort tourism offerings. Several tourist sites, put into operation this year, has attracted throngs of high-spending and young domestic visitors.
