The magnificent terraced rice fields, also called ladders to the heaven,
with ripening paddy grains of ethnic minority people in Yen Bai
province’s Mu Cang Chai district or Ha Giang province’s Hoang Su Phi
district have attracted a large number of tourists, tour operators said.
As one of the most popular destinations of the
northwest, Mu Cang Chai terraced fields, which have been cultivated by
the H’mong people for hundreds of years, have long been known by local
adventurers and foreign travelers because of the fields’ spectacular
beauty.
Terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai are
beautiful all the year round. Visitors in March are treated to the sight
of glittering ponds. Locals transplant rice seedlings from April to
May. After that, all hills are covered by an everlasting green. The
fields start to turn yellow with ripe rice from early September.
The fields are visible from virtually everywhere in the district as
they expand over 2,200ha, including around 500ha in Che Cu Nha, La Pan
Tan and De Xu Phinh communes. Those in these villages were recognised as
a national heritage in 2007 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Tourism.
Journeying to Mu Cang Chai, tourists will
be dazzled when they witness the breathtaking scene of immense terraced
fields. Apart from the fields, they can watch daily activities of ethnic
minority people in the mountainous region. Women usually sit on
pathways to sew and look after their cows grazing nearby.
Mu Cang Chai, which is itself a quiet district on the bank of the Nam
River, is blessed with beautiful flora and fauna and outstanding
geographic features, including vast mountain ranges with high peaks
which have protected the people for ages.
Tran The
Dung, deputy director of Young Generation Travel Co., was quoted by
Vietnam Net newspaper as saying that the firm has taken many groups of
tourists from Ho Chi Minh City to Hoang Su Phi, Mu Cang Chai and Ban
Gioc Waterfall (Cao Bang province) in the past 20 days.
At Fiditour Co., the number of tourists buying the five-day tour to
Viet Phu Thanh Chuong, Muong Lo, Mu Cang Chai, Sapa and Muong Hoa has
also increased by around 25 percent year-on-year.
According to Pham Viet Phuong, head of the travel office at Yen Bai
province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the number of
tourists visiting terraced rice fields at this time of the year is
higher than last year. “Hotels have more tourists, local people sell
more souvenirs,” he told Vietnam Net.
Yen Bai has
yet to have official statistics on the number of tourists, but there
were around 3,000 tourists flocking to Mu Cang Chai in late last month
to admire terraced rice fields and join activities of the Culture, Sport
and Tourism Week of Mu Cang Chai Terraced Field held in Mu Cang Chai
district from September 26-29 to mark 55 years since President Ho Chi
Minh visited the province.-VNA