Khe Phuong village (Ky Thuong commune, Ha Long city, Quang Ninh) is about 2 hours drive from Ha Long city center. This place is surrounded by high rugged mountains and vast green forests, wild scenery, fresh and cool air, in contrast to the noise and bustle of the city.
More than 10 years ago, the people of Khe Phuong village lived in a rugged area with difficulty in transportation and communication. Therefore, life is always surrounded by poverty.
Mr. Linh Du Hong, Party Secretary, Chairman of Ky Thuong Commune People’s Committee shared that Khe Phuong used to be the “No 5” village of the commune: No electricity, no roads, no clean water, no broadcasting station, no solid school. However, all those difficulties have become a thing of the past, the dream of straight concrete roads and phone signals spreading throughout the village has become a reality. Now, the people of Khe Phuong can focus on production, rekindling hope for a brighter, more prosperous future.
Quickly wiping the sweat pouring from his forehead, Mr. Ban Van Vi (head of Khe Phuong village) attentively cooked local specialties to serve the tourist group. Seeing me, Mr. Vi called out: “Wait for me, it’s almost done, now there’s a customer coming down from Hanoi so I’m a bit busy.” As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Vi smiled widely, a smile that has become the “trademark” of the village chief in his early 30s.
Under a stilt house made from fragrant rose wood, Mr. Ly Tai Ngan (former head of Khe Phuong village) is leading tourists to experience the services at the tourism model amidst the mountains and forests.
Since the merger of Hoanh Bo into Ha Long City (January 2020), Mr. Vi, Mr. Ngan and a number of households in the commune have cherished the plan to develop an eco-tourism model to welcome tourists. Accordingly, the young village leaders with the same idea bought wood from households in the village to build stilt houses.
The community tourism model called Ky Thuong Am Vap Farm was born from the bold investment and daring of Mr. Vi and the people who have a strong love for this beautiful land.
The scale of Am Vap Farm is only about 300 square meters, which is also the yard area of village head Vi’s house. After 2 years, Mr. Ngan, Mr. Vi and 4 other friends built 2 stilt houses with 4 collective accommodation rooms, with a maximum capacity of about 40 people, and a wooden restaurant. The unique cultural features through costumes and working tools of the Dao people are cleverly arranged here.
With the cooperation of local people, stilt houses following the architecture of ethnic minorities gradually took shape. Along with that, the colorful flower garden is also cared for and watered every day by the people in the village, turning this place into a check-in spot for tourists.
On weekends, Khe Phuong village is bustling with the voices and laughter of tourists. Since mid-2022, this place has become a “fever” destination for tourists, especially backpackers, family groups, friend groups.
Coming to Khe Phuong, visitors can admire the majestic and spacious natural beauty with bamboo forests and primeval guava forests preserved by the Dao people, row boats on small streams and enjoy dishes from stream fish, stream snails, upland taro, local chicken…, soaked and bathed with Dao medicinal herbs…
Former head of Khe Phuong village, Mr. Ly Tai Ngan is currently the Director of Am Vap Farm Company said: “At first, people were not very supportive. However, when tourists came here, people could sell upland taro, vegetables, honey… directly to tourists, so people in the village gradually became very supportive. The people also pick medicinal leaves in the forest to supply to the company to generate more income.”
Community tourism is helping ethnic minorities improve their lives, communicate confidently, maintain environmental hygiene, food hygiene and safety, and most importantly, spread the unique cultural values of the community of local person.
Proactive and innovative in both thinking and working methods, the people of Khe Phuong in particular and Ky Thuong in general are making efforts day and night, working hard with the desire to combine community tourism with new rural construction. So that when envisioning Ky Thuong, visitors will enjoy tours connecting the forest – the sea, large park with the immense green color of the mountains and forests.
Tourism Information Technology Center
