Breakthrough opportunity

Tay Yen Tu Festival, a tourist attraction in Tay Yen Tu commune. (Photo by The Dai)

With a large natural area of 132.57 km² and a population of more than 10,664 people, the commune not only inherits the spiritual cultural tradition from the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect but also possesses an important strategic position in the midland and mountainous region of the North. The event of UNESCO recognizing the Yen Tu-Vinh Nghiem-Con Son, Kiep Bac Complex as a world cultural heritage in early July 2025 has brought advantages to Tay Yen Tu. Not only a spiritual symbol, this heritage has become an economic "asset", promoting cultural-ecological tourism.

Not only that, the commune is located on the route connecting famous landmarks in the heritage complex, creating an attractive tourism chain. Moreover, inter-regional infrastructure projects such as Ring Road 4 and Gia Binh Airport are expected to shorten the distance, connecting Tay Yen Tu with the Capital region and neighboring provinces such as Quang Ninh and Hai Phong . These factors not only enhance the position but also open up a space for sustainable development, where digital economy and digital transformation become the main driving force, in line with the province's orientation.

In the context of Bac Ninh province aiming to become a centrally-run city, Tay Yen Tu commune has clearly identified the theme of the Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term: "Promoting the tradition and strength of great national unity, building a strong, streamlined, effective and efficient Party and political system; soon turning Tay Yen Tu commune into a ward in the direction of a green urban area, with comprehensive and sustainable development".

This reflects the aspiration to rise from a land rich in tradition but still facing many difficulties, with an initial poverty rate of up to 12.77%. Key tasks include promoting agricultural commodity production, growing medicinal herbs, large timber forests meeting international standards, and deep processing for export. At the same time, the commune focuses on two key areas: forest economy and spiritual-ecological tourism, combined with digital transformation through the "Digital Popular Education" movement...

One of the outstanding advantages of Tay Yen Tu is its abundant forestry resources, with more than 10,000 hectares of forestry land accounting for about 80% of the total agricultural land area. Forest economy is not only a pillar but also a success story of many households.

With a 3-hectare acacia hybrid forest, Ms. Hoang Thi Hoa's family in Thong Nhat village has turned the mountainous land into a stable source of income. After 4 years of planting, the acacia trees grow tall and straight, and according to her estimate, after a 5-year cycle, after deducting expenses, the family earns about 90 million VND/hectare. She and her husband also combine rice cultivation, raising 10 pigs and more than 300 commercial poultry.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hai, Head of Son Dong Inter-Commune Forest Protection Department, said that the commune has thousands of households getting rich thanks to the forest economy. In just 7 months of 2025, the commune planted more than 750 hectares of forest, harvested more than 516 hectares with an output of more than 63,600 m³ of wood, the forestry production value is estimated at more than 118.9 billion VND.

In addition to afforestation, forest product processing is becoming a driving force for growth, creating jobs and increasing product value. Currently, the commune has 18 wood processing facilities, processing and selling an average of 285,000 tons of wood of various types such as wood chips, peeled boards, sawn boards each year, bringing in hundreds of billions of VND in revenue. People also grow medicinal herbs and non-timber forest trees such as ginseng, do, chestnut, yam, morinda, gardenia, contributing to economic diversification and increasing sustainable income.

To fully exploit this potential, Tay Yen Tu commune is focusing on attracting investment in the 46-hectare Thanh Son Industrial Cluster. This is a strategic step to develop large-scale forest product processing factories and deep processing for export. The industrial cluster prioritizes projects producing refined wood, applying high technology, helping to increase the value of economic forests and create high-quality jobs.

Along with technical support for intensive cultivation to increase forest productivity and forest certification (so that wood products can be exported internationally), the commune encourages businesses to invest in processing medicinal materials, agricultural products and tourism. To date, the industrial-construction sectors have achieved an estimated production value of VND 95.8 billion (fixed price) in the period 2021-2025, with more than VND 90 billion mobilized for investment in transport infrastructure, irrigation and domestic water.

Tourism is also a breakthrough field, with Tay Yen Tu spiritual and ecological tourism area attracting more than 200,000 visitors/year. Highlights such as Hoa Nghiem bell tower, Trinh, Ha, Trung, Thuong, Dong pagoda system, along with modern cable cars, combined with community tourism in Ban Mau (Dao ethnic culture), Ba Tia and Dong Thong waterfalls, developing experiential tourism, linking with Quang Ninh and Hai Phong to create a northern tourism chain.

Comrade Le Duc Thang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tay Yen Tu commune, said: The local Party Committee and government have set many goals, which are to create a breakthrough in trade-services, industry, construction, and tourism; coordinate to quickly implement industrial cluster projects, expand investment in eco-tourism, community tourism, develop culture, arts, sports, and entertainment; focus on experiential tourism to exploit the advantages of the unique cultural values of the commune... In particular, the commune focuses on two key areas: forest economy and spiritual-ecological tourism.

DANG GIANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/co-hoi-dot-pha-post910833.html