What's interesting about Thai Nguyen?

“What’s interesting about Thai Nguyen?” – That was our question when joining the Heritage – Thai Nguyen photo tour group because before that, we only knew about Thai Nguyen with the famous Tan Cuong tea, with the Safe Zone (ATK) during the resistance war or the iron and steel industry. However, after 3 days of experience, this midland land was likened to a beautiful girl sleeping in the forest, slowly waking up.

After the summer rain, the trees were lush green along the winding path in Thai Hai village. The Tay people in the village welcomed us with cheerful eyes and gentle smiles as if meeting familiar friends returning from afar.

The first stop of the photo tour is also the place that leaves a deep cultural impression with stilt houses and unique community living customs. The village model with nearly 200 people living like a big family when eating together, producing together, spending together...

Children are taken care of in their studies, the elderly are cared for with medicine, women and men of working age are arranged to do production work or serve tourists visiting the village. Photographers had a valuable day of practical experience to compose vivid frames of the rhythm of life here: from activities of carrying water, cooking rice, weaving farming tools to customs of inviting guests to visit the house, then singing performances, and throwing con games...

The forecasted rains still worried us on our journey to compose at outdoor experience spots. Luckily, the second day started with the clear moments of a new day on Nui Coc Lake. A vast river area, mountains looming in the distance brought many lyrical shots of this legendary vast blue lake. The song still resonated when looking back at the creative results of the photographers that early morning:

Floating (oh) floating

Wobbly (oh) wobbly

The boat met a passenger who was sick with the wind.

The boat drifts, the boat drifts

The oars stir the deep blue water.

(Excerpt from Legend of Nui Coc by musician Pho Duc Phuong)

It is still the outdoor scenes that stir the souls of photographers when they visit the green, sloping tea hills or the Cua Tu stream with its rushing water after many heavy rains. The creative inspiration of the photo tour group is fully nurtured when the experiences are interspersed with stories about the people here.

This is the story of the female “captain” of the Hao Dat tea cooperative with a passion for developing clean tea material areas along with protecting the ecological environment, producing products that have received the National 5-star OCOP certification. This is a story revolving around the elaborate manual processing stages to produce tea buds, young tea buds, and famous tea products from the land of Tan Cuong tea.

That is the secret of preparation shared during an intimate meal with delicious dishes made from tea leaves, called by beautiful, curious names such as royal green tea, hidden gem in the clouds, braised fish with tea buds... That is the effort to build a homestay, promote to domestic and foreign tourists of young people working in tourism in Dai Tu district, where there is Cua Tu stream suitable for trekking routes for those who love wild nature.

There are still many stories and promises for us to return to Thai Nguyen to see this charming and hidden girl.

See you in Thai Nguyen on sunny days!

Heritage Magazine