The Hanoi Tourism Department and Ba Vi District authorities launched the community-based tourism area called Ban Mien (Mien Village).

Inauguration of the community-based tourist village on April 26. Photo: Hoai Nam/The Hanoi Times

The community-based tourist village is located in Hop Son Hamlet, Ba Vi Commune, Ba Vi District.

Touring the village will offer travelers some time to feel calm, tranquility, peace, and positivity.

One of the main activities is a bike ride around the village to get in touch with nature and its vibrancy.

Travelers will also visit herb gardens cultivated by local Dao Quan Chet (Dao ethnic people who wear tight pants) and learn about the positive effects of herbs on both physical and mental health.

They will also be able to learn the process of growing herbal plants and producing medicines in the traditional way that has existed for hundreds of years.

Herbal medicines are used in experimental services for tourists such as skin care, health, and food.

Travelers experience traditional dances in the tourist village. Photo: Hoai Nam/The Hanoi Times

During their visit, tourists will enjoy stage shows performed by local artists to recreate ancient rituals, ceremonies, and activities of the local Dao people.

Dang Huong Giang, Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, said the community-based tourist village has been widely accepted and supported by the people of Hop Son hamlet.

"We hope that by experimenting with a community-based tourist village, we will be able to better preserve and promote local culture, particularly herbal cultivation and medicine making.

Mien Village, the community-based tourism area, was created through the determination and resilience of local authorities and people, said Do Manh Hung, Chairman of the Ba Vi District People's Committee.

The local authorities have also set up a management board and are drawing up rules to run and develop the community-based tourist village.

A local family making herbal medicines. Photo: Lam Nguyen/The Hanoi Times

"The emergence of the Mien Village tourism area is an important event that will provide great momentum for sustainable socio-economic development in the area based on local cultures and the spiritual strength of the people," he said.

It has also provided another option for tourists arriving in Hanoi and Ba Vi District. The model is expected to help attract more Vietnamese and foreign travelers to the capital and the district. 

Hop Son Hamlet is located in the mountainous Ba Vi Commune, Ba Vi District. It takes travelers almost two hours to get there by car from central Hanoi.

The hamlet is home to the Dao Quan Chet people, a branch of the Dao ethnic group in Vietnam.

The locals are known for their herbal production and the hamlet was recognized as a Traditional Handicraft Village in 2021.