The Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourism Area in Vietnam's Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has been recognized by UNESCO as a "typical tourism area in the Asia-Pacific region," the only site in Asia given this honor. 

The news was released by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations.

Tuyen Lam Lake under the sun. Photo: moitruong.net

According to Nguyen Quoc Tuyen, Director of the Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourism Area Management Board, Tuyen Lam emerged as the only representative from Vietnam and Asia to be honored in the category of exemplary tourism destinations in the Asia-Pacific region, beating many strong competitors.

"Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourism Area was judged by the organizing committee to have met all the UNESCO criteria, contributing to sustainable economic development and promoting national cultural values," Tuyen said.

He stressed that the Tuyen Lam Lake National Tourism Area will represent the tourism sector of Lam Dong Province in its efforts to promote the local brand, image and quality tourism services worldwide.

The ceremony in honor of Tuyen Lam will be officially held on August 3 in New Delhi as part of the "Vietnam-India Cultural and Economic Exchange Forum."

The director said that the application for the title was submitted to UNESCO in March and has since gone through three rounds of selection, with the first two rounds involving the evaluation of applications and the third round conducted through online interviews.

A man rows his boat among trees overhanging the water on Tia Stream in Tuyen Lam Lake in Da Lat. Photo: Bui Van Hai

Tuyen Lam Lake, six kilometers south of Da Lat City, a famous tourist destination of Lam Dong, has a water surface of 350 hectares, into which the Tia Stream flows.

According to legend, it was named Tuyen Lam because of its magnificent surroundings, including a nearby stream and forest. In Chinese Vietnamese, the words for the stream and the forest are tuyen and lam, respectively. Tuyen Lam is a place where water and trees come together.

The lake and its surroundings have fresh air and a tranquil atmosphere. Visitors to the lake can enjoy unique types of tourism such as sightseeing, camping, trekking, fishing and other sports activities, especially eco-tourism. From above, Tuyen Lam is like a miniature ocean, with each island on the lake as a continent, and tourists will feel the immensity between the sky and the water's surface.