(VOVworld)- Vietnam’s tourism industry has developed new and exotic tours to attract more tourists helping them to learn more about Vietnam’s land and people. Discovery Vietnam today takes you on tours of rural Vietnam.

Hanoi is the first leg for many tourists visiting Vietnam. Since early this year, the number of tourists to Hanoi has increased sharply, reaching more 8.33 million in the first half of the year, up 23% against the same period last year. Of the figure, international tourists numbered more than 1 million, up 20%. Mai Tien Dung, Deputy Director of Hanoi’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, says Hanoi natural beauty and historical values inspire a lot of tourists. "Hanoi, with its 1000 year old history, has rich natural resources and potential for historical tourism. Since the city was expanded, it has been added with more natural landscapes such as Huong Son and Ba Vi mountain. This has contributed to the city’s tourism development", said Mr. Dung..

Hanoi offers tourists a wide range of choices. Therefore, travel companies often take Hanoi and Ha Long Bay as the centers to develop other tours around these two places. This year, Viet Vision Travel Company has opened many tours of exploring Vietnamese identity, which has been applauded by a lot of tourists. "We offer tours from one to 4 days. 3-day tour is the most popular because tourists can have enough time to discover Vietnamese people’s identity. Taking one day tour, tourists can travel Da river lake, Thac Bo temple and Muong ethnic minority cultural museum. Two day tours will take tourists from Hanoi to Dong Trieu- Quang Ninh. Tourists will spend a night with local people and on the second day, they cycle around villages in Dong Trieu and after that leave for Halong Bay. We also offer tours of northeast Hanoi. Leaving Hanoi, tourists will travel to Lang lake in Soc Son, then go to Tan Yen Bac Giang. On the next day, they will go to Phu Lang ceramic village, then Hai Duong and then Halong Bay. Both domestic and foreign tourists are very interested in these tours", said Le Quang Dao, the Company’s Director.
Tourists to Hanoi can also spend sometime driving motorbikes or cycling to Duong Lam ancient village or other villages along the Red River Delta. In Hanoi’s countryside, tourists can learn more about traditional culture of Vietnamese people, which has been preserved for several years. Ancient houses in Duong Lam village is an attraction for tourists. "The architecture of all the houses there is the same, with rows of columns and spans. In the past, only wealthy people or landlords could build such big houses. The big wooden house often has 5 or 7 spans with 2 wings. The houses of civilian and military mandarins are often different to each other. In a civilian mandarin’s house, there are many horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences while in a military mandarin’s house, either dragon-shaped patterns or contemporary designs dominate", said Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, tour guide of Duong Lam Ancient Village Management Board.

Cuisine in Duong Lam village is also unique as local people prepare ingredients and cook by themselves. "'The first time I visited Đường Lâm, I was impressed by the scenery but the local people didn’t know how to give guided tours. It has changed now. There are many old and traditional houses there and more importantly, the villagers know their own culture and customs very well, so they guide any visitors. Besides, I’m very interested in locally-made dishes. I like the local confectionary such as the peanut and sesame sweets, the ‘Chè lam’ made of roasted sticky rice powder, ginger, peanuts, and malt and the soft green lentil cakes', said Aiko, a Japanese volunteer..

Within on day, tourists from Hanoi can also visit craft villages on the city’s outskirts such as Ha Thai lacquer village in Thuong Tin, Phu Vinh rattan weaving village in Chuong My, or Vac- a bird net making village in Thanh Oai, Thiet Ung wood carving village in Dong Anh or Ha Dong silk village. Each trip will certainly bring tourists an interesting experience as each village has its own unique identity.  

Lan Anh