Exploring Ninh Binh countryside

Van Long Natural Reserve is located in Gia Van commune, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province. Arriving at Van Long stilt house, let’s take a bike to visit small villages, pagodas and markets (7km away). Cau Vang village, Gia Hoa commune is place where visitors can join in various agricultural producing activities: catching fish; transplant rice seeding or vegetable seeding… Back to Van Long stilt house, it’s time to try to be a chef.

Apart from bikes, wagons or ox carts are main transportation from Van Long pier to Van Long stilt house. These rudimental vehicles have been used for transferring visitors between destinations and discovering wild life.

Five-commune tour comprising of Phu Long, Chi Le, Mai Trung, Tap Ninh, Trung Hoa provides tourists a chance to live in unique ancient Northern houses and directly take part in daily routines of farmers. For examples, hooking crab; raising the fishing net; using “gau song” to slap water… They are with local’s mill rice, cooking rice together. Peaceful life as well as beautiful landscapes attracts tourists, especially foreign ones the most.

Not only Ninh Binh but others provinces in Red River Delta and Northen Coast remain cultural historic values. Thanks to festivals, a wide range of folk games has been reappeared and developed: cheo performance, water puppet performance, unicorn dance, senh tien performance, clay firecracker, competition with stilts… Especially, water puppet performance is an unique art category of Red River Delta, which was resulted from intelligence and creativity of our ancestors.

Otherwise, visitors can also explore various trade villages in Northern area, including: knitting, pottery, silk weaving, palm-leaf conical hat making… These simple but interesting activities will impress even the most demanding visitors.

Hoa Trang