Duong Lam ancient village attracts visitors with its farm activities

Foreign tourists experience farm work.

In addition to walking around this village, visitors have a chance to learn about agricultural practices, enjoy local cuisine, and explore cultural heritage values.

Nguyen Dang Thao, head of the Duong Lam Ancient Village Relics Management Board, said that boasting typical features of a rural village with an agricultural lifestyle, Duong Lam is a popular destination among both domestic and foreign visitors.

To sustainably develop tourism, the management board has designed a variety of products in which travellers can try such as making candy, cakes, and "tuong" (a salty paste made from fermented soybean), engage in agricultural activities, and experience creative spaces. Of which, farm experiences are suitable for international visitors and students of international schools in Hanoi and have left good impression on them, Thao continued.

He said foreign visitors are very interested in exploring the agricultural life in Duong Lam. They want to see with their own eyes and experience ploughing and cultivating rice, so local farmers are arranged to give a demonstration and then tourists are invited to join in the activities with farmers serving as their instructors.

After touring the ancient village in the morning and getting experience of farmwork in the afternoon, tourists are introduced to traditional dishes. In the evening, they can participate in cultural and musical activities. Next morning, they can go to experience the local market. The two-day tour helps enhance the experience for visitors and encourage them to stay here longer.

According to Thao, in the past, the farm experience tour in Duong Lam was mainly chosen by international schools for their students, but now it is favoured by foreign visitors. Therefore, instead of providing services at tourists' request, the management board has proactively developed products to offer to travel firms and schools.

Since the beginning of this year, the management board has organised more than 30 delegations to experience farming activities in the village, he said, adding that the number of visitors booking tours of the village is expected to increase in the coming time.

Just 44km away from Hanoi’s centre, Duong Lam boasts typical features of a rural village in the Red River Delta with giant banyan trees, fresh water wells, a communal house, along with 956 antique houses dating back 100 - 400 years.

In 2006, it became the first ancient village in Vietnam to be recognised as a national historical and cultural relic site.

Last year, the village welcomed about 650,000 visitors - the highest so far. In 2018 - 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, it attracted only 50,000 - 60,000 tourists a year, Thao noted.