Pilot sightseeing tours open at Ban Gioc-Detian Waterfall scenic area
The pilot sightseeing tours at Ban Gioc (Vietnam) – Detian (China) Waterfall scenic area that straddles the Vietnam-China border, officially opened for both countries’ visitors on September 15.
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| Leader of Cao Bang Province speak at the ceremony. (Photo: NDO) |
This is the first joint scenic area on the Vietnam-China border put into operation. Ban Gioc - Detian Waterfall flows through Vietnam’s northern border province of Cao Bang and China’s Guangxi. It is expected to boost tourism and exchange activities, as well as the development of a border of peace, friendship, and mutual development between the two countries.
Accordingly, the opening time for tourists to visit is 9 am (Hanoi time) or 10 am (Beijing time). The time to stop customs clearance procedures for groups of tourists is at 2 pm (Hanoi time) or 3 pm (Beijing time). The groups must return to their country's landscape area at 4 pm (Hanoi time) or 5 pm (Beijing time).
Tourists from China go to the scenic area of Vietnam according to the route: the scenic area checkpoint-foot of Ban Gioc Waterfall-Saigon Ban Gioc Hotel-food and service area-returning to the checkpoint and exit to the Chinese side’s scenic area.
Meanwhile, tourists from Vietnam will pass through the scenic checkpoint to Detian Waterfall, shopping street, routes for electric vehicles, riverside pedestrian routes, and then come back to the checkpoint and exit to the Vietnamese side’s scenic area.
The duration of each group's stop at the opposite side should not exceed five hours. Tourists are required to use their passports or entry/exit permits to enter the scenic areas on both sides.
During the first three months of the pilot operation period, the number of each group from each side will not exceed 10 groups per day and each group has up to 20 people.
From the fourth month onwards until the end of the pilot period, the number of tourists crossing the border on each side will not exceed 500 people per day. During the pilot operation, tourists from the third country are not allowed to travel to the scenic area.
The Vietnamese side must purchase insurance for tourists before entering the Chinese scenic area. Meanwhile, tourists from China entering the Vietnamese side are required to purchase tickets for 70,000 VND (2.9 USD) per person per visit, inclusive of insurance and exclusive of other service fees.
The pilot tours will be operated within one year, from September 15, 2023, to September 14, 2024. After the pilot operation period ends, the two sides will evaluate whether to proceed to official operation.
Speaking at the ceremony, Miao Qingwang, Vice Chairman of the People's Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said, the event is of important and profound significance in tourism cooperation across the Vietnam-China border.
The Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is ready to exchange delegations for cultural and tourism exchanges and promote cooperation in tourism development with Cao Bang Province of Vietnam, he added.
Trinh Truong Huy, Vice Chairman of Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee, stressed that the pilot operation of the scenic area has strongly promoted tourism cooperation and friendly exchanges between the people of both localities.
Immediately after the opening ceremony, groups of tourists from Vietnam and China completed exit procedures to visit the scenic area.
(NDO)
