Visit Hai Duong to discover the serene and profound beauty of the 'Land of the East'
WVR - With its long-standing history, ancient relics, traditional craft villages, and unique cuisine, Hai Duong promises to offer visitors unforgettable experiences.
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| Hai Duong is an attractive destination for cultural and spiritual tourism. (Photo: Mai Huong) ải Dương là điểm đến du lịch văn hóa tâm linh hấp dẫn. Ảnh: Mai Hương |
Rich historical and cultural heritage
Hai Duong, a province located at the northeastern gateway of Vietnam, stands out not only for its favourable trading position but also for its wealth of cultural, historical, and natural heritage. The tourism potential of Hai Duong is gradually being awakened, promising to become an attractive destination for both domestic and international tourists.
In 2025, Hai Duong province is placing special emphasis on comprehensively improving the material and spiritual quality of life for its people, while building a progressive and culturally rich environment that reflects the distinctive identity of the “Land of the East.”
Currently, Hai Duong has over 2,000 historical and scenic sites, including 141 nationally recognized relics and 4 special national heritage zones. These include: the Con Son – Kiep Bac historical site, the An Phu – Kinh Chu – Nham Duong complex, the Mao Dien Temple of Literature, and the historical and architectural complex of Xua Temple – Giam Pagoda – Bia Temple. These represent significant potential for Hai Duong to develop cultural and spiritual tourism.
According to the Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee, in recent years, the province has not only focused on economic development but has also placed special emphasis on preserving and promoting traditional cultural values. This has been achieved through heritage conservation activities, the organization of festivals, and investment in cultural tourism, which have attracted a large number of domestic and international visitors.
On May 16, at the Special National Historical Site of Con Son – Kiep Bac (Chi Linh City), the Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organized the 2025 edition of the program “A Day of Discovering Vietnam.” The event was one of the year’s most prominent cultural diplomacy activities, aimed at promoting the image of Vietnam and its people to the international community. The Yen Tu – Vinh Nghiem – Con Son, Kiep Bac complex is currently being prepared by Vietnam for nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
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| Hai Duong promotes the heritage values of Con Son – Kiep Bac in the 2025 cultural diplomacy program. (Photo: Hai Duong Province Portal) |
Mr. Nguyen Minh Hung, Vice Chairman of the Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee, said that the authorities and people of the three provinces—Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, and Bac Giang—have always united and made great efforts to preserve and promote both the tangible and intangible heritage values of the Yen Tu – Vinh Nghiem – Con Son, Kiep Bac complex.
This is not only a valuable heritage of Vietnam, but also of great significance to the global community. Submitting the nomination dossier to UNESCO for recognition of the complex as a World Heritage Site is a important move to spread the values of national culture, while also affirming Vietnam’s responsibility in preserving and promoting the shared heritage of humanity.
On May 24, the Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee officially recognized the Thanh Hai Water Puppetry Troupe (Thanh Hai Commune, Thanh Ha District) as a provincial-level tourist attraction, marking a significant step forward in the effort to preserve and promote the locality’s unique intangible cultural heritage.
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| On May 24, the Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee officially recognized the Thanh Hai Water Puppetry Troupe (Thanh Hai Commune, Thanh Ha District) as a provincial-level tourist attraction. (Photo: Van Hiep) |
Currently, the Thanh Hai Water Puppetry Troupe brings together more than 20 performing artisans, many of whom are elderly and highly experienced. These artists not only perform locally but also regularly tour other provinces and abroad, contributing to the promotion of Vietnamese culture on the international stage.
In Hai Duong, several traditional festivals have been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as national intangible cultural heritage, including the Con Son Festival and Kiep Bac Festival (Chi Linh City), the Trinh Xuyen Communal House Festival, the Tranh Temple Festival (Ninh Giang District), and the Cao An Phu Temple Festival (Kinh Mon Town), among others. In recent years, these festivals have been studied and enhanced, with improvements made to both ceremonial and festive elements.
In addition, the quality of tourism services in Hai Duong has been continuously improved. The province has developed guided tour scripts for 19 tourist sites and destinations, aiming to introduce and promote the unique features and cultural value of each location to visitors from all over. Public security and environmental hygiene are well maintained. As a result, the number of tourists visiting local sites continues to rise year after year.
Tourism on the rise
According to the Hai Duong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, Hai Duong welcomed 454,350 visitors — an increase of over 48% compared to the same period in 2024. Cultural and historical sites were among the most popular attractions for tourists.
The Con Son – Kiep Bac Special National Historical Site (Chi Linh City) alone welcomed nearly 30,000 visitors. The two other special national heritage sites — the Xua Temple – Giam Pagoda – Bia Temple complex and the Mao Dien Temple of Literature (Cam Giang District) — attracted more than 7,000 visitors. The An Phu – Kinh Chu – Nham Duong special national relic complex (Kinh Mon Town) also received nearly 7,000 visitors.
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| The 2025 Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival features many exciting activities: Visitors join the spring festivities in Con Son. (Photo: Hai Duong Newspaper) |
Visitors to Hai Duong are impressed by its traditional festivals, customs, and the way of life of local communities — both past and present. These festivals are deeply rooted in history, tradition, religious beliefs, and honour the contributions of national heroes and scholars in the building and defense of the country.
With its unique cultural heritage and traditional craft villages, Hai Duong is steadily establishing its place on Vietnam’s tourism map.
Thanks to its inherent potential, Hai Duong has many opportunities to develop tourism in a modern and professional direction, with distinctive and attractive tourism products — particularly in the areas of cultural and eco-tourism. The province is also actively strengthening connections with other localities in the Red River Delta and beyond, aiming to form inter-provincial and intra-provincial cultural and ecological tourism routes.
As a province located in the Red River Delta region, in addition to its well-known natural beauty, Hai Duong has long been famous for its many traditional craft villages with a long history of formation and development. This is one of the province’s key strengths in promoting tourism development.
The province has implemented policies to preserve and maintain traditional craft villages while also encouraging the establishment of new ones. As a result, these villages have contributed to the economic growth of their localities in particular and of the province as a whole.
When visiting these craft villages, tourists have the opportunity to witness firsthand the meticulous processes involved in creating handmade artisan products, crafted by the skillful hands of folk artisans. Visitors gain a deeper understanding of how these products are made and learn about the history of the craft villages.
Experts emphasize the importance of protecting, restoring, and embellishing cultural and historical relics, as well as reviving and developing traditional folk cultural activities in craft village areas. These efforts help establish a distinct cultural identity for each village, thereby enhancing their appeal to tourists.
In line with modern tourism trends, visitors today not only want to observe and purchase products, but also seek hands-on experiences—learning craft-making skills and creating their own products. Craft villages are also encouraged to collaborate more closely with one another to fully tap into their untapped potential. At the same time, there should be a focus on training and developing local tourism personnel to build a capable on-site tourism workforce.
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| Stork Island is a famous tourist destination in Hai Duong Province. (Photo: Ngo Huy Hoa) |
With its long-standing history, ancient relics, traditional craft villages, and unique cuisine, Hai Duong promises to offer visitors unforgettable experiences. The province is taking steady steps in developing tourism, with a focus on leveraging cultural and historical values and creating distinctive tourism products. Investment in infrastructure, improvements in service quality, and diversification of tourism offerings will help Hai Duong become an even more attractive destination in the future.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, Director of Hai Duong’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, emphasized that to better tap into tourism potential, the province must focus on effectively implementing Resolution No. 40/2024/NQ-HDND dated December 11, 2024, issued by the Provincial People’s Council. This resolution outlines several policy measures to support tourism development in Hai Duong for the 2025–2030 period, aiming to build and upgrade infrastructure at tourist sites to meet the needs of both locals and visitors.
“In addition, policies are needed to attract major corporations and well-known enterprises to invest in the development of tourism-related services and recreational activities. This will help transform tourism into a key economic sector that contributes to the province’s revenue,” the Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism stressed.
With its strengths in historical relics, traditional craft villages, rich natural landscapes, and diverse cultural heritage, Hai Duong offers vast opportunities for tourism development. Investment in infrastructure, enhanced service quality, and effective promotion will help position Hai Duong as an attractive destination, contributing to the overall growth of Vietnam’s tourism industry.
By harmoniously blending deep-rooted cultural traditions with rich tourism potential, Hai Duong is poised to offer visitors meaningful journeys of discovery and unforgettable experiences.
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