Close to Hanoi, Con Son is both beautiful and historic, yet left off the majority of tourist itineraries. Pine forests, hundreds of years old, sweep down the mountain ranges to ancient pagodas and the views from the mountain top are spectacular.
™
The main draw of Con Son is Con Son mountain and the 13th century pagoda that sits as its base. One of the three centres of the Buddhist Truc Lam Trinity during the Tran Dynasty, the pagoda underwent restorations during the 17th and 18th centuries.
On the flat top of the mountain is the "White Cloud Temple", farther up sits the legendary "Fairy Chessboard"
The story goes that visitors arrived at the pagoda one clear day in autumn. They stayed the night then trekked to the mountain the following morning. Hearing laughter as they ascended they expected to see others atop the mountain. Upon arrival the scene was empty save for a chessboard left amid a game. The visitors concluded that some heavenly deities must have descended from the clouds to play, but flew back when they heard others approach.
The climb up Con Son Mountain isn't exactly arduous, but you'd be lucky not to break a sweat on a hot day. The 600 step, 200 metre incline, littered with sweet papers and empty bins disguised as tree trunks, is popular with Vietnamese and the odd foreigner and small confectionery stands selling water and soft drinks in old glass bottles dot the path
The view is worth the trek. Serene rather than spectacular, it looks down the mountain and over peaceful countryside and rice fields.
The Kiep Bac festival, held during the eighth lunar month, is of especial interest. It celebrates the victories of one of history's greatest generals, General Tran Hung Dao.
Con Son is an easy day trip from the capital. Those unafraid of adventurous driving can catch a bus from Gia Lam bus station to Hai Duong City and 황제투어 take taxis or motorbike taxis from there.
In the past few years, besides tombs, temples, pagodas, etc.,village travel has attracted many foreign visitors. What is the reason for this attraction?
Going with a group to visit Thanh Toan village, we got acquainted with a young American girl asking about her reason for this visit, she said: "The air is fresh, the village is peaceful and remains its soul of Vietnam. With this short tour, I think I understand more about local people, their working day, their relationship etc... It is very interesting to explore a different culture in a typical village like this by yourself". A French visitor shared her thinking: "I can not expect more! Modernization sometimes makes us bored, what we want to do is to explore and experience ourselves. This is a full feature of small Vietnam, I think I have become a Vietnamese even in a short day".
Hue is very rich in culture which has a deep influence on the life-style of surrounding villages. I think that tourism should not be rigid. Mixture of destinations including village visiting is a good way to introduce and to help foreign visitors have a better view over Vietnam people, culture and history. Each countryside has its own features including villages. Like foreign friends, many Vietnamese people living in cities often come back their villages where they were born and brought up in the weekend as a short vacation to find peace and breathe in fresh air.
Vietnam is on the move but traditional value of many villages has not changed.