Despite social distancing measures that ban people from travel, an online tour has taken visitors to discover the ancient royal capital city of Hoa Lu in Ninh Binh Province.
An initiative of the provincial Tourism Promotion Information Centre, the 30-minute tour, led by a speaker and a tour guide, has attracted more than 10,000 viewers when it was live-streamed on Sunday on the centre’s Facebook page. It has also received hundreds of shares and likes.
A speaker and a tour guide lead the debut online tour at Hoa Lu ancient capital in Ninh Binh on September 19. – Photo dulichninhbinh.com.vn
Located in Truong Yen Commune in Hoa Lu District, the 300-hectare area was chosen to be the first capital of Dai Co Viet (Great Viet, former name of current Viet Nam) by Emperor Dinh Tien Hoang when he acceded to the throne in 968.
The ancient capital – a political, economic and cultural centre of that time – existed for 42 years, until 1010, when Emperor Ly Thai To moved the capital to Thang Long (nowadays Ha Noi). It survived through three successive dynasties – Dinh, Early Le, and Ly.
Despite the challenges of time and many ups and downs of history, several historical relics have been preserved here. These include the protective citadel walls and the centuries-old temples to worship emperors Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh.
The existence of the ancient capital is part of the glorious Vietnamese history that is respected and admired by every Vietnamese person.
After the debut tour, the Ninh Binh Tourism Promotion Information Centre will continue to present other online tours at the province’s famous sightseeing spots such as Thai Vi Temple, Tam Coc – Bich Dong Tourism Site, Trang An scenic landscape complex, the Cuc Phuong National Park, and Thien Ha Cave.
Local specialities such as com chay (scorched rice with savoury dipping sauce), mam tep (baby shrimp paste) and mien luon (vermicelli with eels) will also be introduced during the food tours.
Ninh Binh’s famous dishes cooked from goat meat, especially the de u trau, a method of cooking in which the goat, after being slaughtered and cleaned, is stuffed with lemongrass and “buried” in a small heap of rice husks, which are then burned. The meat is cooked slowly by the long-lasting heat of rice husk ash, will feature in a food tour.
When watching the sightseeing and food tours, viewers can pose questions to the tour guide.
An aerial view of Tam Coc - Bich Dong Tourism Site in Ninh Binh Province. Online tours have been designed to introduce to visitors the province’s famous sightseeing spots and local specialties. – Photo baoninhbinh.org.vn
Director of the Tourism Promotion Information Centre Nguyen Van Minh said that the online tours offer viewers the chance to visit several sites of the province, promoting the provincial tourism sector.
“Online travel is becoming a new trend in many countries, as people can't get away due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We hope that when the pandemic is under control, with whatever they’ve learnt through the online tours, they will choose Ninh Binh for their offline trips,” he said.
People can enjoy the debut tour and other upcoming tours on Facebook page Trung Tam Thong Tin Xuc Tien Du Lich Ninh Binh.