The first mural zone was introduced at Man Thai Ward – an ancient fishing village since 1735 – in the Son Tra peninsula after five months of decoration, setting up the development of a community-based tourism project.
A painting decorates an old wall of a house in Man Thai Ward in Son Tra peninsula of Da Nang. Photo courtesy of Vo Dung
The mural zone, which included 40 paintings on 400m of the old walls in an alley of the coastal Tan An living quarter, was built as a check-in for tourists visiting the old fishing village as part of Son Tra peninsula tours.
A resident poses with a painting in an alley of Man Thai Ward in Son Tra District. The local community still preserves traditional festivals and fishing activities for decades. Photo courtesy of Vo Dung
In 2018, Da Nang included the preservation of ancient fishing villages of Man Thai, Phuoc My and Tho Quang as part of eco-tour destinations, traditional cultural performances, whale temples and crafts for tourism all ongoing in the villages and surrounding area.
Now only five per cent of the population in the village still do fishing, which is getting a boost from tourism.
Fishermen take short sea trips on coracles or use coastal fishing nets to make extra money. The local fishermen's community still hosts the annual Le Hoi Cau Ngu (Whale Worshipping Festival) in lunar February and has done for the past three decades.
The festivals, which were organised by fishing communities in Son Tra, Thanh Khe, Ngu Hanh Son and Lien Chieu, were recognised as a National Intangible Heritage in 2017.
Authorities of Son Tra District have also debuted its logo for tourism brands, with domestic and international promotion.
Fishermen collect fishing nets after a sea trip with a coracle on the beach of Man Thai in Da Nang. A bamboo coracle is used for short sea trips among fishermen in coastal villages. Photo courtesy of Quang Nguyen
Son Tra peninsula district is home to a 4,400ha nature reserve, with 287 species of animals and 985 species of plants.
A red-shanked douc langurs is snapped on Son Tra Nature Reserve in Da Nang. The primates were declared endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Photo courtesy of Bui Van Tuan
The reserve, 10km from the city centre, shelters more than 1,300 red-shanked douc langurs, declared endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2013.
It is a favourite destination, with 10,000 tourists visiting the reserve every month. Da Nang approved the plan to protect biodiversity in Son Tra Nature Reserve by 2030.