The mountainous district of Bac Yen, blessed with majestic mountains, a cool climate, a “sea” of white clouds, and unique traditional cultures of ethnic communities, is working to gradually turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector and make it develop sustainably. Its tourist attractions include Ta Xua, "Dinosaur's spine", A Phu couple cave, and Xim Vang terraced fields.
Ta Xua cloud paradise.
The district Party Organisation has implemented a tourism development project for the 2021-2025 period, aiming to create a destination image and tourism brand bearing the unique characteristics of Bac Yen; develop tourism towards a green and sustainable direction, associated with preserving and promoting traditional cultural values; and enhance connectivity with key tourist areas of the province and the country. It also strives to be recognised as a provincial tourist area.
The district has focused on surveying and comprehensively assessing tourism potential to clearly identify strengths, increasing the efficiency of investments, and building distinctive tourism products. It has also proposed the province invest in upgrading main traffic routes, increasing connectivity, and attract investment resources to develop infrastructure, while promoting and introducing tourism potential and strengths, and shaking hands with districts inside and outside the province to build inter-district and inter-provincial tours and routes.
In addition, the district has paid attention to preserving and maintaining traditional crafts, such as forging, panpipe making, and Hang Chu wine brewing of the Mong people, and bamboo and rattan product making of the Muong and Thai people; and recreating the Xen festival of the Thai ethnic group in Pac Nga commune and the praying for a bumper harvest festival of the Dao ethnic group in Phieng Con commune. It has also maintained the organisation of culture and sports festivals in Hang Chu and Chieng Sai communes, a boat race in Song Pe commune, a Thai xoe dance festival in Muong Khoa commune, and a festival in the hometown of A Phu couple annually. Efforts have been made to develop its typical products, with four 4-star and seven 3-star OCOP products.
Moreover, Bac Yen has signed memoranda of understanding with Muong La district, and Yen Bai’s Mu Cang Chai, Tram Tau and Van Chan districts on cooperation in agricultural and tourism development associated with preservation of ethnic culture.
Since 2023, the district has welcomed over 222,000 visitors, with revenue reaching 124.4 billion VND (4.94 million USD). With the engagement of the local Party Committee and authorities, promoting the advantages of natural conditions and the sincerity and hospitality of its people, Bac Yen is becoming an attractive destination, contributing to making it a developed district of the province.