Mekong delta tour

For over four decades, Nguyen Van Cong has been transforming ordinary garden shrubs into beautiful works of art. Cong, better known as Nam Cong, works out of his garden in Ben Tre Province’s Cho Lach District, where lately he’s been busy trimming weeping fig plants to resemble buffalo in honor this year’s zodiac animal. While Tet – the Vietnamese Lunar New Year – is typically Nam Cong’s busiest time of year, business has been slow over the past few months due to the COID-19 pandemic. “This year we made 14 buffaloes,” Nam Cong explained, adding that his age has also contributed to the work slowdown. “I’m retired now,” he told Tuoi Tre News . “Most of the work is done by my staff but sometimes I still step in to take care of some details.” Nguyen Van Cong, better known as Nam Cong, works on an ornamental buffalo made from weeping fig plants in his garden on January 30, 2021, in Cho Lach District, Ben Tre Province. Photo: Son Lam / Tuoi Tre News A pioneer … [Read more...] about Meet the Mekong Delta’s king of plant sculpting

Farmers harvest the winter-spring rice in Tiền Giang Province’s Gò Công Tây District. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Trí HCM CITY — Farmers in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, the country’s rice granary, are having a bumper winter-spring harvest and getting high prices for their grain. In Tiền Giang, farmers in the Gò Công freshwater zone have harvested around 4,000ha and got an average yield of 6.5 tonnes per hectare, 1.2 tonnes more than last year, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The zone, which comprises Gò Công Đông, Gò Công Tây and Chợ Gạo districts and Gò Công Town, is well known for growing fragrant and high-quality rice varieties for export. Nguyễn Văn Mẫn, the department director, said farmers there sowed more than 21,800ha of rice, or 96 per cent of the target, almost all of it with fragrant and high-quality varieties. Traders have been buying at the field at VNĐ8,600 per kilogramme, VNĐ1,900-2,000 higher than last year, … [Read more...] about Mekong Delta farmers get bumper harvest, high prices for winter-spring rice

A farmer in Vinh Long Province in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region has spent his lifetime savings to build an eye-catching yacht-shaped house out of pure nostalgia for his days as a sailor. Cao Van Nam, a-71-year-old man from Hoa Tinh Commune, Mang Thit District, built the house for VND5 billion (US$217,975). As a young man, Nam worked as a sailor for many years before immigrating to the United States with his family in 1990. Later, his love of the high seas was rekindled after travelling aboard a luxury cruise. Nam’s wife passed away in 2014, and the devoted husband felt it was his duty to repatriate her body to their hometown in Mang Thit. During the visit, the man decided to resettle in Vietnam and attempt to make a living by farming chicken and eel. Longing for his days travelling the ocean, Nam decided to build a yacht-shaped house. “At the end of 2018, I ordered a design team to map out a plan of the house,” said Nam. After multiple revisions to the plan, the … [Read more...] about Vietnamese farmer builds yacht-shaped house as ode to life on the high seas

The blooming season of chrysanthemums in Sa Đéc Flower Village attracts hundreds of visitors. VNA/VNS Photo by Chương Đài ĐỒNG THÁP — The People's Committee of the Mekong Delta province of Đồng Tháp has approved 14 new community-based tourism areas. The province has around 100 community-based tourism areas, mostly situated in Cao Lãnh and Sa Đéc cities, and Lai Vung, Tam Nông and Tháp Mười districts. “The province’s approval aims to turn Đồng Tháp into a popular and attractive destination for tourists and even tourism agencies,” Ngô Quang Tuyên, deputy director of the province’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, said. Tuyên said community-based tourism has been booming in the Mekong Delta. It has helped to promote the value of agricultural products, create more jobs in rural areas, and bring stable sources of income for local households. Only five households at the Tháp Mười Lotus Tourism Area in Tháp Mười District initially offered tourism services. But now … [Read more...] about Đồng Tháp adds 14 new community-based tourism areas

The Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed the establishment of a network of Ramsar sites and wetland reserves around Vietnam. A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO that came into force in 1975. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said creating such a network would contribute to promoting the implementation of the Ramsar Convention’s mission in Vietnam and on a global scale. According to the Vietnam Environment Administration, Vietnam has nine recognised Ramsar sites and has set up many wetlands with high biodiversity value. The country joined the Ramsar Convention in 1989, becoming the second of 50 countries around the world and the first in Southeast Asia to do so. It has … [Read more...] about Ministry proposes establishment of Ramsar site network