Do Son Beach

Known as the land of legends, Do Son carries with it the majestic, poetic beauty of a cloudy sky and water waves, recording the ancient legends of this place.

As a small peninsula due to the Dragon Mountains stretching out to the sea, Do Son is likened to a Dragon flanking the pearl Hon Dau Island. This pearl is currently the center of exploiting Do Son’s tourism potential.

4,000 years of history books from the time when King Hung founded the country have mentioned Do Son with the name Bo Thang Truyen. Some places call this mountain Cuu Long – nine dragons, the song says: “Nine children follow their mother closely. And the youngest one has an inhumane heart.”

Thanks to “the position of the mountain sticking its feet into the sea,” creating a special “charming country” landscape. By the 19th century, Do Son was built by the French into a famous resort for officers and the upper class. Ben Nghieng and Dau Island are part of the plan to build Hai Phong into an international seaport, the gateway to the East Sea of the North.

From Nghieng wharf, the cruise ship only took 10-15 minutes to take us to Hon Dau wharf (Hon Dau). The boat driver was cheerful, both driving and introducing Hon Dau. A rustic communication style typical of coastal people.

Getting off the train, we went to the Nam Hai Than Vuong temple located under the small canopy of ancient banyan trees. Legend has it that when King Tu Duc went to the North, his boat encountered big waves and stopped at the temple to pray and suddenly the sky cleared up. Every time people pass through here, they have to lower their sails to the island to burn incense and pray for a safe trip to the sea and to catch a lot of fish and shrimp.

Devotion to the gods is not only through the steaming incense smoke but also through the fact that tourists hardly dare to do any damage on the island. The primeval forests in Hon Dau are green in all seasons, creating a fresh space. Tourists enjoy the sound of wind and waves gently lapping on the rocky shore.

Following the small road 600m, I visited the more than hundred year old lighthouse known as the “jewel eye” of the Fatherland. The tower is as tall as a fortress rising up in the middle of the sacred island along with a lighthouse guiding ships. From the top, you can see a panoramic view of the peaceful Do Son tourist area along the long sandy beach.

If you want to enjoy the traditional culture of the coastal region, visitors can participate in the Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival on the 9th of the 8th lunar month every year. Bare buffaloes are selected and raised in separate cages. After the sacrificial ceremony, they became a symbol of people’s spirituality, beliefs and desires. If any village’s buffalo wins, the whole village will have good luck and good weather.

As soon as the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway came into operation, the number of tourists flocking to Do Son increased, accompanied by the construction of accommodation and culinary areas. The battle between tourism development and marine environmental protection has become more complicated than ever.

Do Son had to sacrifice some rights, allowing dikes to encroach on the sea to build resorts and resorts. This is to meet the diverse needs of visitors. Find solutions to harmonize tourism development and environmental protection; Solutions for Do Son tourism to improve quality in a more humane way.

We met Ms. Dau collecting food to bring to the market. Surface is a source of seafood that increases income for people in coastal areas. Her Do Son beach is a part of the countryside with the feeling of the summer breeze, the ‘fragrant’ smell of shrimp and fish, and the first kiss of life at the foot of the waves.

Do Son people have the liberal nature of a wandering port land but are very romantic and profound. This land gave birth to many writers, artists and everyday philosophers.

The sound of buying and selling, bargaining, stirring up the whole area, the oldest, most haunting sound of the beginning of trade, took me out of my thoughts. Now I know that no matter where a grain of silt flows to Do Son sea, it brings peace. Positive thinking and friendliness are probably the most practical actions for Do Son to continue to develop.