Tourists strongly attracted to citrus orchards

On average of every month, thousands of tourists from provinces and cities come to the orchards in Hieu Liem commune of Bac Tan Uyen district to visit, play and breathe in the fresh air, which is like a miniature Da Lat where tons of specialty fruits are ordered by tourists, creating a large income for local farmers. The model of garden ecotourism is opening up many development opportunities, but farmers and local authorities are required to solve many problems.

Tourists take souvenir photos at Sol Reatreat

The moderate weather

Although the weather in April is quite hot, visitors on coming to the vast orchards in Hieu Liem commune will feel comfortable by the chilly air like in the Central Highlands provinces or the vicinity of Da Lat. Nguyen Van Trong, owner of hundreds of hectares of land for growing fruit trees, said that although his family had a large villa in Tan Dinh market of Bac Tan Uyen district, he rarely came home. “More than 20 years ago, when I came here to set up my business when the roads were very rough, and life was lacking in many ways, but I had vowed to stay with this land because of its fresh air all year round. If I was to go anywhere for a few days, I just want to return to my orchards to cool down, especially in the early morning and evening of very poetic mists," said Nguyen Van Trong.

In addition to the weather, the land is endowed by nature with very typical beauties of forests, rivers, and rolling hills. Standing on the slope and zooming in to cover the luxuriant orchards or winding along the Be River, the houses are nestled in a scenery surpassing everything else. For that reason, tourists have recently come to the land to visit and check in unique and strange images. Ho Thanh Tu, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh city, said: “At weekends, I often take my family out to the provinces. I often go to Hieu Liem for a feeling of peace and cool air to let my children visit the orchards and learn how farmers grow crops and add more practical knowledge of life. I don't play fixedly at any one point but I stop the car wherever I like. Sometimes the whole family spreads a tarp under a tree on the side of the road or next to the river to rest."

Thanks to the temperate weather and suitable soil, local people have succeeded with many citrus trees, becoming specialties such as oranges, tangerines, and pomelos. Local people have also recently successfully planted other trees such as durian, mandarin orange, and banana to bring high economic yields. The local authority has also chosen this land as a place to specialize in citrus cultivation with an area of up to thousands of hectares, creating a specialized crop area to bringing high profits to farmers.

To develop orchard eco-tourism

According to local farmers, after many years of cultivation and planting in large quantities, the soil becomes barren, pests and diseases will arise, leading to low income against all kinds of crops. With the life cycle of citrus trees such as oranges and tangerines, even with good care, they cannot pass the 9-year milestone. After that, another tree must be planted to improve the soil. In recent years, orange and tangerine trees are no longer at the top of the top prices as before, forcing people in some places or others to switch crops. Thanks to the climate and natural topography, the orchard owners flexibly create a model of eco-tourism, creating a place to visit for tourists, and increasing their own revenue.

The forefront of the Sol Reatreat farm owned by Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu, converted since 2018 has weathered the storm among young people thanks to the beautiful scenery like a miniature Da Lat. Based on the advantages of the hills, the farm owner has built a model of a multi-storey cafe with food and resting services on site. Following the paths to visit dozens of hectares of seasonal fruit trees, Thu also built a number of beautiful items such as Bali's heaven gate, bird's nest, space mirror, aquarium, flower garden etc. Only the farm alone, thousands of tourists from near and far flock to have fun, visit and take pictures. The entrance ticket price is VND 70,000, bringing great profit to the farm owner.

Just a few hundred meters from Sol Reatreat, Lam Thanh Thuong's 11-hectare persimmon orchard is also being welcomed by tourists every week. The very large mandarin of about 4 fruits a kilo is very sweet to eat. In the harvest season, the whole tangerine garden is flooded with yellow, making it difficult for visitors to resist the beauty of the tangerine. Lam Thanh Thuong said that in Hieu Liem commune, only 2 can grow such mandarin oranges as the plant is very difficult to grow, requiring intensive caring techniques. Currently, the entrance fee to the garden is VND 50,000. On average, each month, the ticket price alone for Thuong is not less than VND 60 million, not to mention tons of fruits of all kinds that tourists come to visit and order at high prices.

Mai Duc Quy, Chairman of Hieu Liem commune People's Committee, said that the locality highly encourages farmers to develop ecological garden models combined with citrus crops. If the model is strongly developed, it will not only create more jobs and a brand for the land and fruit trees in Hieu Liem but also income for farmers.

Reported by Quang Tam – Phuong Thanh – Translated by Vi Bao