Tourists do camping in Lien Minh village. (Photo: Luu Ha)

Lien Minh village is located deep in the mountains and forests of Cat Ba Island, surrounded by beautiful natural scenery.

To get to the village, you must pass through a pine forest. Between the tall, straight pine trees are rows of purple rose myrtle, which bloom throughout March. The road to the village sometimes passes through stands of raspberry trees that turn blazing red under the summer sun.  

At the end of the road, at the edge of a valley covered with green grass, is Lien Minh village, the home of about 20 families. Nearby there is a heart-shaped lake with white storks hiding in the reeds, and beyond the grassy expanse are steep cliffs, where adventurous tourists sometimes test their climbing skills.

This natural scenery and terrain make Lien Minh village a popular destination for both domestic and foreign travelers. At weekends, visitors come to camp, climb the mountains, and enjoy nature.

The house of Do Quang Trong sits at the edge of Lien Minh valley. In addition to raising bees and chickens and fruit trees, his family serves food to visitors.

The main course is usually Lien Minh chicken, whose meat is firm and delicious. The visitors enjoy their meal seated in the shade of Trong's garden.

Nguyen Thanh Nha and her friends often come to Lien Minh to spend a weekend. Nha said, “Lien Minh chickens are delicious because they graze freely in the forest. They roam the forest feeding themselves, climbing the mountains, and sleeping in the trees. In the past, it was difficult for the villagers to catch the chickens because they can run very fast. Now dogs are trained to do so.”

Pham Thi Nga and the Lien Minh cock (Photo: Luu Ha)

Pham Thi Nga used to farm all year round and do a little fishing in her spare time. Ten years ago, when more tourists began to come to the village, she transformed her orchard into an ecological restaurant. Her restaurant specializes in dishes made from Lien Minh chicken.  

Most of the visitors are foreigners. After COVID-19 was controlled, Vietnamese tourists began to come in the summer. Recently, many people have come on the weekends to camp and play music in the valley, Nga said.

She went on, “Customers can phone in advance and we’ll prepare meals for them. My family serves mainly dishes made of chicken or mountain goat. If you want to eat goat meat, you have to call in advance. A group of 10 people or more also needs to book in advance. But if there are just a few people, it takes only about an hour to prepare a meal for them."

Tourists to Lien Minh village like the dishes made of local chicken. (Photo: Luu Ha)

Some households in Lien Minh, including Nga’s and Trong's, prepare processed chicken and goat meat to for visitors take home. Visitors can also buy eggs, honey, seasonal fruits, and other local agricultural products.

Working hard and keeping up with the times has given the residents of Lien Minh more money to raise their children, pay for their education, and build a bigger house.

Farmers have begun to link with each other to form a chain of services and products, according to Pham Van Thoa, Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of Lien Minh hamlet.

“The Farmers' Association has been trained on the community-tourism model and linking households in a product chain. Under this model, some raise livestock, some cultivate trees, and some do something else,” said Thoa.

In order to include Lien Minh village in the eco-tour system of Cat Ba National Park, the local authority and people have renovated and widened the inter-commune road.