NINH BÌNH  Despite social distancing measures that ban people from travel, an online tour has taken visitors to discover the ancient royal capital city of Hoa Lư in Ninh Bình Province.

An initiative of the provincial Tourism Promotion Information Centre, the 30-minute tour, led by a speaker and a tour guide, has attracted more than 10,000 viewers when it was live-streamed on Sunday on the centre’s Facebook page. It has also received hundreds of shares and likes.

A speaker and a tour guide lead the debut online tour at Hoa Lư ancient capital in Ninh Bình on September 19. – Photo dulichninhbinh.com.vn

Located in Trường Yên Commune in Hoa Lư District, the 300-hectare area was chosen to be the first capital of Đại Cồ Việt (Great Việt, former name of current Việt Nam) by Emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng when he acceded to the throne in 968.

The ancient capital – a political, economic and cultural centre of that time – existed for 42 years, until 1010, when Emperor Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital to Thăng Long (nowadays Hà Nội). It survived through three successive dynasties – Đinh, Early Lê, and Lý.

Despite the challenges of time and many ups and downs of history, several historical relics have been preserved here. These include the protective citadel walls and the centuries-old temples to worship emperors Đinh Tiên Hoàng and Lê Đại Hành.

The existence of the ancient capital is part of the glorious Vietnamese history that is respected and admired by every Vietnamese person.

After the debut tour, the Ninh Bình Tourism Promotion Information Centre will continue to present other online tours at the province’s famous sightseeing spots such as Thái Vi Temple, Tam Cốc – Bích Động Tourism Site, Tràng An scenic landscape complex, the Cúc Phương National Park, and Thiên Hà Cave.

Local specialities such as cơm cháy (scorched rice with savoury dipping sauce), mắm tép (baby shrimp paste) and miến lươn (vermicelli with eels) will also be introduced during the food tours.

Ninh Bình’s famous dishes cooked from goat meat, especially the dê ủ trấu, a method of cooking in which the goat, after being slaughtered and cleaned, is stuffed with lemongrass and “buried” in a small heap of rice husks, which are then burned. The meat is cooked slowly by the long-lasting heat of rice husk ash, will feature in a food tour.

When watching the sightseeing and food tours, viewers can pose questions to the tour guide.

An aerial view of Tam Cốc - Bích Động Tourism Site in Ninh Bình Province. Online tours have been designed to introduce to visitors the province’s famous sightseeing spots and local specialties. – Photo baoninhbinh.org.vn

Director of the Tourism Promotion Information Centre Nguyễn Văn Minh said that the online tours offer viewers the chance to visit several sites of the province, promoting the provincial tourism sector.

“Online travel is becoming a new trend in many countries, as people can't get away due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We hope that when the pandemic is under control, with whatever they’ve learnt through the online tours, they will choose Ninh Bình for their offline trips,” he said.

People can enjoy the debut tour and other upcoming tours on Facebook page Trung Tâm Thông Tin Xúc Tiến Du Lịch Ninh Bình.  

The tours will take place every Sunday morning from now until December 26. Each tour will last from 45 to 60 minutes. – VNS