Tourists take photos at a grapefruit garden in Thanh Hải Commune, Lục Ngạn District. — VNA/VNS Photo

BẮC GIANG — Lục Ngạn District in the northern mountain province of Bắc Giang, well known as the largest "fruit basket" in the North, is now attractive to tourists since it has developed fruit farm tours.

The district is focusing on promoting the development of community-based tourism and taking advantage of fruit seasons around the year.

Aside from the famous specialty lychee, by visiting Lục Ngạn by the end of October every year, tourists can enjoy many local specialties and admire the beauty of orange and grapefruit gardens where they can also try the fruits while inhaling the fresh air and mountainous landscapes.

Nice experience

A group of tourists from Laos recently chose to take a garden tour at Thanh Hải Agricultural Production and Trade Tourism Cooperative in Lục Ngạn.

It was the first time the group experienced an orange and grapefruit season tour but everyone felt excited and joyful. They took many photos with the fresh green air and space of ripe fruits such as grapefruits and oranges.

Suksavan, a member of the Lao tourist group said: "That was a very interesting experience for me as it was the first time I visited such a fruitful garden with thousands of grapefruit trees. The people here are also very friendly and enthusiastic. Coming here, we can enjoy free fruits and buy specialties to take home. It is really a very good economic development model."

Meanwhile, Phạm Hồng Liên, a tourist from the northern mountain province of Bắc Kạn said that while walking through grapefruit trees to take photos she could not help but be surprised by the immense beauty of the orchards mixed with the red-roofed houses, surrounded by majestic mountains and forests.

“The road from the district centre to the gardens has been paved with concrete so it is very easy to travel. The gardens are cleaned and carefully cultivated so they are covered with fruit trees. Ripe grapefruits hanging on branches are seen hiding among green leaves to create a beautiful natural picture that really impressed me," Liên said.

Visitors are excited at the beauty of the grapefruit garden in Lục Ngạn District

​To impress tourists, Lục Ngạn selects typical tourist spots and cooperatives to participate in a linkage and organise activities for tourists, including the Trù Hựu tourism trade cooperative; Đông Bắc Cultural Village Cooperative in Chũ Town; Thum Lake Village in Quý Sơn Commune; Thanh Hải Tourism Cooperative; and Đồng Dao tourism cooperative in Quý Sơn Commune.

At these tourist destinations with beautiful fruit gardens and convenient transportation, the cooperatives arrange booths to display and sell souvenirs, including fruits and specialties for tourists. At the same time, they organise art programmes with performing troups ready to serve and interact with visitors.

Nguyễn Văn Hữu, director of Thanh Hải Agricultural Production and Trade Tourism Cooperative, said: "Tourists who choose to experience the orange and grapefruit season will be free to visit, take photos, and enjoy fruits at the gardens. They can also experience agricultural production activities such as fertilising and fruit harvesting."

To offer visitors the most enjoyable experiences, the cooperative has invested VNĐ2 billion in building a two-storey stilt house, with a total area of more than 600sq.m for them to stay in site for relaxation, enjoying fruits, drinking tea and having cultural exchange activities.

At the same time, if they want to try some food specialties and stay overnight, the cooperative is also be ready to serve.

Tourism connections

Currently, the district has a total of 28,000 hectares of fruit, of which more than 5,100ha are citrus, including yellow oranges, sweet oranges, and green-skinned and sweet grapefruit.

Promoting the potential of orchard tours associated with developing sustainable fruit growing areas, Lục Ngạn determines that building and promoting eco-community tourism spaces in key fruit growing areas are the highlight of its tourism development.

To achieve that goal, the locality has implemented many projects and plans, and undertaken many creative and innovative solutions that have helped create progressive and positive changes in its community tourism development.

Head of the Culture and Information Department of Lục Ngạn District Nguyễn Thị Năm said that whenever orange and grapefruit season comes at every year-end, the district organises a programme themed "Returning to Lục Ngạn sweet fruit region" to promote tourism.

The district also coordinates with the tourism industry to organise survey groups to come to rural tourist destinations and call on travel companies to boost the exploitation of garden tours. At the same time, the district continues to select potential tourist destinations and cooperatives to increase investment in creating unique and special tourism products to attract tourists.

Bắc Giang Province has identified agricultural and rural tourism as its major tourism product. It will focus on the construction and exploitation of community tourism, agricultural tourism and eco-tourism, with the highlight being in Lục Ngạn District.

To promote rural agricultural tourism in general and Lục Ngạn garden tours in particular, the culture, sports and tourism sector in Bắc Giang Province will organise pilot and survey tours to Lục Ngạn.

The sector will hold dissemination programmes to raise awareness of local people about the benefits of tourism development associated with sustainable agricultural production and preservation of traditional culture. — VNS