A visitor poses for a photo with buckwheat flowers. VNA/VNS Photo

TUYÊN QUANG — In early October, the area beneath the Lũng Cú National Flag Tower in Tuyên Quang Province enters its most beautiful flower season, drawing visitors eager to admire the scenery, explore local culture and experience the lives of ethnic minority communities in the northern mountainous region.

With around 70ha of buckwheat flowers in bloom and tourism facilities undergoing improvements, Lũng Cú is poised to become an appealing destination for the year-end travel season in 2026.

The delicate buckwheat flowers bring a distinctive charm to the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau each autumn. Once an important food source that helped local communities through periods of food shortages, the flower has become a symbol of tourism in the plateau.

In 2026, Lũng Cú Commune planted approximately 70ha of buckwheat flowers across its 16 villages, including 18.2ha in key tourist areas such as Thèn Pả, Lô Lô Chải, San Trờ, Mả Lé and Mả Sồ. Planting is staggered to ensure successive blooming periods, extending the time available for visitors to enjoy the flowers.

Each location offers a different experience. In Thèn Pả, flower fields blend with the Mông people’s traditional houses nestling against mountain slopes. In Lô Lô Chải, the blooms add colour to the landscape of earthen-walled houses and stone fences characteristic of the Lô Lô ethnic group. Meanwhile, the flower-covered hillsides of San Trờ, Mả Lé and Mả Sồ reveal the karst plateau's rugged beauty.

Visitors can combine flower viewing with a climb up the stone steps to the Lũng Cú National Flag Tower, where the Vietnamese national flag flies atop Rồng (Dragon) Mountain. They can then explore nearby villages, enjoy traditional dishes and discover the cultural heritage of local ethnic communities.

Dương Ngọc Đức, secretary of the Lũng Cú Party Committee, said buckwheat flowers are a signature tourism product that the locality is seeking to develop further. The commune is linking flower-growing areas to tourist routes and encouraging residents to maintain the landscape and participate in tourism services.

Lũng Cú is also expanding its tourism offerings. Plans include developing a flower garden and green public space near the commune centre entrance.

The commune is currently home to 15 restaurants and more than 80 accommodation establishments, while community-based tourism has encouraged locals to preserve traditional households and upgrade facilities to provide lodging, meals, guided tours and local products.

Trần Đức Chung, chairman of the Lũng Cú People’s Committee, said the commune is improving landscapes, protecting the environment and bettering tourism services to create a clean, green and welcoming destination while maintaining cultural identity and natural scenery.

This year’s flower season coincides with the 12th Buckwheat Flower Festival 2026, themed “Echoes of the Karst Plateau”. By combining flower cultivation, upgraded tourist sites and new visitor experiences, Lũng Cú hopes to boost year-end tourism and create more livelihood opportunities for local residents.

As the borderland community continues to develop, the buckwheat flowers offer more than scenic beauty. They connect visitors with local traditions and give residents new opportunities to uphold their cultural heritage and improve their livelihoods. — VNA/VNS