Located in the border area west of Thanh Hoa province, Vin village, Bat Mot commune has many favorable conditions for tourism development, especially community eco-tourism. For hundreds of years, people have relied on forests and have organized many plans to preserve and protect forests while promoting socialization in tourism development, contributing to hunger eradication and poverty reduction. This place becomes a miniature Sa Pa, Tam Dao of Thuong Xuan district.
Nearly half a year ago, at the ranger station of Vin village
Mr. Thieu Dinh Tinh reviewed each item in his heavy backpack to check again. Raincoat, anti-mosquito spray, squeegee, first aid kit, a sharp machete that has just been sharpened to a shine. It seemed like nothing was missing, so the old ranger busily packed it, not forgetting to add a few large plastic bags and a few soft hats.
Tomorrow, his station will welcome a working group from the Gaia Nature Conservation and Thuong Xuan District People's Committee to plant forests on Huoi Pa Mountain. The 1,400m high mountain, almost submerged in clouds all year round, is home to the largest population of cunninghamia lanceolata and fokienia in the North Central region, with many hundred-year-old trees. In particular, the area has two Vietnamese heritage trees, including 1,500-year-old Samu and 1,200-year-old fokienia. Brothers at the station often jokingly refer to them as "old men".
Different from past trips, this time through the forest, Ban Van Ranger Station welcomed a special guest - Miss Universe Vietnam 2017, Top 5 Miss Universe World - H'Hen Niê. To ensure safety, Mr. Pham Anh Tam, Director of Xuan Lien Nature Reserve, came to the site many days before, directly inspected, and advised each brother in the station. Many young people from the ranger group protecting Ban Vi forest were also mobilized.
Mr. Lang Van Son, Party Cell Secretary and head of Vin village, recalled: "Everyone was enthusiastic. It's unclear whether the miss will reach her destination."
In fact, during that trip in April, in addition to H'Hen Niê, there was also 2nd runner-up Miss Universe 2015, Dinh Thi Le Hang, and 2nd runner-up Miss Universe 2022, Huynh Pham Thuy Tien. When he heard the news, Mr. Son felt more pressured. The village's forest protection militia has more than 20 people who are always in a state of readiness to meet the goal of planting more than 10 hectares of new forest and inspecting and monitoring nearly 17,000 large native trees that the district Thuong Xuan set.
In April, Thanh Hoa is not yet in the rainy season, but with the characteristics of the climate sub-region in Xuan Lien evergreen plant forest, the air in the forest is always humid. A black cloud that suddenly passes across the top of Huoi Pa is enough to turn the ground underfoot into mud, and the yellow leaves resting peacefully on the forest floor can fly high, leaving behind a menacing darkness under the canopy.
With Xuan Lien Nature Reserve, Gaia Nature Conservation has continuously visited and organized tree planting many times. In 2020, this organization conducted three rounds of planting more than 7,600 large native trees of 24 species, greening an area of over 11 hectares. In 2021, the Center organized two rounds of planting large native trees of 50 species. In the latest year, 2022, they also grew two times with an area of 26 hectares of 50 species. To date, the percentage of plants living in concentrated forest areas has reached 90%, and in mixed forest areas on bare land is 85%.
Gaia Nature Conservation's extensive experience, combined with the efforts of the forest rangers and Vin village people, turned the experience in mid-April 2023 into a beautiful memory. The sunshine was golden, and voices and laughter echoed throughout the journey. Miss H'Hen Niê could not hide her surprise and emotion when admiring with her own eyes the majestic beauty of large native trees dating back thousands of years, which are known as the "God of Wood". Xuan Lien forest, Mr. Thieu Dinh Tinh recalled.
The 58-year-old forest ranger's love for the forest is like a fire, urging any tourist who has the opportunity to come to Vin Village not to miss a visit to the two heritage trees at a height of thousands of meters.
Trekking is a sport that was once considered risky because of the difficulty and steepness of the mountain peaks. In recent years, trekking has become more "popular". Tourists, especially young people, choose trekking to immerse themselves in nature, conquering mountain peaks safely at a moderate level suitable to their abilities, are allowed. The journey to conquer a peak is almost entirely based on strength, such as walking, wading streams, climbing, swinging, and clinging to rugged terrain. Everything will bring intense emotions to people who love adventure, challenge themselves, overcome their limits, and appreciate and protect nature.
The path to the heritage tree in Xuan Lien forest is no exception. Right when taking the first steps, the stone steps were slightly slippery, perhaps a trace of last night's rain. Due to being careless, a crew member fell, the camera fell to the ground, and a large clothing area was stained. Fortunately, he was unharmed. Because of this incident, we were more careful, not daring to take a single step up the almost knee-high stairs. Part of the machinery, equipment, and personal belongings were also shared with forest rangers.
This stone-step climb has 3 high slopes. According to Mr. Tinh, it is called that because whoever climbs it their heart jumps. The guy in my group is from the coastal area, over 1m80 tall, slim, and sturdy like a bear. A while ago, he swung on cat-ear rocks to capture the wild beauty in the green cypress forest in Thuong Trach commune, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. However, when I visited the wood god Xuan Lien this time, I couldn't avoid having my heart pounding and my legs shaking. The smart bracelet continuously flashes, sometimes reporting a heart rate of up to 160 beats per minute. A section of the back of his shirt was soaked, even though the outside temperature was only 25 degrees Celsius.
After the first 1km of being overwhelmed with the difficulty of the journey, we gradually learned how to overcome the feeling of fatigue. Every 30-40 steps, the whole group stops to take 3-4 deep breaths, bringing fresh air into the lungs as deep as possible to prevent the knees from sagging for a moment. When you feel too tight in your chest, turn around and face the foot of the mountain, bend over, try to regain your breath, and then try to continue.
Along the route to visit cunninghamia lanceolata and fokienia, there are 4 rest shacks. These are essentially thatched houses without walls, in which a large barrel is placed to collect water bottles left behind by tourists. Having made an appointment in advance, the group agreed not to rest along the way but only temporarily stopped at shacks to drink water and let their bodies relax. "Don't rest too long. Otherwise, you'll get cold," Mr. Tinh, standing next to you, urged. Listening to him, we continued climbing diligently even though our body temperature had not yet decreased to normal.
The deeper you go into the old forest, the more you can see ancient trees with luxuriant foliage, large trunks, moss, and covered with ferns. Moss is covered from large stones stacked on each other, in all shapes and sizes, to tree trunks larger than a human arm, stretching proudly. Vines also cling tightly to the stone slab. A few naughty rays of sunlight shine obliquely through the foliage. Clouds, wind, grass, and trees blend together as if inviting tired legs to move forward a little more, a little more to immerse themselves deeper into nature.
It's easier said than done, so the whole group felt dizzy after passing the second shack. His head pounded like a drummer was playing Hard Rock beside him. At first, we were careful to wipe the sweat from our foreheads, but when we were told that we had only completed a third of the journey to the heritage tree, our sleeves suddenly felt heavy. Everyone tells themselves they must save as much energy as possible if they don't want to fall behind.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quan, Deputy Head of Xuan Lien Ranger District, seemed to see our steps slowing down more and more, so he joked: "When I first came here, the road was not as easy to walk as it is now. Brothers even raced to see who could go around the mountain the fastest." Asked what the current record was, Mr. Quan shook his head and said he had never taken an official test, so the results were wrong. However, he assured that the total travel time for forest patrol officers was about 2 and a half hours. For us, who have to lug around machinery and are unfamiliar with forest roads, the forest rangers estimate it will take about 4 hours, including operational time.
But finishing the first stone step road took us more than 1 and a half hours. From here, the road is all dirt, without steps or handrails. Mr. Tinh quickly cut a stick for each person and sharpened one end to grope forward.
"Hold on to your place, journalists," Mr. Tinh encouraged when we stopped to rest before the second leg - by dirt road - on the journey to visit the heritage tree. This point is only about 1km from the border of Nghe An province, about 1,200m high, and about 2km from the destination. We have passed nearly two-thirds of the way and climbed almost 500m in altitude. The air here is relatively thin, and the forest is cool and quite pleasant, with light sunlight. Walk quickly on the hillside slopes filled with plants. The fragrant, wild smell of forest leaves drifted in the wind, occasionally blowing to dispel the "hot flashes" burning above each person's head.
Xuan Lien is truly magical on the wet forest floor with no human footprints. If we were crazy about traveling, we would have proposed setting up a shack and staying the night to listen to the buzzing sound of insects as the darkness filled the pristine forest. But now we have to prioritize work. Mr. Quan, Deputy Head of the Forest Ranger District, opened the way, the old forest ranger Thieu Dinh Tinh blocked the rear, and the whole group was in the middle, crawling and crawling through the dense forest floors. Sometimes, someone would say, "Whoa" and we would implicitly understand that a sharp thorn had unfortunately pricked that person.
Unlike the steep slopes in the first leg, this dirt road section follows the mountainside. A few paths took the group right down to the edge of the cliff. As we embarked on a track with no visible way, everywhere was just brown mud. We fell more and more. Sometimes, I held my boots tightly to the forest floor, but my whole body still slipped. I stuck my stick down several times before I was able to stop the slope. There are also sections where cliffs jut out, filling the entire road. The gap left at the bottom was insufficient for people to crawl through, forcing the members to walk sideways like crabs, groping and inching inch by inch to avoid falling. If there were a bold fly camera flying from afar, it would have seen us crawling up a mountain.
Such a struggle made everyone exhausted. The forest rain suddenly became heavy, making his clothes soaking wet, making his body feel heavier. The closer we get to cunninghamia lanceolata and fokienia populations, the more tired we get. Raising one's arm to wipe the rain off one's face seems a heavy task that only powerful people would bother to do. Walking and walking forever, the question "Huoi Pa peak is over there, but why hasn't it been yet?" still no answer.
It was past noon when the stout cunninghamia lanceolata and fokienia trees appeared before our eyes. Deputy County Quan said that, in addition to the two heritage trees, this population also has about 40 other trees with a diameter of 1 meter or more, all nearly 1,000 years old. These oversized trees are mainly distributed from altitudes of 900m or higher. High mountain terrain and cool climate all year round are favorable conditions for conifers of the pine family to grow. They extend from Southeast China, in the provinces of Zhejiang, Guizhou, Yunnan and Fujian to Northern Vietnam such as Bac Giang, Ha Giang, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Son La, Nghe An, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Thanh Hoa, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, then go down to some places in the Central Highlands such as Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lam Dong. However, there is no place as large and numerous as Xuan Lien.
Fokienia is an evergreen tree with an average height of 25–30 m. The population in Xuan Lien forest is extremely tall, up to about 50m. The tree has brown-gray bark that easily peels when young. In older trees, the bark has longitudinal cracks and is fragrant. The leaves are arranged in small, flat branches, often woven into diagonal pairs. The lateral leaves are ovate and compressed, while the facial leaves are inverted lanceolate with a triangular apex. On young plants, the leaves are larger, up to 8–10 mm long and 6 mm wide.
"Many domestic and foreign scientists have come here to research and evaluate the fokienia and cunninghamia lanceolata forests in Xuan Lien as one of the oldest and densest conifer populations in Vietnam today and is considered a treasure of Thanh Hoa," Mr. Quan said.
Standing next to him, Mr. Tinh said that ethnic people in the past considered fokienia a precious wood due to its unique aroma, beautiful wood grains, unusual weight, and termite-proof properties. Fokienia wood was used to make fine arts and household items for a long time. However, since fokienia was included in the Vietnam Red Book in 1996, people have been propagandized and raised awareness. Over 100 Vin village households join hands to protect the forest and Thanh Hoa's treasures.
The tallest and oldest in Xuan Lien forest is the cunninghamia lanceolata tree, which lives about 1,400 m above sea level, bordering the Vietnam - Laos border. The tree stump has a diameter of nearly 4 m, an upright trunk, and a height of about 70 m. More than 1km from the cunninghamia lanceolata tree is an ancient fokienia tree, also ranked as a heritage tree in 2013, with a diameter of nearly 3 m, a straight trunk, and about 60 m high. The two trees were determined to be about 1,500 and 1,200 years old.
The people of Vin village consider the two-thousand-year-old trees as "divine wood" and strictly protect them. Village head Lang Van Son explained that villagers have relied on the forest for centuries. The primary forests originate and provide water for living and farming. "We always remind each other to protect the forest as if protecting our source of life," he confided. That's why the villagers have appointed a specialized forest protection team in coordination with the Vin Village Forest Ranger Station to patrol and guard the forest together. The group will periodically organize nine patrols, going through trails and open paths to closely monitor the evergreen plant forest treasure. Based on the contract policy, paying for the services of Xuan Lien Nature Reserve, people feel responsible and attached to the forest, aiming forever to preserve the primeval and richest forest in the country.
Getting to the top is fun, but going down the mountain is an incredible race. At this time, it was mid-afternoon, so the rangers led us down another path, about 1km shorter than the path up. Compared to the way up, the way down is even scarier. Looking around, 45-50-degree slopes are everywhere, and I don't know where to put my feet to avoid slipping and falling.
The way back is still filled with clouds, old forests, and forest rain. After a cautious start, we decided to take the risk and roar down the slopes, through the thorny bushes, while the darkness was like a wild beast always chasing behind us. The road becomes more difficult, partly because the group's strength has decreased, somewhat because the feeling of going down makes people slow down, sometimes to a crawl. After a while, I had to stop to take a breath of air to fill my lungs. But when they saw the darkness lurking in the distance, no one told anyone. Everyone walked away even though uncertainty and confusion began to invade their heads. The chatter and laughter of the morning were no longer there, replaced by heavy, interrupted breathing. The legs begin to lose feeling, making it impossible to stand up straight. To rest, we had to lean against a large wooden trunk. Or the sections are too difficult to go, the whole group falls down the slope with... their butts.
The sound of the flowing stream seemed to lift everyone's spirits. At first, it was pretty small, like a forest rain sweeping through, but the closer we got, the more precise the sound of the water became. Everyone sees it as motivation, the "light at the end of the tunnel" to move forward. Mr. Tinh said this stream takes water from Liem Stream waterfall in Xuan Lien forest, about 1km long. The stream water is clear, and you can see the colorful rocks below in many places. Unable to bear it, the cameraman in the group threw himself into the cool water to relieve his fatigue. Another person grabbed a bucket of water and gulped it down. Due to fatigue, our luggage was relatively light. There were 8 people in the group, but there were precisely two-and-a-half-liter water bottles, which had been empty since before lunch.
Wading through the knee-high stream and slippery rocks, we walked for about half an hour to see the red roofs of Vin village and rice fields stretching to the foot of the mountain. The drizzling rain seemed to want to erase all the footprints, inviting a feeling of conquest for those who like to explore like us in the future.
Knowing that the whole group had passed more than 11km of forest road, reaching two heritage trees, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Bien, Vice Chairman of Thuong Xuan District People's Committee, welcomed us with tight hugs. Over a cup of hot tea, Mr. Bien recalled that about 20 years ago, Thanh Hoa and Thuong Xuan had many endemic primeval forests, such as green ironwood, sycamore, fokienia... However, when the storm of loggers swept through, the woods gradually disappeared. The population of cunninghamia lanceolata and fokienia in Xuan Lien forest exists today thanks to the drastic protection plan of the authorities and the cooperation of indigenous people.
At the end of 2020, the Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee signed Decision No. 5126/QD-UBND on approving the Project on Ecotourism, relaxation and entertainment in the special-use forest of Xuan Lien Nature Reserve until 2025, vision to 2030. The goal is to preserve and promote natural landscape values; effectively exploit the potential and advantages of biodiversity, scenic spots, and beliefs associated with the cultural identities of ethnic groups; create jobs, increase income, improve the material and spiritual life of local people and attract and call for investment in developing the conservation area.
Most recently, Thanh Hoa province continues to issue many policies to convert Xuan Lien forest into a national park, including two Decisions: No. 2346/QD-UBND dated July 3, 2023, and No. 2806/QD- People's Committee on August 7, 2023. Based on managing, protecting, and developing 24,728.60 hectares of forests, including 23,816.23 hectares of special-use forests and 912.37 hectares of production forests, Xuan Lien Forest Management Board will have more resources to maximize the value of forest biodiversity and potential representing the Northwest, North Central, and Eastern regions of Laos.
According to Mr. Thieu Anh Tuan, Head of Vin Village Forest Ranger Station, it is also a stepping stone for people in the village to love more what nature offers, bestowing the wild beauty, which has long been compared to a Tam Dao or Sa Pa of Thuong Xuan mountains and forests.
