Ha Tay Province
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Area: 2,192.1 sq. km.
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Population: 2,525,700 habitants (2005)
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Capital: Ha Dong city
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Town: Son Tay.
- Districts: Ba Vi, Phuc Tho, Dan Phuong, Thach That, Hoai Duc, Quoc Oai, Chuong My, Thanh Oai, Thuong Tin, My Duc, Ung Hoa, Phu Xuyen.
- Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Muong, Dao, Tay…
Ha Tay Province is located in the Red River Delta surrounded by Hanoi municipality and Hưng Yên, Hà Nam, Hòa Bình, and Phú Thọ provinces. The Kinh account for 99% of the province’s population; the remaining population is from the Muong and Dao ethnic groups. Ha Tay preserves 900 handicraft villages, of which 120 villages are recognized as “traditional handicraft villages”. Famous sites include Hương (Perfume) Pagoda, Tay Phuong Pagoda, and hundreds of caves, which were used as homes. Most festivals and activities in Hà Tây take place during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd months after Tet. The most famous are the pilgrimage to Hương Pagoda, and the Thay Pagoda and Tay Phuong Pagoda Festivals. Ha Tay Province lies to the southwest of and at the entrance to the capital city of Hanoi. For this reason all the tourist attractions of province are around 50km from the centre of Hanoi and easily accessible by land.
Dong Mo Tourists Resort At the foot of Ba Vi Mountain in Son Dong Commune, Son Tay Town, Ha Tay Province, 50km from Hanoi City. With a total area of 1,300ha, Dong Mo Tourists Resort is an ideal site for camping, Sunday picnics, or vacations. Dong Mo Lake has long supplied water for the whole Son Tay area. More than 20 islands emerge from the lake. There is an international 36-hole golf course in King Island. Pretty villas partially hidden in the woods mirrored in the transparent water of the lake. Easily reached from Hanoi, Dong Mo Resort is an ideal place to escape from town and relax in a slow – paced environment.
Huong Son Tourist Area
 In My Duc District, Ha Tay Province, approximately 70km from Hanoi City.Huong Son Tourist Area covers an area of a thousand hectares and includes a complex of mountains, rivers and streams, villages, pagodas, and grottoes surrounded by the Huong Tich Mountain Range, north of the Truong Son Range. To get to Huong Son from Hanoi, go by car to Ha Dong Town, and then continue on to Van Dinh Town. At the Te Tieu marking point, turn right and continue to Duc Wharf. Stop here and take a boat along the Yen Stream for about 3km to Tro Wharf, from where the Huong Son Tourist Area is accessible. Huong Son Tourist Area is divided into three lines:
Ha Tay handicraft villages
Mia Pagoda  Situated in Mia Village, Duong Lam Commune, Son Tay Town, Ha Tay Province.The pagoda has 287 statues of all sizes, among which are famous sculptures such as the statue of Buddha in the Himalayas and the statues of the Eight Vajra Deities. The largest one is the sculpture of Bat Bo Kim Cang located in the upper sanctuary. The pagoda preserves many ancient artifacts such as the great red bell made in 1743, the bronze gong (1846), and the Lady Mia stone tables, set up in 1632. Son Tay Citadel  In Son Tay Town, Ha Tay Province, about 40km from Hanoi City.Son Tay Citadel was erected in 1822. The wall is surrounded by a 3m deep, 20m wide moat. Each corner of the citadel was armed with cannon. Furthermore, there is the Kinh Thien Palace – the rest house of the king, residences and offices of provincial leaders, warehouses, and troop camps. Due to time and the effects of war, parts of the ancient wall were destroyed. Measures to prevent and restore this historical relic have recently been implemented. Tay Phuong Pagoda  In Yen Village, Thach That District, Ha Tay Province, about 30km from Hanoi City. The pagoda is also an exposition gallery for many national engraving and sculpture masterpieces. The pagoda was built in the 8th century and has been restored several times since. In 1632, the pagoda was rebuilt according to the Sino-Vietnamese character Tam (three), featuring three sections: the upper sanctuary, back palace, and lobby rooms.After climbing 239 stone steps bearing the signs of the passage of time and sheltered by the shade of age-old trees one reaches a gate. The gate carries the name of the structure: Tay Phuong Co Tu (Ancient Pagoda of the West). According to the inscription on a 17th century stone stele it also has two other names: Sung Phuc Tu and Hoang Son Thieu Lam Tu. In 1794 under the Tay Son regime, it was completely renewed, hence its present design. It comprises three successive constructions: the Hall of Prostration, the Main Shrine, and the Sanctuary, all with double tiered roofs. It seems that this architectural arrangement is inspired by Buddhist and Confucianism thought: the three constructions symbolize the three forces governing the world. Tay Phuong Pagoda is mostly famous for the statues it contains, magnificent wooden sculptures representing Buddha as well as Vajrapanis (Kim Cuong) and Arhats (La Han) who are middle-ranking Buddhist deities. One in particular portrays Sakyamuni in meditation at the foot of Tuyet Son (Snow Mountain). He was then leading a life of extremely severe ascetics, and his emaciated body, as represented by the statue, shows good knowledge by the artist of human anatomy. The figures of the Arhats each bear distinctive features which depict meditation in original aspects. All are impressive works of art. Thay Pagoda  Situated at the foot of Sai Son Mountain in Phuong Cach Commune, Quoc Oai District, Ha Tay Province, and 30km southwest of Hanoi City.Thay Pagoda, alias Thien Phuc Tu Pagoda, was built in the 11th century during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong. At first, it was a small pagoda managed by Priest Tu Dao Hanh. The pagoda was initially built according to Sino-Vietnamese character Tam – this character is formed by 3 hyphens parallel to each other. The pagoda therefore consists of 3 sections: Ha Pagoda, Trung Pagoda, and Thuong Pagoda. The outer part, Ha Pagoda, is a place for offerings and ceremonies; the middle part, Trung Pagoda, is a place for worship of Buddha; and finally, the inner part is a place for worship of Priest Tu Dao Hanh. An automated sandalwood statue of Tu Dao Hanh that stands and sits is located in a red lacquered shrine trimmed with gold and covered with a curtain. In front of the pagoda is Long Tri pond, in the middle of which is a stage called Thuy Dinh, where water puppet performances are held. Nhat Tien and Nguyet Tien Bridges, built by Doctor Phung Khac Khoan in 1602, are located on each side of the stage. |
Situated 36km west of Hanoi, 45km from Noi Bai International Airport, in Dong Mo, Son Tay Town, Ha Tay Province.
Canh Hoach is a large-size and densely populated hamlet of Dan Hoa commune, Thanh Oai district, Ha Tay province. Since the older days, the hamlet has been famous for its home craft of weaving bamboo birdcages and weaved bamboo products for export attracting around 80% of the hamlet population in the production. For the recent years, the hamlet’s economic structure has been strikingly improved. Households’ income engaged in traditional industry starts to grow with annual average income of about VND 10 and 15 million. The hamlet’s traditional products such as birdcage, paper fan, shoulder pole, household woodwork, conical hat, etc have been increasingly improved in terms of designs and sophistication in encrusted patterns. More and more foreign visitors have come to the hamlet to order products made by talented craftsmen themselves. It is so honorable that such products are now available in Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, etc and many other countries.
This small village of Ha Tay Province, 40 kilometres on the west of Hanoi, has maintained its reputation for over three centuries. Just like Van Phuc villagers with their fine silks, Chuong people have their own pride for the famous Non. In the old time, the Vietnamese wore the conical hats to hide the rain and the sun.
Da Sy village is famous for its traditional forge industry, which has been set up and developed for hundreds of years now. Prior to the year 1996, the whole village had only more than 300 forges with sheer output of over 2 million products. These products have been collected and made consumed nationwide by some well-off families. By the year 2000, the number of forges in the hamlet were developed up to more than 500 ones, most of which have been mechanized raising the 2000 outcome to over 6 million products. Thank to such results, hamlet people’s living standard has been improving and they more and more devote their life for the traditional forge industry. Da Sy village’s forged products have become so popular all over the country. Once Da Sy force industry is mentioned, it is not impossible to talk about pairs of scissors for tailoring – a high quality product loved by customers.
For the past recent years, silk weaving industry has become a traditional one of Van Phuc village. Legend has it that the ancestor of Van Phuc fabric weaving village is a man with surname of La – who was given the credit for teaching villagers here silk weaving know-hows learnt from China. That is thank to its smooth and soft material as well as sophistication in weaving line and décor pattern, silk weaved in Van Phuc village is unlike any silk type done in other villages. Van Phuc made silk is not only a specialty of the village but a precious gift, a traditional specialty of Vietnamese people as well. That is the reason why silk made in Van Phuc is available at both nation-wide and abroad markets.