Taking advantage of the "golden" moment to create an adventure tourism brand for Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark
Spanning over a vast territory of 4,842.58 km2, Lang Son Geopark is a gem in the mountainous region of Northern Vietnam. It is a living testament, encapsulating in its diverse landscapes the journey through 500 million years of life's evolution. ancient seas and volcanic lands to ironwood forests, each facet of the Geopark tells a unique story. The Geopark is a vibrant tapestry of ethnic diversity, with contributions of unique customs and traditions each ethnic group. The spiritual life of the Geopark is deeply rooted in Dao Mau, a Mother Goddess worship belief recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The harmonious combination of natural history, cultural diversity and spiritual traditions makes Lang Son Geopark a unique destination.
The establishment, construction and development of Lang Son Geopark aims to preserve and promote the value of geological heritage, cultural heritage, history, archeology as well as the unique landscapes of the province. In which, the outstanding value of Lang Son Geopark includes 3 highlights: Geological heritage value (demonstrating the evolution of life through fossils), Cultural heritage value (tangible and intangible) and biodiversity. Currently, the Geopark has formed four tourist routes with 38 Geopark attractions with the theme "Life Evolution in the sacred Realms": Route 1: Experience the Realm of Mountain and Forest ; Route 2: Journey to the Realm of Heaven; Route 3: Enjoy the Realm of Earth; Route 4: Way to the Realm of Water. Lang Son Geopark is expected to be one of the breakthrough tourism products, attracting a large number of domestic and international tourists, contributing to promoting the province's tourism potential and strengths.
Lang Son Geopark has a majestic natural geological and geomorphological terrain, with about 200 caves, many beautiful waterfalls and sinkholes, containing countless interesting and attractive things. This will be a resource for the development of Geotourism (cave exploration, sports climbing, paragliding, trekking, waterfall crossing, sinkholes, SUB rowing). Coming to Lang Son Geopark, visitors will have mysterious and unique discovery journeys, with memorable experiences.
In 2025, Lang Son Geopark and its partners will continue to survey some of the approximately 200 caves, waterfalls, and sinkholes to assess their potential, a number of caves, sinkholes, and waterfalls as pilot projects, and initially map some caves for promotion, plan routes for adventure tourism, identify areas of forming stalactites that need to be protected, support all search and rescue efforts, learn about the geology/hydrology of the area, and install safety equipment. It is hoped to cooperate with domestic and international photographers to take photos and film to promote adventure tourism in Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark, develop and announce geotourism products at the Ceremony to receive the Certificate of Recognition of the Title of Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark in November 2025. This will be the "Golden" time to create the brand of adventure tourism in Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark (strongly promoting the image of adventure tourism in Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark in the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network), the explosion of communication about Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark, the driving force for completing the infrastructure of Geopark tourist destinations, attracting resources for sustainable development, improving the quality of human resources, developing the Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark Partnership Network, attracting domestic and international tourists to visit and experience the unique tourism products of Lang Son UNESCO Global Geopark.
Thereby, contributing significantly to the goal set by the Lang Son Provincial Party Committee, which is to strive for tourism to become an important economic sector by 2025; and to become a spearhead economic sector by 2030.
Lang Son Geopark Management Division (Lang Son Provincial Agency for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion)