Remote villages in northern Vietnam are using their mountains and traditions to attract visitors. This helps families earn money and keeps their culture safe, so the story is worth reading.

Hoang Thi Ngoan, an official at the commune’s general services centre, said Lao Chai 1 village was chosen in 2016 for community‑based tourism. Five households first learned how to welcome guests and cook meals. Today 18 of the 40 households run homestays for tourists.

Sin Suoi Ho village was recognised as a community‑based tourism destination in 2015. Village head Giang A Chinh said the village now has nearly 30 homestay operators, a traditional market, and tourism and farm sales that bring billions of VND. This has lifted the community out of poverty.

Adventure‑sport events such as the “Golden Season Footsteps” race, with almost 1,000 participants, and the “Steps on the Clouds” race have brought hundreds of visitors and filled local rooms. In Van Son ward, tours of tea plantations and fruit orchards generate about 600 billion VND (≈23.22 million USD) each year. Local authorities have built roads, concrete paths and promoted mountain races to turn the hard terrain into a tourism advantage.