Opening chestnut garden for visitors to experience
From Quang Ninh, Ms. Dinh Thi Thu Hoai and her relatives drove their own car to Thien Dai chestnut garden, Luong Van Tri ward, Lang Son. The total travel time is about 3 hours, most of the road is highway.
The road is beautiful and easy to travel. We searched for addresses on Google Maps and followed the instructions to get there," Ms. Hoai shared.
Cars are parked outside, then tourists walk about 500m to enter the garden. The road up has some quite steep sections.
According to Ms. Hoai's experience, elderly people or families with young children should contact the phone number written on the instruction sign to be supported by the garden owner to pick them up.
After the steep road, the wide green chestnut canopy appeared. At the time Ms. Hoai visited, many fruits were ripe, the thorny peel began to crack, revealing shiny brown seeds inside.
The resting area is equipped with fans, tables and chairs, drinking water and some miniatures to serve the needs of photography.
Each participant in the experience was given a basket and pulled, then instructed to only pick ripe fruits with naturally cracked outer skin.
Harvested chestnuts are brought to the gathering area to separate from the thorn bark. Visitors can buy fresh seeds to bring back or enjoy processed products right in the garden.
Chestnuts eaten on the spot are mushy, fragrant and have a buttery taste. The feeling of personally selecting each ripe fruit and then enjoying the fruit makes the trip more interesting," the female tourist said.
Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy, a resident of Doan Ket block, Luong Van Tri ward, said that her family currently spends about one hectare of chestnut garden to welcome guests. This year, guests are allowed to visit the garden for free.
Her family has welcomed visitors to visit and pick chestnuts for many years. When coming to the garden, visitors can pick the fruit themselves, participate in preliminary processing and then enjoy chestnuts and dishes right on the spot.
According to Ms. Thuy, chestnut production depends heavily on the weather, so it is unstable between years. This year's crop was crop failure, fruit quantity decreased, but selling prices did not fluctuate much.
Fresh chestnuts at the garden are currently classified by size, the price ranges from 80,000-100,000 VND/kg. Large seeds are priced higher, while small seeds are sold at a lower price.
Income from chestnuts depends on each year, on the yield and quality of the fruit. Some years are bumper, the amount of seeds harvested is high, but there are also years of crop failure," Ms. Thuy shared.
Each hectare of chestnuts brings in hundreds of millions of VND in revenue.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Vu Le Dung - Vice Chairman of Luong Van Tri Ward People's Committee - said that chestnut trees are showing positive economic efficiency in the area.
Through monitoring the exploitation cycle, the chestnut growing model achieves an average cultivation density of about 420 trees/ha.
With the area entering its sixth year, when the plant enters a stable business stage, the average yield reaches 8-10kg of seeds per root, equivalent to about 3.36-4.2 tons of fresh seeds/ha.
According to Mr. Dung, raw products without peeling are sold at a price of about 65,000-70,000 VND/kg; products after drying and peeling are priced from 120,000-150,000 VND/kg.
On average, each hectare of chestnuts brings in revenue of about 150-200 million VND per year, which is higher and more stable than many traditional forestry crops," Mr. Dung said.
Not only creating livelihoods, chestnut gardens in the harvest season also open up experiential tourism products for the locality.
Fruit picking, enjoying at the garden and buying processed products contribute to increasing the value of agricultural products, creating more destinations for tourists on weekends.
According to Ms. Hoai, the day trip itinerary is suitable for a group of friends or family in Quang Ninh. Tourists should wear good-grip shoes because the road to the garden is steep, avoid directly touching the thorn bark and contact the garden owner in advance to check the ripe fruit condition.
The chestnut harvesting experience season usually lasts until the end of October. The peak ripening time may vary depending on weather conditions each year.
