Thanh Long Lake has an area of over 1,200 hectares in the communes of Hung Dao and Le Loi (Chi Linh City, Hai Duong Province) and part of Dan Hoi Commune (Luc Nam District, Bac Giang), located in the Con Son - Kiep Bac Special National Monument area.
History records that in the 13th century, Hung Dao Vuong built the Van Kiep military base to prepare for the resistance war against the Yuan-Mongol. Thanh Long lake area was the place to gather warships and train marines. The villages around the lake were the logistical bases of the Van Kiep headquarters.
The proposed project to renovate and build the Thanh Long Lake eco-tourism area is expected to have a total area of over 1,500 hectares with a cost of thousands of billions of VND, including construction and renovation of Buddha towers, bell towers... with the focal point being the 3 towers in Tam Ton Lake, connected by an underground road system under the lake. On the floating islands in the lake, Thanh Long Pagoda will be renovated and built into a large pagoda to attract tourists.
According to the previous zoning plan, Thanh Long Lake area belongs to the special exploitation zone of Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site. However, Hai Duong province proposed to adjust the general planning of this relic site to suit the trend and create separate development conditions for Thanh Long Lake Eco-tourism Area.
Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee has agreed and proposed the Prime Minister to assign the province to develop a master plan for the Thanh Long Lake Eco-tourism Area Investment Project, and at the same time propose component projects, policies, and implementation mechanisms.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has commented on the recommendations and proposals of the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee. Accordingly, the Prime Minister assigned the Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee to proactively coordinate with the Bac Giang Provincial People's Committee to fully absorb the opinions of relevant ministries and branches to implement the necessary steps in accordance with the correct processes and procedures to invest in and develop the Thanh Long Lake area.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a resident of village 7, Le Loi commune, Chi Linh city, said she had heard about the Thanh Long lake eco-tourism project for a long time, but so far has not seen any implementation activities.
“The community living around the lake area hopes that the project will be implemented soon to improve the landscape, bring ecological beauty to the lake and attract more tourists, contributing to the local economic development,” said Ms. Hoa.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tien - Chief of Office of People's Council and People's Committee of Chi Linh city, Hai Duong province said: The project to renovate and build Thanh Long lake eco-tourism area is currently in the planning stage. After completion, the planning project will be submitted to Hai Duong Provincial People's Committee and related departments and branches for evaluation and approval.
According to Mr. Tien, currently, a part of the lake area is allocated to people for rice cultivation and exploitation of natural aquatic resources. When the project is implemented, it is expected that more than 200 households living around Thanh Long Lake will need to be relocated to carry out construction items in the project.
“The project implementation will contribute to promoting economic development, creating jobs for local people, and at the same time will solve the missing criteria such as infrastructure, accommodation, entertainment, shopping, etc. to turn Con Son - Kiep Bac relic site into a national tourist area,” Mr. Tien added.
