Wednesday, October 22, 2008

A natural man-made park


Just four kilometers away from the heart of the famous resort town of Da Lat, the Doi Mong Mo(Hills of dreams) Tourist Park is a surprisingly efficient, symbolic marriage of culture and nature.

The retreat has hundreds of bonsai and flowers that are gorgeous and will never fail to strike admiration in every heart, but it is a host of cultural replicas scattered throughout the park that catch the eye.
The Great Wall of China is 6,700 kilometers long from east to west, 1,000 kilometers at its highest point and has existed for over two centuries.
Mong Mo Hill presents a two-kilometer long version of this amazing monument that offers visitors a chance to reflect on the real history that happened far away, a long time ago, aided by that well known Vietnamese saying: Bat dao truong thanh phi hao han (One cannot be a hero if one has never set foot on the Great Wall).
The park is at its best early in the morning, it seems, as one listens to the real sounds of the artificial waterfall, and observes a flock of pigeons perched on a 300-year-old house transported from central Binh Dinh Province.
Other park attractions include a stage for cong chieng (gong) shows that are performed by the ethnic minority from the plateau every weekend.
At the end of some stone steps is the wine cellar displaying a variety of ruou can (fermented rice wine that’s sipped from a ceramic jar through long bamboo straws).
Local wines are on sale here for souvenir shopping, or visitors may pause at the rattan table and chairs for a cup of wine before continuing their walk.
A few houses on stilts, museums in their own right, including a traditional brewery where visitors can get a first-hand look at how locals make their wine and catch warm wine drops from a large brewing pot, offer other opportunities to relax and unwind.
Reported by Thuy Nhien

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