Photo causing a 'fever' in the coconut land of Vinh Long

The photo series about Ben Tre is how photographer Nguyen Khanh Vu Khoa tells the story of traveling to the West. In 2 days, he traveled around the villages, capturing every peaceful moment.

2 days wandering around the land of coconuts

At the end of June, on the way back to Ho Chi Minh City after a business trip, photographer Nguyen Khanh Vu Khoa decided to stop in Vinh Long (in the old Ben Tre province) to explore. Formed from Minh Islet, Bao Islet and An Hoa Islet, this place is known as the land of coconuts with the largest coconut growing area in the country. Every early morning, boats and canoes cut through the Thom River to the floating market. At noon, the sun rises high, coconut trees cast long shadows on the mangroves, children swim together in the river with alluvial soil. During his two days here, the photographer weaved through each small road to capture everyday moments. "The people of the West always have a smile on their lips, no one is more hospitable. The pace of life is quiet but steady. The most impressive thing is the view from above, hundreds of hectares of coconut trees covering the whole area. That is an image that is hard to find anywhere else," he said.

People stick to the land to make a living

For the people here, from their ancestors to their descendants, they all live off the coconut fields. At dawn every day, the sound of motorboats carrying coconuts to the gathering point is bustling along a stretch of the river. Men with tanned skin, put heavy coconut baskets on their shoulders and transport them to the workshop to separate the coconut meat and shells. At another workshop, the coconut shells continue to be processed into fibers, cleaned, dried to make ropes, carpets, mats or whittled into leaves to make handicrafts for export. In addition to coconut farming, people also buy straw from other provinces in the West such as An Giang , Dong Thap, Ca Mau... to raise livestock. At noon, the straw-carrying boat will anchor at Ba Tri market, and people will also be busy carrying each roll of straw home. "These seemingly simple jobs have fed many generations. I appreciate the hard-working, gentle people who stick to the land, the river and live with nature every day," this photographer shared.

In the first 6 months of 2025, Vinh Long (formerly Ben Tre province) welcomed nearly 1.6 million visitors, including more than 542,000 international visitors, earning more than 2,000 billion VND. The locality also promoted and launched new products, aiming to develop tourism into a spearhead industry by 2030.

znews.vn

Source: https://lifestyle.znews.vn/anh-gay-sot-o-xu-dua-vinh-long-post1568625.html