Experience the Door of Death

Visitors participate in experiential activities at Cua Tu homestay, imbued with local cultural values.

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One early summer morning, when clouds were still hanging over the Tam Dao mountain slopes, the rooster had just crowed when a young Dao man quietly stepped out of a wooden stilt house.

He prepared for a special reception, not only providing accommodation and food, but also taking guests on a journey to discover the unique culture of his people. It took more than an hour to prepare everything, then Mr. Linh had time to sit down and chat with us about his entrepreneurial journey.

Ban Van Linh left school in the 9th grade to help his family raise his younger siblings. To make a living, he worked many jobs: kitchen assistant, electrical repairman, factory worker...

But it was the years away from home that planted in him a clearer idea of the value of his homeland, where the cool Cua Tu stream flows through the wild mountains and forests, where stilt houses and flickering fires in the cold winter nights, where traditional beauty still bustles in the festivals of the Dao people.

A corner of Cua Tu homestay.

During a return to his hometown in 2016, he noticed that more and more tourists from other provinces were coming to Dong Khuan to explore Cua Tu stream.

From intuition and observation, Linh realized the tourism development potential of this land and 3 years later, he decided to return to his hometown to start a business.

Thinking is doing. With 50 million VND, Linh started building a homestay model right on her family's land.

With little capital and limited knowledge about tourism, he taught himself by visiting models in the Northwest region.

Each trip is a time to learn and accumulate. Back home, he gradually renovated and expanded the small house into a 1,600m² campus with stilt houses, swimming pool, playground, dining area...

He said: At first, I was worried about many things. I didn't know how to arrange things in a way that was both convenient and retained the local characteristics. I didn't have much capital, so I had to be careful with each item. But the more I worked, the more I loved the job and wanted to do more for my hometown.

Over time, Cua Tu homestay gradually took shape and became a familiar destination for tourists everywhere.

Each year, the facility welcomes 2,000 to 3,000 visitors, with stable revenue of about 1 billion VND. Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Linh, from Hiep Hoa commune, Bac Ninh province, said: Although I have traveled to many places, I am very impressed with Cua Tu because of its wild, beautiful natural scenery and fresh air. All services at Cua Tu homestay are convenient, giving me interesting experiences.

Coming to Cua Tu homestay, visitors can enjoy the typical cuisine of the Dao ethnic group.

Not stopping at accommodation, Mr. Linh also invested in developing trekking, stream bathing, waterfall sliding services... What makes his model different is that he considers the cultural identity of his people as a fulcrum to attract visitors and develop tourism sustainably.

Together with local households, he organizes traditional performances of the Dao ethnic group, guides tourists in learning to dye indigo fabric, and participates in festivals...

For groups of tourists who want to understand more, he takes them to visit local homes, cook together, enjoy tea or experience herbal baths and foot soaks with medicinal herbs.

Aspiration to "do four-season tourism"

Cua Tu Stream is beautiful all year round, each season has its own beauty, but in the rainy and cold seasons it is often deserted.

Worried about how to develop tourism all year round, Linh built more restaurants and organized Dao cultural events during the low season, creating more livelihoods for local people.

Not keeping the results for himself, in 2023, he and some homestay owners in the area established the Cua Tu Eco-Tourism Cooperative with 12 members.

Of these, 4 households have accommodation facilities, the remaining households participate in guiding tours, organizing experiential activities, making handicrafts, and welcoming guests.

The cooperative not only creates additional livelihoods for dozens of people in the area but also helps form a closed service chain - from accommodation, food to tour guides, transportation, and identity experiences.

Thanks to that, the number of visitors is stable and increasing steadily. In 2025, after the road to Dong Khuan hamlet was completed, the number of visitors increased by more than 50% compared to the same period last year.

Many tourists have chosen Cua Tu homestay to celebrate birthdays with friends.

Mr. Linh said: Being born and raised in Dong Khuan hamlet, I am imbued with the language, customs and lifestyle of the Dao people. I hope that these values will not only be preserved in my community, but also spread out, and be known and appreciated by friends from all over.

Despite having a solid foundation, Linh does not allow himself to stop. He continues to learn English to communicate with international guests, and is planning to expand the restaurant and develop an area to display Dao cultural products - from costumes, musical instruments to precious documentary photos.

He also cherishes the idea of building an annual Dao cultural festival, connecting villages around the area to participate in performances, exchanges, and promote traditional cuisine and crafts.

The idea is not only for tourists, but also for the Dao people to love, understand and preserve the beauty of their people. He said: Doing tourism is doing culture. If we only sell nature, it will eventually run out. But if we use culture to feed tourism, it will grow continuously.

Evaluating the model of Mr. Ban Van Linh, Mr. Dang Thanh Tung, Chairman of the People's Committee of La Bang Commune, said: From Mr. Linh's model, we clearly see the effectiveness of developing community-based tourism. That is, young people have jobs, people can sell agricultural products, and Dao people have the opportunity to express their identity. This is also the development direction that the locality will build in the coming time.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202507/trai-nghiem-cua-tu-ef00ae1/