Dia Tang Phi Lai Tu Pagoda, a peaceful place in Ha Nam. (Photo: Dieu Linh)

Recently, Ha Nam province has been nominated in two categories: “Asia's Leading Emerging Tourist Destination” and “Asia's Leading Local Cultural Destination” of the World Travel Awards, the award known as the Oscar of the world tourism industry.

This is the 31st time the World Travel Awards (WTA) for Asia and Oceania has been held. The WTA is one of the most prestigious awards in the tourism industry, established in 1993 to recognize, reward and honor the best names in the global tourism industry.

In 2023, Ha Nam surpassed many strong competitors to be honored as "The World's Leading Local Cultural Destination".

Located at the southern gateway of Hanoi, about 65 km from the capital, Ha Nam province is a land with great potential for developing spiritual, cultural, ecological and culinary tourism with a system of historical relics, landscapes and craft villages that are extremely diverse, rich and rich in identity.

Ha Nam owns many ancient pagodas with peaceful and serene beauty, thousands of years old, depicting the soul of the spiritual cultural life of the North, attracting millions of tourists to come and worship every year.

In particular, Long Doi Son Pagoda Relic Complex (Tien Son Commune, Duy Tien Town) is one of the famous landscapes of the ancient Son Nam town, with a long history and reflecting a prosperous period of Buddhism in the history of the nation.

Dia Tang Phi Lai Pagoda (or Dung Pagoda) with an age of nearly 1,000 years has become the hottest destination in Ha Nam after being restored with both ancient and poetic beauty.

Another famous spiritual destination of Ha Nam is Tam Chuc tourist area with its beauty likened to Ha Long Bay on land, with ancient and peaceful architecture amidst majestic mountains and clear blue lakes.

A cultural and spiritual destination not to be missed when coming to Ha Nam is the more than 140-year-old So Kien Basilica. This is one of four churches conferred the title of Minor Basilica - a title specially honored by the Pope for churches with large, ancient architecture and important historical and spiritual significance.

In addition, Ha Nam also has many other scenic spots such as Ba Kien's house - the prototype of Vu Dai village, Kem Trong tourist area, Ba Danh pagoda, Tran Thuong temple, Vu Dai fish cooking village, Doi Tam drum village, Nha Xa silk weaving village, and Truc Temple - Ngu Dong Son tourist area...

Besides spiritual and cultural destinations, Ha Nam is also famous for its wild landscapes, crystallizing the beauty of mountains, forests, rivers and lakes, including: Dong Pond with a majestic natural picture created by high mountains and forests; Luon Cave is where visitors can float on a boat to admire the strange shapes of stalactites...

At the 31st World Travel Awards for Asia and Oceania this year, at the national level, Vietnam was nominated in many important categories. These are: "Asia's Leading Beach Destination"; "Asia's Leading Cultural Destination"; "Asia's Leading Heritage Destination"; "Asia's Leading Natural Destination"; "Asia's Leading Youth Destination".

Many key tourist destinations in our country are also nominated in different categories and Ha Nam is surpassing many competitors to be nominated in the above two important categories.

Voting is now open at www.worldtravelawards.com.