From the junction of Le Van Luong - Luong Huu Khanh roads, let’s turn left along a small road about more than one kilometer to reach a bamboo garden located halfway up the mountain in sub-zone 64 of the Son Tra Peninsula , Da Nang province. It can be said that this is a wonderful nature reserve with many unique species of bamboo in the Central Viet Nam and Central Highlands regions. This site is named Son Tra Tinh Vien (Son Tra Peaceful Garden), which has existed for nearly 20 years.
The gate is made of bamboo, the symbol of Son Tra Tinh Vien. Photo: Kha Thinh
The venue, the first of its kind in the central region, boasts breathtaking scenery, tranquil space and fresh air all year round. The garden’s owner is Venerable Thich The Tuong.
More than 40 years ago, when he was a monk in Ho Chi Minh City, in a dream he saw himself in a wonderful green bamboo forest. The image of bamboo, a species of tree attached to Vietnamese villages and hamlets for thousands of years urged him to get closer to bamboo.
After returning to practice at the Quan The Am Pagoda at the Marble Mountains special national relic site for a while, Venerable Thich The Tuong was able to create a green garden on the Son Tra nature reserve, about 8km northeast of the center of Da Nang city.
At that time, he exerted great efforts to miraculously turn the wild sterile forest land, jagged with rocks covered with countless wild plants into a dream garden with all kinds of bamboos and canes. The one-hectare garden at first just had some native bamboo trees but later the number increased, together with the garden owner’s passion.
Over the past years, the venerable has visited many places nationwide to bring back different varieties, with the aim of preserving their gene sources.
According to incomplete statistics, there are over 250 species of bamboo in the countryside, mountains and forests in Viet Nam, but in Son Tra Tinh Vien, there are 108 species of all kinds of large and small stems, different heights which he collected from different provinces such as Nghe An, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, Dien Bien, Dong Thap and Ben Tre.
Coming to the Son Tra Tinh Vien, we have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the immense green of bamboo. The mountain breeze, sky clouds swirling on the tops of the tall trees make those who drop their slow steps on the zigzag paths feel very relaxed peaceful in minds.
On sunny days, when we come to Son Tra Tinh Vien, we are lost in the fairyland, the cold air from the mountain rocks, from the primeval forest of the peninsula and the bamboo forests makes the sweat dry up quickly.
A clear stream from the top of the mountain crept through the cracks of the rocks, down to a fairly flat area full of bamboo clumps, and then split into two small ditches that flow into a lake full of fish and turtles swimming around.
Around the lakeshore and under the canopy of shady bamboo groves, there are stone benches for those who want to chat with others, read books and enjoy the fresh atmosphere of nature.
To hear the birds chirping on the branches, the monkeys calling for their partners from their flocks from afar, our hearts seem to get rid of life pressures and enxiety. Sometimes, the sound of frogs lurking around the lakeshore, in the creaking moss-covered caves, the groaning of insects are mixed together, and all of them create a strange and wild sound of the mountains.
The Son Tra Tinh Vien bamboo garden is a place for anyone who loves to explore, love the forest-to-be adjacent-to-sea scenery, and enjoy relaxing moments in a quiet space. The sound from the bamboo garden is still rising steadily when the sun is almost out of the western shadow. That close and familiar sound reverberated against the cliffs and then suddenly soared up to let the mountain wind blow it away…
Reporting by Thai My - Translating by A.Thu
