Ngoc Linh ginseng beauty contest
Opportunity for "national treasure" Ngoc Linh ginseng to grow
After the merger, the old Nam Tra My district was divided into 5 communes: Nam Tra My, Tra Linh, Tra Tap, Tra Leng, Tra Van. These days, preparations for the 7th Ngoc Linh Ginseng Festival in 2025 with the theme "Ngoc Linh - The Era of Rising" are being actively carried out by the communes.
Mr. Tran Van Man, Chairman of Nam Tra My Commune People's Committee shared: People will play the role of the main subject, voluntarily participating in the activities of this festival. Each commune will build and participate in the exhibition booth, introduce and exchange typical products of each locality; combine the exhibition and introduction of culture, beliefs, customs, festivals, flagpoles, water troughs, prop models... to serve tourists when coming to the festival.
Yesterday morning, July 31, the People's Committee of Tra Linh commune held a ceremony to worship the Ginseng God at the Ngoc Linh Ginseng Temple, Kon Pin village, Hamlet 2, Tra Linh commune to thank the heavens and earth for protecting the ginseng plants to grow well. On this occasion, the locality also donated 7,000 ginseng seedlings to 33 poor households in Tra Linh commune and neighboring communes. At the same time, the households receiving the gifts were instructed on techniques for land preparation, planting and caring for Ngoc Linh ginseng according to the experience of the Xo Dang people.
Taking place one month after the merger of Quang Nam and Da Nang, the consensus and coordination between the new communes in preparing the festival is an affirmation of the efforts of the government and people to preserve and spread the special values of Ngoc Linh ginseng - a rare medicinal herb known as the "national treasure" of Vietnam and included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List "Folk knowledge about Ngoc Linh ginseng in Nam Tra My district, Quang Nam province"; at the same time promoting eco-tourism, community tourism, raising the level to put highland culture on the tourism map of Da Nang city.
Within the framework of the festival, there are also activities such as a market for Ngoc Linh ginseng and mountainous medicinal herbs; a display space introducing OCOP products, typical rural industrial products; a booth introducing culinary specialties of ethnic minorities in the Southwest region of Da Nang...
In particular, there will be a Ngoc Linh ginseng competition and an auction of the winning ginseng donated by the owners to raise funds to build charity houses and eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses. Ginseng garden owners and growers prepare the most beautiful ginseng plants to bring to the competition with the desire to contribute to local social work. Quality ginseng roots and medicinal herbs are also ready to bring to the fair to display and introduce to visitors and buyers.
Ngoc Linh ginseng beauty contest
Preserving and honoring folk knowledge about Ngoc Linh ginseng
Starting from 2017, Ngoc Linh Ginseng Festival is held periodically in Nam Tra My (formerly Quang Nam province) every August with many rich and diverse activities, honoring the traditional cultural values of the Ca Dong, Mo Nong, and Xo Dang ethnic groups; reenacting the Ngoc Linh Ginseng God procession ritual and many other typical cultural, tourism and commercial activities...
Mr. Ho Van Du, a local ginseng grower, said: The festival has become a “brand” that locals and tourists look forward to every year. Many people from far away come to experience the culture of the highlands, directly choosing to buy precious medicinal herbs that nature has bestowed on the mountains and forests. Thereby, connecting the local community in traditional activities, aiming to preserve the unique cultural values of ethnic minorities, while creating practical values in socio-economic development and environmental protection.
During the practice of growing Ngoc Linh ginseng, local residents still maintain some customs such as worshiping the Ginseng God, Mountain God... Depending on the conditions of each household, the offerings are different, but there must always be one or three Ngoc Linh ginseng plants. Currently, these traditional customs and rituals are still preserved and practiced by the indigenous community, and are recreated in each festival.
In 2020, the Ngoc Linh Ginseng Temple was built in Konpin village (Tra Linh commune). Local people hold an annual ceremony to worship the Ginseng God to commemorate the ancestors who founded the land and initiated the Ngoc Linh ginseng cultivation profession. At the same time, they pray for favorable weather, good ginseng harvest, and to spread all over the world, bringing a prosperous life to the villagers.
Within the framework of this year's festival, traditional rituals performed by people at the Ngoc Linh Ginseng Temple, the Ginseng God procession, and the Ngoc Linh Ginseng symbol procession were recreated at the opening night of the festival.
Folk knowledge in exploiting, growing and processing Ngoc Linh ginseng in Nam Tra My plays a very important role in the lives of ethnic minorities here. At the same time, it is a heritage associated with the mountain residents, connecting with residents between regions, thereby demonstrating the spirit of national solidarity. In addition to ginseng cultivation, the treasure of folk knowledge of ethnic minorities living at the foot of Ngoc Linh mountain needs to be further supplemented and cultivated to have a basis for preserving, honoring and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage of the locality and the nation.
Promoting the value of Ngoc Linh ginseng associated with tourism development
Ginseng worship ceremony
At the festival, for the first time, the Ngoc Linh ginseng experience tour was introduced by Tra Tap commune to tourists with a journey to explore and experience the ginseng garden at an altitude of over 1,800m; stay overnight and hunt for morning clouds at Tak Po peak; experience and cultural exchange with the Xo Dang people...
Combine visiting the growing area and production facility of Ngoc Linh ginseng and medicinal herbs in Tra Linh commune and communes in the Southwest of Da Nang city such as Nam Tra My, Tra Tap, Tra Van and Tra Leng to create opportunities to develop community tourism.
Tra Linh Commune (merged from Tra Linh and Tra Nam communes of Quang Nam province in the past) is one of the main areas for growing Ngoc Linh ginseng. More than 70% of the population are Xo Dang ethnic people, the output of 3-5 year old ginseng roots can supply the market up to tens of tons each year, with a value of thousands of billions of VND.
In the new context, Da Nang City has agreed to hand over the Tac Ngo Ginseng Farm and Ngoc Linh Ginseng Exhibition House to Tra Linh Commune to manage and preserve the original genetic resources to serve the supply of seeds and scientific research for the country. At the same time, mobilize communes and wards with tourism strengths in the delta to form a sister relationship with Tra Linh to share experiences and coordinate to develop tourism in the Ngoc Linh ginseng region commensurate with its existing potential.
At a recent working session with the locality, Mr. Ho Quang Buu, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City, directed the locality to focus on developing a sustainable green economy in the far southwest of Da Nang City. Aiming to build a "green" commune, saying no to plastic waste and strengthening international cooperation to share experiences in growing ginseng and medicinal herbs; organizing livestreams for people to sell products on social networking platforms and promote local tourism.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/ton-vinh-di-san-tri-thuc-dan-gian-sam-ngoc-linh-158142.html
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