This figure included nearly 218,000 foreign arrivals, a 16.4% decrease against the same period last year. Total tourism revenue in the four months posted more than 1.44 trillion, a 21.8% increase over a year earlier.

 In April alone, main tourist attractions in the province attracted numerous tourists, such as Sapa (138,000), Bac Ha (17,100) and Lao Cai city (80,300). In addition, the Lao Cai Information and Promotion Centre welcomed and provided service for over 12,4000 arrivals.

According to Vietnam News Agency, the 2015 Sapa Culture and Tourism week concurred with the National Reunification holiday and May Day from April 28^th to May 3^rd. So consequently, Sapa greeted more than 60,000 tourist arrivals, much higher than the initial expected figure of 12,000 tourists./.

Tourists may feel lost in the beauty and majesty of nature when they arrive at Thac Trang (White Waterfall), one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the mountainous province of Quang Ngai.

The White Waterfall is located in Thanh An Commune, Minh Long District, about 30km southwest from the centre of Quang Ngai City.

The best way to reach the White Waterfall is by motorbike, said Nguyen Thanh Hung from Ha Noi.

Tourists can ride over the Eo Gio Pass on Dinh Cuong Mountain and admire the peaceful beauty of the gentle Ve River and cottages by the riverside, with amazing views of Hre ethnic villages with stilt-houses nestled on slopes, tea plantations and terraced paddies.

Climbing up to the fall upstream, Hung and his friends had to follow a rocky jungle trail with a deep abyss on one side.

The trek was worth it though when they reached the top and witnessed the amazing panorama of the mountains, forests and the waterfall.

However, tour guides are recommended because the hard trek is only for advanced climbers with the right equipment.

For casual hikers, they can choose to walk down to the foot of the waterfall and swim in the lakes or catch nien fish. The fish is a speciality of the region which can be served as sashimi or grilled and enjoyed with salt, pepper and chilli. After cleaning the fish, local people use a bamboo stick grill it on a coal fire.

On both sides of the fall, there are lots of doat trees that the Hre people use top make their special wine.

"The heat of the summer seems to vanish under the waterfall as we soak ourselves in the lake," said Hung.

The White Waterfall is well-known to local people, but not many tourists know about it, so it has remained unspoiled. As a result, tourism services are limited.

"When you plan a day trip to the White Waterfall, you should bring food, drink and a first-aid kit, especially tiger balm to stop the leeches," said Hung.

A project to build a tourist area near the White Waterfall has been started, and a bridge will be built connecting the waterfall with another wonderful natural landscape on the Dong Can Dike. The project will include a resort, a shopping centre, a park, a swimming pool, an underwater world for children, a fishing zone and a zoo.

The project will cover 57ha and will be developed from now to 2022.

Hung has returned to the White Waterfall after many years and said the route has become more accessible. "I drove to the White Waterfall by motorbike and the landscape is wonderful, while the road is less risky. 

"In the future, when infrastructure is developed, it may kick off the development of local tourism, helping to push the growth of the local economy." "However, if the site receives more tourists, it will become more crowded and noisy. I hope that people will maintain the pristine beauty of the area so that tourism does not harm nature." 

It is the fourth tallest mountain in Viet Nam, trailed by Fansipan (3,143m), Pu Ta Leng (3,096m), and Pu Si Lung (3,076m). Lying between two northern provinces of Lai Chau and Lao Cai, the mountain with hasty and rocky terrain was discovered by adventurous tourists in 2012.

To climb to the top of the mountain, visitors must travel 30km of forest road and experience different types of terrain like bare hills, wood and bamboo forest and high, adventurous and sheer rock.

Visitors can conquer the Bach Moc Luong Tu’s peak from two ways: Departing from Den Sung hamlet in Sin Suoi Ho village, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province or from Ki Quan San hamlet in Sang Ma Sao village, Bat Xat district in Lao Cai province.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) cited representatives of the Ha Long City Tourism Center as saying that the service is expected to be inaugurated next month.

Ha Long City is the heart of the northern province of Quang Ninh. 

The cars will carry visitors to some of the city’s major tourist attractions on two routes.

The first route, Bai Chay, is as follows: Marine Plaza -- Bai Chay Tourist Boat Wharf -- Bai Chay Tourism Complex -- Bai Chay Bridge.

The second route, Hon Gai, will depart from Vincom Ha Long and take tourists to Ha Long Market 1, Bai Tho Mountain, and the Quang Ninh Museum.

In related news, the VNAT also cited MTVT, a local travel firm, as announcing that they have just put five electric cars into operation.

The cars, worth a total of over VND750 million (US$34,952), are deployed for the Minh Chau-Quan Lan island route, the first of its kind in these island communes, which are both located in the province’s Van Don District.

These environmentally-friendly, Japanese-made cars are capable of transporting from nine to 12 passengers each, with their technical and environmental conditions having been fully inspected by competent agencies.

With the cars reaching an estimated speed of 35 kilometers per hour, the entire ride from Minh Chau Port to Quan Lan Port or the other way round takes about 45 minutes.

Fares fluctuate from VND20,000 (US$1) to VND60,000 (US$3) apiece, depending on passengers’ destinations.

MTVT plans to put another batch of 40 such cars into use in the time to come, its representatives added.

The model of electric cars has been adopted in four other places in Vietnam, namely Hanoi, Sam Son Town in north-central Thanh Hoa Province, Dong Hoi in central Quang Binh Province, and Cua Lo Town in central Nghe An Province.

According to the Ministry of Transport’s statistics released in November last year, the four localities in the northern and central regions currently boast a total of 621 electric cars, including 50 in the capital city.

Newswire Vietnamplus quoted Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho as saying at a November 2014 meeting that the use of electric cars has boosted tourism and helped curb the number of motorbikes and cyclos – bicycle taxis that are a sort of pedicab with one or two passengers in a seat in the front and the driver pedaling in the rear – in use at scenic spots and tourist destinations.

The complex includes six buildings spanning 4,000 square metres, serving the study, collection, preservation and showcasing of the cultural legacy of the Muong ethnic group.

It also offers other Muong culture-related services, such as cuisine, art performances and traditions.

Some 5,000 items have been put on display at the museum, including a thousand-year-old bronze drum, gongs and pottery.

The facility is the second private museum in the locality and the 24^th in Viet Nam.

The Muong is the fourth largest of Viet Nam’s 54 ethnic group with an estimated population of 1.3 million.

The Muong people inhabit the northern mountainous region, mainly in Hoa Binh and some mountainous districts of northern central Thanh Hoa province.