"The Sun is shining brightly, listening to the legend of the young couple who love each other head over heels, but cannot get married... Hoh...ooh...oh..."
Thebeautiful lyrics in a sweet song that tells the legend of Nui Coc Lake in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. Many people know it by heart and dream of travelling to the lake which, as the legend goes, is made of the tears of a girl who cannot marry the man she loves.
With a width of 2,600 ha and adepth of 50m, Nui Coc Lake is an interesting eco-tourism destination.What brings the lake back into reality is the large tourism area builtnext to it. The lake comprises 89 islets; some are covered with trees,some with flocks of birds, and others with flocks of storks or mountaingoats. About 40 species of birds and 15 species of mammals have beenrecorded in the reservoir area. Nearby the lake, Coc Mountain standsimposingly amid the blue sky, the bright sunshine over every blade ofgrass and twig, all creating marvelous and splendid scenery. The watersurface is large and quiet. Somewhere some storks sore above theislands in the middle of the lake, which suggests a quite and pleasantlife far from the bustle and crowdedness of the urban life. With suchcharming natural scenery, Nui Coc is close to legend of the romanticlove between a girl named Cong and the man named Coc.Passinguneven fresh tea hills and gentle streams, you will be greeted byimmense emerald rice fields along the way to Nui Coc Lake. The 18km ofwindy roads from Thai Nguyen City’s centre to the lake are lined bytea-terraced fields on hills, and gentle rivers under a blue sky. Themystical Nui Coc Lake always surprises tourists with its legendarybeauty. The scene is more like a water-colour painting than a reallandscape.
The legend behind...
Thelegend has it that there was a couple loving each other very much buttheir love did not become true due to their different social positions.Generations of the Vietnamese are all able to tell you the beautifulbut sad love story of the couple Cong and Coc that relates to the lake,as far as I remember that "One pained person cries and the tears have become a river. One person who spent a life waiting becomes the mountain."
Thetragic tale of families tearing a couple apart is like a VietnameseRomeo and Juliet. Coc’s family is too poor, and the girl’s rich,mandarin family forbids him from marrying her. Their interference onlymakes the couple more determined to wait for each other. One day, thesound of the flute Coc uses to call for Cong does not reach Cong’sroom. Hopeless for his lover, Coc dies of a broken heart.
Thefairy in the sky feels pity for him and transforms him into a mountainthat stands imposing in the middle of the sky. During all four seasons,the wind blows through the leaves to resound the lover’s flute. Thegirl, detained in her room, cries for her lover all day and night untilone day her body transforms into tears. The tears full of love andloyalty absorb into the soil, and run as currents looking for a way toCoc Mountain. Every year since then, when summer comes, violet sim(violet myrtle flower) flourish on Coc Mountain and on Cong River toremind people of this beautiful love.
Theregion where this legend was born is also known as the Tan Cuongregion, famous for its perfumed tea in Thai Nguyen. It is said thatCong’s tears are absorbed in the tea plant’s roots, creating a lastingsweet flavour that anyone who tastes can remember it forever.
The love story finished when the boat reaches the bank for tourists to take another travel on Nui Coc Lake in a ship...
... to the Palace of Legend
Visitorsto Nui Coc Lake can take a trip to one of the favourite stops uponarrival, that is Huyen Thoai Cung (Palace of Legend) which includesstatues made by 50 artisans from Nam Dinh Province. Hopping on a littlebamboo boat that runs along the narrow Luoi River in a grotto, a symbolof Cong’s tears, you can live out the legend of Cong and Coc as passinglittle statues and scenes that tell the whole story. Palace of Legendis a cultural tourism work. The man-made system of caves has beendesigned by architectures on an area of 3,000 square meters. Standingby the gate of the tourism site is statues of Cong and Coc. The Palacelegend is 100 meters from the gate.
Theappearance of the Palace Legend is like a mountain range with thestatue of male fairy holding a bamboo stick, presenting the goodfighting against the bad. Inside the palace, there is a man-made streamflowing around the cave. Sitting on small boat, tourists can look atscenery of the two sides. System of cave and architectural works hasrecounted by pictures the legend of Cong and Coc.
Notfar from the Palace of Legend is a little zoo with dozens of differentanimals such as monkeys, crocodiles, pythons and ostriches. Afterstopping at the main tourist destinations, you can enjoy the region’sspecialties including bamboo rat meat. A special highlight thatshouldn’t be missed is the amazing water music display built tocelebrate Thai Nguyen
Co Island
Tourism Year. You will be enchanted to see waters from fountains in the lake dance to melodies of the songs.
and getting on the boat...
Ifyou have much spare time, you should travel in a boat on the lake waterand you can enjoy a panorama of the whole lake, which is one of themost relaxing moments. While enjoying the sparkling waters under thesun, you can reach Co Island (island of stork) with wild myrtle and oldbamboo trees where is the host of bird, stork and so on, specially firestork at twilight. After cruising, you will visit irrigation spillwayand the tourism site in the north of the lake with services andbustling tourism area. If visiting a small island, which is quiet andsecluded, you will have a chance to organize a happy meal or enjoypleasant minutes, which will last in your life. Tourists can also campout on one of the islands and wallow in the pure setting, while fishingon the lake.
Themystical Nui Coc Lake really surprises tourists with its incrediblebeauty... It is certainly that you will be sedured the water-colourpainting landscape of the lake.
