SACRED PLACE: Bat Pagoda in Sóc Trăng City is one of the most popular destinations in the Mekong Delta province of Sóc Trăng. VNA/VNS Photo by Chanh Đa

The southern province of Sóc Trăng, one of the leading tourist attractions in the Mekong Delta River plans to launch projects to boost its tourism development.

This year, Sóc Trăng continues to enhance linkages and cooperation with provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta, HCM City, and various foreign countries to seek new markets.

It is working on projects to build and develop a traditional cultural festival to promote river tours, one of the province’s typical tourism products.

According to Lê Hoàng Yến, director of the Sóc Trăng Tourism Promotion and Information Centre, all of the projects, which have been implemented effectively, will contribute to developing tourism into the province’s key economic sector in 2025.

Sóc Trăng targets to welcome 2.6 million visitors in 2025, including 50,000 foreign tourists. Tourism revenue is expected to reach more than VNĐ1.45 trillion (US$56.7 million).

Surrounded by the Hậu River, Cần Thơ City, three provinces of Trà Vinh, Hậu Giang and Bạc Liêu and the sea, Sóc Trăng is home to 89 pagodas of ethnic Khmer group, 47 pagodas of ethnic Hoa (Vietnamese of Chinese origin).

It is not only famous for its delicious food but also the beauty of ancient temples and pagodas with unique architecture and spectacular views of the eco-tourism resorts bestowed by nature.

Sóc Trăng is implementing a project to restore and upgrade historical and spiritual sites to offer new experiences to tourists.

Under the project, more than VNĐ30 billion ($1.17 million) will be invested in restoring nine heritage sites by 2025, including the national cultural-historical sites of Bat and Kh’leang pagodas in Sóc Trăng City.

The Bat Pagoda is a place of worship for devout Buddhists, most from the Khmer community.

It is known for its vast garden with numerous ancient trees interspersed with fruit trees that are the home of thousands of bats.

Meanwhile, the 500-year-old Kh’leang Pagoda -- the oldest Khmer pagoda in Sóc Trăng -- is known for blending Khmer Buddhism and Vietnamese and Chinese cultures, shown through ancient Chinese characters and distinctive sculptured figures of Vietnamese pagodas in the main hall.

The province will also upgrade historical sites in Ngã Năm, Cù Lao Dung, and Trần Đề District where the province’s Communist Party Committee and military bases were located during the resistance wars.

The work aims to build more tours to help tourists learn about the province’s history, and contribute to developing local tourism.

FIERCE COMPETITION: More than 4,000 people from 46 men's and women's teams compete in the 2023 Ngo long-boat race on the Maspero River in Sóc Trăng City. VNA/VNS Photo by Trung Hiếu

By the end of this year, Sóc Trăng will host the first Culture, Sports and Tourism Week to attract tourists and celebrate the annual Ok Om Bok festival, also called the Festival of Worshipping the Moon by the Khmer ethnics.

The ritual takes place under the full moon in the 10th lunar month annually when the season changes from rainy to dry, and from the growing season to the harvest season.

The event will last for seven days and have the theme “Preserving and Promoting the Cultural Values of Ethnic Minorities”.

It will include a trade fair to introduce speciality products of Sóc Trăng and other provinces in the delta, and a seminar to highlight the quality and potential of fragrant rice in the province and Việt Nam.

The event's highlight will be the Ngo long boat race, which expects to attract from 60 to 65 men's and women's teams from Sóc Trăng and other Mekong Delta provinces.

The race will be 1,200 metres for men and 1,000 metres for women, and will take place on the Maspero River in Sóc Trăng City.

A pageant will be held for beauties in the Mekong Delta. A fashion show will also take place featuring the traditional costumes of ethnic minorities from the province and the region.

Traditional music performances will be presented as well, featuring the pinpeat, the largest Khmer traditional musical ensemble, performing ceremonial music at pagodas. VNS