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| Once isolated, the eastern shore of Tam Giang Lagoon is now unlocking its potential |
Step-by-step urbanization
In earlier days, the eastern shore of the Tam Giang Lagoon, once seen as a world apart, could only be reached from central Hue by taking a long detour to the Van Trinh Bridge — an almost 100-kilometer journey just to cross less than 20 kilometers as the crow flies. Nguyen Van Me, former Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee (now Hue City), recalls vividly: “There were working trips where the meeting lasted barely 30 minutes, but the travel took an entire day, especially during the long, bitterly cold rainy season. The other side of the lagoon felt like an entirely different world.”
In the local people’s memory, daylight was seen as a precious “asset,” because the moment the sun slipped below the horizon, everyday life fell completely silent. It was only in the late 1990s that the very first electric lights finally crossed the lagoon and reached the eastern shore. The incandescent bulbs flickered uncertainly, yet shone with a touch of magic. From the faint glow of oil lamps, the houses along the lagoon gradually lit up at night, like a “delicate band of Milky Way.”
Over time, bridges like Hoa Xuan and Tam Giang (Ca Cut Bridge) were built, linking the two shores and drawing this “sea-and-lagoon” land closer to the center. Transportation opened up the region’s potential and awakened the long-asleep fishing villages along the lagoon. Regarded as the “lifeblood” of development, the transport infrastructure triggered a remarkable breakthrough — not simply enabling travel, but serving as a bridge to knowledge, economic opportunity, and, above all, inspiring the desire of lagoon communities for a better future.
From a purely agricultural and fishing region, Phong Hai, Quang Cong, and Quang Ngan (before being merged into a common ward) have begun to embrace homestays, lagoon-side cafés, community tourism, and coastal tourism. Across the dunes that once scorched people’s feet in the summer heat, seafood restaurants, resorts, and new check-in spaces are now appearing.
Every weekend afternoon, long lines of cars from Hue, Da Nang, and even from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City make their way here. Visitors sit in bamboo huts along the lagoon, sipping coffee, tasting freshly caught seafood, and quietly watching the deep-red sun sink into the still water. Others gather on the smooth sandy beaches, leaning shoulder to shoulder and listening to the gentle rhythm of the waves.
Ms. Hang, a native of the area who spent nearly 15 years working away from home, has now returned to open a homestay and restaurant. Smiling as a steady flow of visitors arrived today, she said, “In the past, the village was so poor that our children’s only dream was to leave. Now things have changed. I came back to start a business — to rewrite my dreams on the very land of my ancestors.”
Not far away, Nguyen Thai Hoai has just opened his “Lang Cat” (Sand Village) homestay. Nestled among casuarina-covered hills overlooking the lagoon, the homestay is the fruit of years of hard-earned savings. “Tourist numbers are increasing, yet accommodation remains limited. My wife and I decided to take the risk and invest. We hope that one day, visitors will stay longer, not only to watch the sunset, but to understand and truly love this land as we do,” Hoai said.
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| Twilight over Tam Giang Lagoon |
For a new future
From the salt-laden sand of the past has emerged not just life, but a new start. That is why the three lagoon-side localities of Quang Cong, Quang Ngan, and Phong Hai were merged under a new name: Phong Quang Ward —a name that preserves traditional identity, while also embodying an aspiration for eco-oriented, marine and lagoon-based urban development.
Mr. Hoang Van Suu, Vice Chairman of the ward People’s Committee, emphasized: “Phong Quang is more than an administrative decision. It is a bridge — a chance for residents of the once-isolated lagoon and coastal areas to come together and join in a shared cultural symphony, from the Ba Trao (traditional boat-rowing) Festival to the Cau Ngu (fish-worshiping) Festival, from village communal houses to traditional craft villages.”
I returned to my hometown on a summer afternoon. From the shore of the Tam Giang Lagoon, I no longer saw a silent countryside. National Highway 49B has been widened, and a new bridge over the Thuan An estuary is gradually taking shape. Along the shore, rows of lively guesthouses and seafood eateries stretch out, their soft yellow lights sprinkled like constellations across the water’s surface. Sunset is no longer a boundary of busyness, but a moment of quiet appreciation — when residents sit in modest cafés, travelers relax after a day of exploration, and the sun slowly sinks into the calm, mirror-like waters of the lagoon.
Once a poverty-stricken region, this land is now designated as the northern economic gateway of Hue City, where coastal and lagoon urban planning features prominently in strategic plans. The Thuan An estuary overpass is nearing completion, and the Vinh Tu Bridge will one day no longer be just a dream. With synchronized infrastructure and careful development planning, this area is taking off — quietly, without rush, steady, and full of promise.
To realize this aspiration, Phong Quang needs a strategic socio-economic development plan that fully harnesses its coastal and lagoon advantages. Mr. Do Ngoc Co, Chairman of the Hue City Travel Association, said that the area should diversify its coastal and lagoon tourism offerings. It should move beyond homestays and dining services to create specialized experience tours, such as “A Day as a Fisherman,” where visitors join boats to set nets, catch fish, and haul traps; festival and craft village tourism, including reenactments of the Cau Ngu and Ba Trao ceremonies alongside visits to boat-building villages and fish sauce villages; night tourism, featuring night fishing excursions or seasonal sunset and sunrise photography; and establish eco- and culture-focused check-in points.
Leveraging the water surface of the lagoons, Phong Quang needs to develop shrimp, threadfin, grouper, and oyster farming using clean water circulation systems to reduce disease risks. Investment should be encouraged in hatcheries and on-site seafood processing facilities to create added value and jobs for residents. Upgrading boat docks and piers for ecotourism and seafood transport is also essential. Coastal and lagoon-side roads connecting communes and regions should be developed to facilitate the movement of goods and services. Building the “Phong Quang Clean Seafood” brand, associated with traceability and the local OCOP program, should also be launched now.
With coordinated planning and integrated solutions, Phong Quang can hopefully gradually transform from an underdeveloped area into a coastal-lagoon ecological and economic hub in northern Hue City — a locality distinguished not only by its scenic beauty but also by sustainable livelihoods, rich culture, and a unique identity.
In those moments, each sunset over the Tam Giang Lagoon is more than a scenic spectacle — it stands as a testament to a land awakening, stretching toward the glow of transformation.