Capital: Tra Vinh City
Population (2019): 1,286 thousand people
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Khmer, Hoa, Tay
Highlights: Ba Om Pond, Ang Pagoda, Ba Dong Beach
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Ba Om Pond
One of the most prominent sites in Tra Vinh is the rectangular Ba Om Pond, which is situated in Group 3, Ward 8, and 7km southwest of Tra Vinh City.
The tranquil pond is 500m in length and 300m in width and its water is always clear and blue. It is surrounded by hillocks and many old trees of sao and dau whose roots emerge on the ground and form numerous odd shapes that create a unique beauty. The atmosphere is cool and pure all the year round. In the afternoon, flocks of birds perch on the trees and make this area exciting and noisy.
It is certain that you will hear of an extraordinary legend about a Khmer woman called Om, who leaded to creat the pond in a competition with the Khmer men for women to gain the right of selecting husbands for themselves.
Ang Pagoda
Ang Pagoda, one of the ancient pagodas in Tra Vinh, was built in 990. The pagoda is 7km from the Tra Vinh City-centre, covering an area of 4ha in Group 4, Ward 8, and is close to Ba Om Pond.
The pagoda was built after Khmer style in the South of Viet Nam with typical architecture and decoration. The pagoda’s gate has three towers on top carved with snake shapes and two gate’s pillars carved with divine-bird statues Krud and women in dancing poses Ken naarr.
The sanctum of the pagoda is placed on a 2m-high ground, facing toward the east. Its roof composes of three layers carved with vignettes of Naga (the Snake God) symbolizing eternal power. The pillars are carved with statues of divinebird Krud and women in dancing poses Ken naarr proping the roof. Visitors can see statues of 4-face God Bayon and the Ogre Yeak wearing armor carved on the fences surrounding the sanctum.
The sanctum has a 30m2 altar worshipping Shakyamuni Buddha. There is one biggest Buddha statue of 2.1m high and about 50 other smaller statues.
Ba Dong Beach
Ba Dong Beach belongs to Truong Long Hoa Commune in Duyen Hai District, approximately 55km from Tra Vinh. The beach stretches over 10km and attracts visitors by its pristine beauty, fresh air and smooth sands along the seashore. According to local people, the beach was named Ba Dong because there appear 3 spectacular sand dunes when the tide goes down.
With white sand beach, here originally was invested as a seaside tourist area by the French in the early 20th century.
Currently, visitors can take a rest in convenient resorts and enjoy local specialties like crab fried with tamarind sauce, Cu Dune tiger shrimps, Nha Mat mussels, etc. Besides, water melon is one of local fruits that visitors can not miss when traveling to Ba Dong.
Source: TITC