Bamboo reserve promotes conservation, relaxation

      Vietnam’s first bamboo reserve offers facilities for scientists and students as well as a unique daytrip for tourists and city slickers.
The Phu An Ecological Bamboo Museum and Botanical Reserve, also known as the Phu An Bamboo Village, is a multipurpose center promoting scientific research and ecosystem conservation while educating the local community about environmental protection and the value of ecotourism, said project head Dr. Diep Thi My Hanh, a lecturer at the HCMC University of Natural Sciences.
In addition to providing a research center and laboratory for students and academics, the reserve is also an ecotourism site, located in Binh Duong Province’s Ben Cat Commune, some 30 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.
The vast ecological reserve with its 130 bamboo species, including many rare varieties collected from every corner of the nation, is open for tourists to wander the day away.
Phu An Bamboo Village’s botanical garden is known for its gorgeous landscaping, brought to life with lush bamboo clusters and brilliantly colored flowers.
Visitors can rest on stones, rocks and boulders scattered throughout the garden while they enjoy local fruits and unwind to the chatter of the area’s local birds.
Tourists can ride bikes along shady roads that meander through the greenery or have a swim in the Chua Canal, a tributary of the Saigon River.
The reserve also features a museum displaying tools, musical instruments and art made out of bamboo.
The museum houses an endangered species room where rare plants and insects are kept. There is also a small theater where visitors can watch documentaries about bamboo.
The site also features a bamboo maze made of rare species.
The VND11 billion (US$665,100) reserve, 12 kilometers from the provincial capital of Thu Dau Mot, opened to the public last April and covers nearly 10 hectares.
The project is a collaboration between the HCMC University of Natural Sciences, the Binh Duong Province administration and authorities from France’s Rhone Alpes region and the Pilat Natural Reserve.
Phu An Bamboo Village
Address: 124, 774 Road, Ben Cat Commune, Binh Duong Province.