Back to nature in Phong Dien

Phong Dien District, considered the green lung of Can Tho City, is famous for Gian Gua relic site and Cot Cau and Da Noi ponds.
Visitors only have to drive along the National Road 923 from the city to Phong Dien for around 10 kilometers, where they will have to get across the Can Tho River at the wharf.
Once negotiated they will pass rice and orchard fields before finally reaching Gian Gua. The site is filled with giant gua trees which are about six meters high. The trees’ roots and branches knit together so well that people cannot identify which ones are roots and which are branches. And most visitors are amazed at the spectacular scenery on the site which covers about 3,000 square meters.
The site is a sacred place for local people who built a Ba Temple in 1996 to worship a lady they call ‘Ba’ to pray for good health and happiness. Annually on the 28th of the second lunar month, they hold worshipping rituals accompanied with many traditional artistic programs. The ceremony often attracts many pilgrims from the delta.
Currently, the local authorities are developing it as an eco-tourism site with an eco-diversity system and unique cultural products.
From Gian Gua, travelers only have to walk just over four kilometers southwards to find the Cot Cau and Da Noi ponds. The sites used to be swamps where people found many pillars about 3-4 meters deep so they call it Cot Cau (pillars). Meanwhile, people also discovered many square green stones so they name the other pond Da Noi (floating stone).
These sites are still primitive with a fresh and peaceful atmosphere, so they are an ideal place for those want to escape the city life and have some small part of nature all to themselves.