The movie "Southern Forest Land" is currently making waves and becoming the center of attention for many audiences in recent days. The film version of "Southern Forest Land" was produced by director Nguyen Quang Dung based on the novel of the same name by writer Doan Gioi with an investment of up to 40 billion VND and caused a stir as soon as it was released in theaters.
It is known that the film crew spent more than 48 days officially filming at 45 locations across the Western provinces such as: An Giang, Dong Thap, Soc Trang, Long Xuyen, Dong Nai. Tra Su cajuput forest, An Giang was chosen as the location to film the first scene of the film "Southern Forest Land", mobilizing more than 300 extras and building more than 50 wooden boats at a factory in Dong Thap to recreate the floating market of the 1920s.
One of the impressive footage in the trailer for Southern Forest Land is the scene of the ancient Western floating market recreated by the producer at Tra Su cajuput forest (An Giang).
The wooden bridge connecting the two banks of the river in the floating market scene was used in the movie.
Tour guide Ly Thien Phong (TikToker Di cung Phong) said: "The film crew of 'Dat rung phuong nam' chose to film in Tra Su, attracting many local people to register to become extras. The film's setting in Tra Su also attracted the attention of many tourists because of its uniqueness. Leaving the film's setting behind is hoped to attract more and more visitors in the future."
According to information from the Tra Su Melaleuca Forest Management Board, in order to design the floating market scene, the film crew had to conduct a survey many months in advance. More than 20 local workers had to work continuously for 60 days before filming began.
The floating market appears with the bustling atmosphere of people's activities, dozens of boats on the intricate canal system. Above are shops, restaurants with nostalgic hand-painted signs...
Scenes recreate the typical floating market of the Southwest region in the 1920s
Looking at the behind-the-scenes images, the film crew has set up a floating market typical of the Southwest region. Dozens of boats are bustling with trade, on both sides of the bank are shops, restaurants, and a majestic market gate with hand-painted signs of ancient shops such as "Kim Sang Gold - Pawn Shop", "Vinh Tuong Fabric Shop"... After the filming of the film ended, the thatched houses, stalls, and signs of the film's props were kept intact for tourists to visit and take pictures, contributing to promoting the image of Tra Su tourism to domestic tourists and international friends.
Most people in the West use plastic boats instead of wooden boats. Therefore, in order to save time searching, the crew of the film "Southern Forest Land" chose to build new boats, then loaded them onto a large boat and transported them to Tra Su cajuput forest to use as props.
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest has an area of about 845 hectares, located in Vinh Trung Commune, Van Giao Commune of Tinh Bien District, An Giang District, 30 km from Chau Doc City Center. This place is known as a tourist experience destination to explore the Mekong Delta that cannot be missed when coming to An Giang. Tra Su Melaleuca Forest was originally just a forest planted on land with a semi-natural ecosystem since 1983. It can be said that the landscape here is a vivid slice symbolizing the Southern forest land.
Tra Su cajuput forest is about 30 km from Chau Doc city, planted according to the ecosystem model of the flooded area west of Hau river.
This forest was planned to prevent floods and wash away alum from the upstream area of the irrigation canal along the Hau River. After the Melaleuca trees have grown well and expanded on a large scale, with a diverse and rich ecosystem, Tra Su Melaleuca forest has become a green oasis, home to endemic plants and animals of the Southwest. Currently, Tra Su Melaleuca forest operates as an eco-tourism area and is an unmissable destination for tourists who want to learn more about the Mekong Delta, love green spaces and want to immerse themselves in nature.
Visitors coming here will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the shady natural space, discover a series of water birds, rare animals...
Moving deep into the forest, tourists cannot help but be overwhelmed by the lush green space that appears like a fairy tale painting.
Going deep inside to visit Tra Su cajuput forest, visitors can experience riding a motorboat or rowing boat deep into the cajuput forest, admiring the bird garden, large water hyacinth carpet, lotus carpet... In particular, visitors will be surprised by seeing with their own eyes many types of amphibians and animals living in the cajuput forest such as aquatic species, birds, fish... It is known that there are about 140 species of plants here, with the area almost covered by cajuput. Because of that, it will not be difficult for you to see flocks of birds flying up in the middle of the immense water field, or cajuput trees with birds perching, the image of white storks swooping down to the water surface to find food, extremely beautiful even for just a moment.
The diversity and richness of resources make Tra Su cajuput forest an ideal destination for those who are passionate about exploring wild nature.
The bamboo bridge across Tra Su cajuput forest is recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization as the longest in Vietnam, with a total length of 10 km.
To visit Tra Su cajuput forest, visitors will have the option to travel by motorboat or rowboat along the cajuput forest, while the driver will introduce unique and interesting points that can only be found here. The ticket price is 50,000 VND/person for each type of boat. Motorboats can carry 14-16 people, rowboats can carry 3 people.
Sitting on a boat, gently passing through the natural scenery on the peaceful lake, away from the hustle and bustle of city life, blending in with the chirping of birds echoing from the cajuput trees on both sides, the sound of oars gently splashing on the water, you will surely feel relaxed and lost in a fairyland.
Throughout the trip, visitors can enjoy the scenery, comfortably sit at the front of the boat to feel the coolness and relaxation, observe birds such as: teal, storks, cuckoos, lapwings... and the diverse aquatic life here, experience the flooded forest space.
There are about 400 pigeons raised in the forest so it is called "pigeon city".
The best time to visit Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is during the flood season from August to November. It seems that at this time the Melaleuca Forest is especially greener, the water comes with duckweed covering the surface, when you go by boat you will feel like you are gliding over a velvet carpet that is extremely soft and extremely enjoyable. Tra Su Melaleuca Forest opens at 5am and closes at 9pm. The entrance fee for each visitor is 100,000 VND/person.
In 2020, Tra Su was recognized by the Vietnam Record Organization as the most beautiful and famous cajuput forest in Vietnam for tourism during the flood season. Every day, Tra Su cajuput forest eco-tourism area welcomes a large number of domestic and international visitors to visit and experience.
With the fever of the movie "Southern Forest Land", Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is attracting a large number of tourists interested in learning and booking tours to experience.
