Located more than 30 kilometers far from the center of Hanoi, Chuong Village – a small on the side of Duong River, administratively belongs to Phuong Trung Commune, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi City. From Hanoi, tourists should follow Six Route to Hoa Binh and turn left at Ba La fork on the same road to Huong Pagoda. Passing Kim Bai Town 2 kilometers, tourists are going to another fork and Chuong Village will be on the right.
Nowadays, the fair of Nón Market (the time people gather together to buy and sell conical leaf hats) is the most suitable time for tourists to visit Chuong Village. The market is often hold on 4th, 10th, 14th, 20th and 24th days of the month following the Lunar Calendar. All kind of conical leaf hats and the materials to make the hat will be exchanged, sold and bought there. Gathering on the side of communal house (đình làng), the market still preserves many traditional features of Vietnamese villages in daily life.
Discovering the beauty of Nón Market, tourists should drop in small stores selling conical leaf hats, take some photos and enjoy the atmosphere of a market in the countryside. After that, going around the village to enjoy peaceful scenery and visiting some local families are recommended activities. Tourists can understand how to make a conical leaf hat and listen to stories about difficulties in daily life and how to come over of residents in the village. It is truly difficult but they can fight to improve their life.
Beside to conical leaf hat, there is another special hat named "Quai Thao" hat. This is one kind of Vietnamese traditional hat and popular under feudatory dynasties of Vietnam. Nowadays, this kind of hat is only used on presentations of singing "Quan ho" (a type of folk music in Northern Delta, most popular in Bac Giang and Bac Ninh province) and festivals.
In the afternoon, visitors can have lunch at the market with Bun oc or traditional cakes of Vietnamese suburn areas. It is advisable for tourist to bring food from city since there is limited food choice for them in this countryside area.
Tram Pagoda
It normally takes haft of a day to visit Chuong village, so after lunch, following side of Day River to Chuc Son Town, tourists will come to Tram Pagoda. Built in the early of 16th century by a gifted general. Tram Pagoda is an ancient pagoda lying at the root of Tu Tram Son Mountain.
This pagoda is the beautiful mixture between north pagoda architecture and the natural mountains and cave. Visiting this sightseeing to enjoy the beauty of scenery, tourists should come deeply into the cave with Buddhist rock statues and climb to the top of Tu Tram Mountain to enjoy the overall spacious scenery of the Hanoi West.
