DA NANG first gained international prominence when American troops landed in the central coastal city, marking the beginning of the Vietnam War in 1965.
However, for the Vietnamese people, the city was immortalized after the “Tet” Offensive three years later, when the North Vietnamese forces suffered a major defeat in their series of attacks during the traditional lunar new year festival.
Today, except for its war museums, remnants of its strife-torn years which ended when the Americans left the country in 1975 are now hardly felt. Da Nang has emerged as a thriving tourism destination. Local authorities even tagged it as the “most livable city” in Vietnam.
Da Nang, a city of a over a million people, is described as “smaller and tamer than Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi,” but with “everything big cities [in Vietnam] have to offer,” according to one local publication. “It comes with a friendly and laid-back beach town that keeps the pace slow,” the report added.
The city was also cited by the national government for its “sound social welfare policies, uniform and modern infrastructure development, and favorable policies for both local and foreign investors.”
Despite such hype in Da Nang’s liberal policies, it remains one of the country’s five “direct-controlled municipalities” under the central government, and the Communist Party as the city government’s leading organ.
In fact, it was the party’s “Politburo” Resolution No. 43 entitled “On Development of Da Nang by 2030 with Vision Towards 2045,” released in 2019 that ordered city authorities to make greater strides forward with a view to becoming a “livable city” in Asia.
For starters, the city authorities ensured that public toilets are properly maintained, and “green lanes” established along the sidewalks and public parks.
The tourism booms
MARK TUAN, the English-speaking co-founder and manager of the Hoa Lan, a souvenir and craft store on Ten Phu Street which opened late last year, attested that the surge in foreign and local visitors after the Covid-19 pandemic lured young entrepreneurs like him to venture in small businesses in the city’s booming tourism industry.
The 24-year-old Tuan said before he graduates in business administration this March, he would already be opening the store’s second branch adjacent to an emerging tourist belt near the downtown area.
“What we like to do is to open stores where different specialties in Vietnam are combined together. Through a souvenir shop, you will understand us Vietnamese better,” he said.
He conceded that the long lockdown in Vietnam during the pandemic really dealt the industry a big blow. “But tourism is flourishing again. They [visitors] have more money now, and the economy is stable,” he said. And as he poured a locally blended robusta coffee into a paper cup, he remarked: “This is really Vietnam’s pride.”
‘Gateway to East Asia’
CENTRALLY located, Da Nang has also been known as the “Gateway to East Asia,” emerging as a key transportation hub in the region.
At the mouth of the Han River on East Vietnam Sea is the Da Nang Port, which has been in existence since the 16th century when its people first encountered European traders. Now, part of the “East-West Economic Corridor,” it connects the country with neighboring Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.
In the process, tourism became a vital component of its economy, given its proximity to Unesco World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Hue, the Hoi An ancient city and the My Son ruins.
Da Nang Air Base, a primary entry point for US servicemen flying into Vietnam during the war, was also transformed into an international airport, although it continues to share its old runway with the Vietnam People’s Air Force.
Meanwhile, the Han River Waterfront has become the city proper’s most popular destination for its nightlife, highlighted by the illuminating view of the city skyline, and colorful river cruise boats.
Before sunset, Bach Tang Street becomes a walking street starting from a 666-meter bridge shaped as a dragon.
Harnessing natural wonders
At the far end of the river is the My Khe beach area along the city’s 30-kilometer coastline. My Khe beach was once cited by Forbes magazine as one of the most attractive beaches in the planet. Alongside the white-sand beachfront is a long stretch of luxury hotels, but admission to the entire beach is free.
In recent years, the main attraction to Da Nang has been the Ban Hills and its Golden bridge, also known as the Golden Hand bridge. Located on top of the Nui Chua Mountain, the 500-foot-long pedestrian pathway has been ranked among the top 10 bridges in the world.
Walking on the bridge creates a “stairway to heaven” image as it stretches across the middle of the mountain, with two heads placed at Marseilles Station and Bordeaux in the Thai Garden on top of a slope.
The original resort was constructed by the French in 1919 as a leisure destination for French tourists. In 2018, the privately owned Sun Group, which assumed management, transformed it into a world-class tourism and entertainment complex. Accessible only by cable car, visitors cruise through a 5.8-kilometer journey to reach the area at a height of 1,487 meters above sea level.
Heritage tourism
Bup Trian, 52, from nearby Hoi An City, recalled that the tourism boom in central Vietnam began at the turn of the century when American tourists, mostly war veterans and their families, took advantage of Da Nang’s newly opened city.
The tourism surge spread to nearby areas, particularly in Hoi An, renowned for its well-preserved ancient town featuring centuries-old houses, along with a mix of wooden Chinese shophouses and French colonial buildings.
In 1990, the ancient town was already declared as a Unesco World Heritage Site for “being an exceptionally well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port from the 15th to the 19th century.”
“Its building and its street plan reflect the influences, both Indigenous and foreign, that have combined to produce this unique heritage site,” it noted.
Trian himself said his Bup’s Coffee shop, which he opened 30 years ago, is actually a 300-year-old house.
But it was his father, a sergeant in the joint US-Vietnamese Army, who first opened a restaurant in their three-century-old wooden house after the Americans left in 1975. “Nothing really happened to anyone when the Americans left. It was still a quiet town, and we all lived here,” he said.
Trian said he learned English when foreign tourists started coming, although he was already fluent in Russian, which he studied during the war years. The Vietnamese Romanized script, he noted, makes it easy for them to absorb Western thoughts.
But beyond its scenic landscapes and the country’s historical depth, what makes it alluring to visitors is the warmth of its people. Their hospitality makes travelers feel welcome.