Australian Magazine recommends 5 parks worth to visit in Vietnam
Vietnam’s green spaces are often integrated with fascinating cultural stories associated with the country’s history and mythology.

APEC Sculpture Park, Da Nang

APEC Sculpture Park, Da Nang (Photo: Danangfantasticity)

The famous Dragon Bridge (Da Nang City), 666 m long and 37.5 m wide with 6 lanes, helps vehicles cross the vast Han River, providing convenient transportation through the central area. The Dragon Bridge simulates a fire-breathing dragon – an animal often seen in myths. The bridge creates a striking backdrop for this impressive park that has recently been extended. Along with Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture – which displays artefacts from thousands of years of the Champa Kingdom of Vietnam, APEC Park gives visitors a deep impression of the city’s history and rapid changes. For a long time, Dragon Bridge was a new architectural symbol in the integration period.

At first, the park only held 18 sculptures on an area of 3000 m², to support the international event, the 2017 APEC Summit in Da Nang. However, after the summit, the authorities of Da Nang City decided to turn APEC park into a long-term tourist attraction and expand the park area to 8,600m².

Recovery and change efforts have helped APEC Sculpture Park regularly attract large numbers of domestic and international tourists, indicated Escape.

Hoan Kiem Lake park, Ha Noi Capital

Hoan Kiem Lake

Ngoc Son Temple owns a prominent position in Hoan Kiem Lake. Two specimens of Hoan Kiem Lake turtles are displayed side by side in Ngoc Son Temple. The display cabinet on the left is a dead turtle carcass in 1967, and on the right is a turtle carcass in 2016.

The 2m-long creature, called Cu Rua, lived in Hoan Kiem Lake for a century, up until her death in 2016. Turtle is also a mythological symbol in Vietnamese legend until today. Hoan Kiem Lake is about 700m long, 200m wide and is surrounded by beautiful gardens – likened to a park along Hoan Kiem Lake – a tourist centre in Ha Noi. Escape found here a peaceful getaway away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but also a great destination for daily explorations. The Old Quarter is associated with a narrow street of heritage buildings. And Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre is a famous destination of Ha Noi or Ha Noi Opera House is imbued with French architecture.

The Vietnamese Women’s Museum, Hoa Lo Prison Relic, Ba Da Pagoda, the towering St. Joseph’s Cathedral are fascinating attractions to visit.

Thanh Ha Terracotta Park, Hoi An

 Experience in Hoi An made a deep impression partly because of Thanh Ha Terracotta Park. This is a tranquil green space adorned with intricate ceramic sculptures.

Photo: quangnamtourism.com.vn

Impressive pottery at Thanh Ha Terracotta Park – where many unique ceramic works are kept. Every little detail here seems to be blown away by pottery and terracotta artisans. Entering this place, everyone is probably surprised but silently watching the space as it is blended by many colours, a unique blend of fire and water.

At Thanh Ha Pottery Village, which surrounds the park, visitors watch artisans shape pottery by hand on ceramic wheels and then fire them in a wood-fired kiln, written Escape.

Thanh Ha Terracotta Park recreates a miniature Vietnamese ceramic world, where unique works of talented artisans from all over the country are gathered. The two large buildings here are not only inspired by the Cham or Sa Huynh culture, but also inspired by the village’s two types of kilns, the up and down kilns – two concepts of Yin and Yang of Eastern culture.

For five centuries, this community to the west of Hoi An has produced many fine ceramic works. In recent times, the destination often attracts large numbers of tourists to the park. This small but beautifully landscaped area has hundreds of sculptures scattered among ponds, bridges, lawns and groves. The centrepiece of the park is the museum about the history of ceramics.

3/2 Park, Hue

Following hours exploring a grand Imperial citadel, 3/2 Park (or 3 February Park) appears by crossing a bridge over the Perfume River and looking down at a green space that hugs its southern bank.

3/2 Park is a large and arguably the most beautiful park in Hue, located on the Perfume River. This place is displaying dozens of statues of many world and Vietnamese sculptors, created when participating in Hue Festival. The park is also associated with the history of the city.

Tao Dan Park, Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City has great appeal for tourists because of its countless museums, vast markets, nightlife and lots of historical sites. Tao Dan Park offers both the modern playground and the vital shade provided by the towering trees in the beautiful.

The park owns hundreds of evergreen trees, some of which are over 20 m tall. And the gardens have various colourful flowers – is a popular destination to hold the annual flower festival, of which is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.