Sau Village a rare vestige of rural charms

Award winning photographer Nguyen Huu Thong, a native of the northern province of Bac Giang Province, where the village is located, has captured for posterity scenes of great beauty and charm.

Smoke from burning straw seems to become or blend into low lying clouds at sunset in this landscape shot along the Thuong River at the foot of Danh Mountain in Tan Yen District.

Bac Giang Province is around 50 kilometers from Hanoi.

The local legend is that the village had for its backdrop a mountain in the shape of a squirrel, a mascot often worshiped in front of temples. The legend gives the village its name.

Sunlight streams through trees into fields where cattle are let graze. The village is several hundred years old and home to 200 farmer families.

Children ride bicycles on a bamboo lined road in the village.

A man sitting with a conical hat on a rock beside a stream watches a woman walk across a bamboo bridge with a baby in her arms.

Rudimentary boats gather on the shores of the Thuong River. Locals use these boats to catch seafood and earn or augment their daily income.

After harvesting, farmers store straw to feed their cattle during the cold season.

A woman smiles while collecting straw on a sunny autumn afternoon. With most rural areas resorting to agricultural mechanization, such images from Sau Village leave an unforgettable impression on the viewer.

An old woman dressed in typical countryside attire gets ready to sweep her yard. Her smile for the camera reveals teeth lacquered black, a practice no longer in vogue.

Two ladies have a conversation in the light of the setting sun.

The village is currently unaffected by modern urbanization and the tourism boom and is an ideal place to visit for those seeking unspoilt vistas.

Photographer Thong has won over 40 national and international awards.