Water returns to Ban Gioc Waterfall in time for holiday

It was an increase from around 2,000 visitors from the same period last year, according to a representative of the site's management board.

Despite reports that the Ban Gioc Waterfall was drying out as the holiday approached, water begun to flow back normally at the beginning of the holiday, creating beautiful streams, the representative said.

Another local representative said certain hydropower plants had abided by instructions from the Department of Industry and Trade regarding timeframes within which to open floodgates, allowing streams of water to return to the waterfall.

Nguyen Duy Hung, a tourist from Hanoi, said he visited the Ban Gioc Waterfall at around 10 a.m. on Sunday. The streams of water were beautiful, with the water flowing with enough force that splashes to the skin were painful, he reported.

"There was nothing to complain about the scenery at the Ban Gioc Waterfall," Hung said.

Prior to the holiday, there were concerns that the Ban Gioc Waterfall was drying out due to weather conditions and hydropower plant activities. Tourism industry insiders worried that the lack of streams would affect the number of visitors to the site.

But the Cao Bang industry department had instructed three hydropower plants – Thoong Got, Thoong Cot 2 and Ban Ra – to open their gates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April 29 to May 3.

Normally, the gates are only open from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., contributing to the lack of water at local streams and falls prior to the holiday.

Vietnamese have a five-day holiday for the Hung King's Death Commemoration Day on April 29, Reunification Day on April 30 and Labor Day on May 1 and two days’ compensation since the holidays fall on a weekend.