Dubbed Vietnam’s unofficial national tree, bamboo is appreciated for its versatility and long-standing place in Vietnamese culture, but the rich diversity of the country’s bamboo varieties hasn’t necessarily been that well preserved. Located on the Son Tra Peninsula in Danang, the Son Tra Peaceful Garden, is home to over 100 species of bamboo, including some at risk of extinction.
Over the past decade, the garden’s owner, Monk Thich The Tuong has been working hard to turn his one hectare farm into a bamboo conservatory. To transform this beautiful garden a bamboo museum, monk Thich The Tuong has visited places nationwide to bring back different varieties, with the aim of preserving their gene sources.
Thich The Tuong, Member, Department for Cultural Affairs, Executive Board of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Danang said: As a Vietnamese, I see that bamboo plays an important part in Vietnamese poems, literature and religious life. No one has done this so I want to contribute to preserving Vietnam’s bamboo species.
Tuong claims he has collected half of the 230 bamboo varieties in Vietnam, some of them are now on the verge off extinction.
Tran Ngoc Toan, Da Nang Department of Science and Technology said: The garden is a full of a collection of bamboo genetics. This is a very good idea for bamboo preservation and hasn’t been carried out elsewhere.
The monk said that he intends to expand his bamboo collection so that more bamboo species are preserved. He hopes the bamboo be applied more in people’s lives, whether as bonsai in family gardens or for construction of homes and craft making.
