From legend…

Hoa Lung Lake is located at the foot of Bau mountain range. The lake is formed from 4 large streams coming from Bau Mountain. Bau Mountain is associated with the legend of the Bau queen. The story is that, an old woman planted a very strange gourd tree in this land. The gourd tree grew but did not bear any fruit.  However, the trunk of the tree was long, crawled up to the high mountain of Son Duong. The gourd tree began to flower and bear a gourd there. There was a girl in the gourd. The girl followed the gourd tree root to met the old woman who planted the gourd and adopted her as a mother. After everyone knew story, they called the girl Miss Bau (gourd) while the mountain in Dai Phu land is also called Bau Mountain.

Not long after, the old woman passed away. Bau took her mother to the mountainside to bury. While digging, Bau found a bell and she brought home. Although the bell was small, the sound was very loud.

In 40 AD, the Trung Sisters staged a rebellion against the harsh rule of China’s Han dynasty in Phong Chau. Bau rang the bell to call all people in the village to support the Trung Sisters to fight the enemy.

Bau was assigned to fight To Dinh's army by the Trung Sisters. She defeated To Dinh and achieved many victories. Then, she was crowned queen by Trung Trac. That's why everyone called her Bau queen.

In 43 AD, Trung Vuong was defeated, and the army of Bau queen was also in trouble. In the urgent situation, she decided to throw the bell into the cliff and jumped to her death from the mountain.

To honour the feats of her, local people established of a temple to worship Bau queen. The temple is about 1km from Hoa Lung Lake in Thai Son Dong Hamlet, Dai Phu Commune, Son Duong District.

A corner of Hoa Lung lake.

Tourism development potential

Previously, this place was the Go Tong field of Lung Hoa, Tu The, Dong Gieng, Cay Thong and Vinh Phu hamlets (Dai Phu Commune). This field was regularly flooded by large streams. Therefore, in 1979, the State decided to build a dam to prevent water flow of four streams and turned this place into a reservoir area with an area of nearly 200 hectares to provide sufficient water for irrigation of the fields in Phu communes. As a result, Go Tong field became a large lake area with beautiful natural scenery.

The water source of Hoa Lung Lake has created favorable conditions for the land of Dai Phu to be fertile. In 2017, Dai Phu Commune is one of the localities in Son Duong District to soon complete the new-styled rural area criteria. In the commune, Cao Lan ethnic group has still preserved many unique cultural features, especially "Sinh Ca" singing. During Tet Holiday, in the reunion atmosphere of many families in Dai Phu, Cao Lan people sing the bustling Sinh Ca melodies.

Realising the tourism development potential of Hoa Lung Lake, Son Duong District has planned Hoa Lung lake as an ecotourism destination and called for domestic and foreign investors. The lake is a relatively convenient location, connecting with Tan Trao historical tourist area and Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho and Hanoi provinces to welcome tourists.