Khuon Than Lake

Pine forest stands on both banks, and the flat water doubles every tree. The beauty of Khuôn Thần Lake is not in any single spot. It is in all the space around it.

The lake lies in Kiên Lao commune, in Bắc Ninh province. Before July 2025, the place was counted in the Lục Ngạn area of Bắc Giang. The administrative reorganization changed the name of the province. It did not change the quiet of the lake or the green of the pine forest around it.

Khuôn Thần is a place to visit, and it is also an irrigation project. The lake's design capacity is more than 16 million cubic meters, and it was built in the 1960s to bring water to the fields of three communes. Two are Kiên Lao and Kiên Thành. The third is Thanh Hải. A boat on this water floats over a project that has been part of local farming life for decades.

The landscape is hard to forget. The water covers about 240 hectares, and around it lie about 800 hectares of planted forest, made up of pine, chàm and keo tai tượng trees. In the middle of the lake are five pine islands. Local people planted pines on these small islands more than 30 years ago. The pines have grown tall now. From a boat, only green tufts show above the still water.

A motorboat ride on the lake is the best way to feel Khuôn Thần. From the water, the pine forest on both banks looks like a green wall, reflected in the flat surface. Farther off are the lychee hills and the fruit orchards that the Lục Ngạn area is famous for. In the rainy season, water from the mountains and over the dam pours down into the valley beside the lake, green and full of life.

People matter here too. In Kiên Lao, 74.6 percent of the people belong to ethnic minority communities. Most belong to three peoples. The San Chí and the Nùng are two of them. The third is the Sán Dìu.

Provincial tourism sources also mention the Tày community. The Tày and the Nùng are two peoples of northern Vietnam with closely related languages and similar cultures. At the start of the year, Tày singers perform the Then melodies. Sli and Lượn melodies are sung at that time too. A visit to Khuôn Thần is therefore a look at a beautiful lake and also a step into the cultural space of the mountain communities of northeastern Vietnam.

In 2025, the authorities approved a plan for the Khuôn Thần sport and eco-tourism area, covering nearly 873 hectares. The lake has many changes ahead. But today, a boat glides past the small pine islands on the flat water, and the wind running through the pine crowns sounds like whispering. Khuôn Thần is still there, quiet and fresh, as if it never wanted to change.