Xuan Huong lake is a beautiful lake located in the center of Da Lat city. The lake is named Xuan Huong which means the scent of spring. Around the lake, there are pine forests, lawns, flower gardens and unique architectural works. In the past, the location of Xuan Huong lake was inherently a valley with a lot of swamps. Cam Ly stream flows through the valley and in 1919, the French built a dam to block the stream, forming a lake. In 1923, another dam was built below, forming two lakes. In 1932, two dams were broken together by a big storm. Since then, the two lakes have merged into one, which is now Xuan Huong lake. The valley has Cam Ly stream flowing through, where the original Lach residents gathered. In 1919, from the initiative of the public servant Cunhac, civil engineer Labbé proceeded to prevent the stream from becoming a lake. In 1934 - 1935, engineer Tran Dang Khoa again designed and built a large stone dam: that is today’s Ong Dao bridge. The French named it Grand Lac (Large Lake); In 1953, the Chairman of the town council proposed to change the name of Grand Lac to Xuan Huong lake.

Xuan Huong Lake is an artificial lake, the circumference of the lake so far has many data: nearly 5km, about 4.8km, about 4.5km, even some tourists come to walk and say about 5.5km, however the actual accuracy when walking inside the corridor is 4.2 km; The lake's surface area is 25ha wide, shaped like a crescent moon extending over 2km, around the lake passing many tourist attractions of Da Lat city such as: City flower garden, Palace hotel, Yersin Park, golf course Da Lat, Lam Vien Square…

Xuan Huong lake is considered the heart of Da Lat city, one of the rare cities with a large lake located in the city center. Xuan Huong lake is a famous place and also an attractive tourist attraction that creates a unique feature for Da Lat. On November 6, 1988, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decided to recognize Xuan Huong Lake in Dalat as one of 464 national landscapes.

The outstanding architectural work associated with Xuan Huong lake is Thuy Ta. During the French colonial period, it was called "La Grenouillère" (frog lagoon). But looking through the structure, there is a tower to jump into the water like in a swimming pool. The Sino-Vietnamese name "Thuy Ta" is sometimes understood as "Thuy Tu", which means an architecture located on water. On the west side of the lake, there is Palace Hotel built in 1932, a famous infrastructure project in Indochina, and now Palace Hotel is a classy location with beautiful space and landscape by Xuan Huong lake. High-class tourists choose to stay here every time they come to Da Lat.

Tourists visiting Xuan Huong lake rarely ignore Thuy Ta, they often stop by to take a few souvenir photos with its unique architecture. Thuy Ta white house with wide railing stands out on the lake looks like a luxury yacht from afar. Until now, Thuy Ta is still a small, lovely cafe bar, it can be said that this place is one of the places with the ideal space for visitors to enjoy a cup of coffee, a book, or develop their creative ideas.

To meet the needs of guests, on the opposite side, another cafe was opened. It is "Thanh Thuy" (blue water), also very associated with Xuan Huong lake. The space here is larger, so it can accommodate a lot of guests. Because of that, Thuy Ta still has a unique feature that is not mixed with Thanh Thuy. The feeling when sitting on Thuy Ta is still something calm and peaceful. On the Thanh Thuy side, the scenery is more diverse but the atmosphere is more bustling.

At night, visitors can find it’s interesting to drink coffee in Thuy Ta or Thanh Thuy, and watch the coloful decorative light on Ong Dao bridge, especially the purple light tone. The shimmering lights on the lake surface are full of unforgettable impressions.

Previously, the bridge had a small width, so there was often traffic jam on Tet holidays, the People's Committee of Lam Dong province rebuilt the new bridge in 2010. The new bridge has a length of 105 m, a width of 15 m with 4 lanes running together on a flood drainage system, ensuring flood drainage with a design capacity of 244 m3/s. The total construction cost 63 billion VND, invested by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lam Dong province, after a year of urgent construction, the new Ong Dao bridge was opened to traffic on the afternoon of January 26, 2021.

 The opening of Ong Dao bridge is of particular importance, not only helping people to travel conveniently but also restoring the poetic image of Xuan Huong lake in the hearts of tourists.

Currently, the People's Committee of Lam Dong province is assigning the People's Committee of Da Lat city to implement the project of upgrading and expanding the roads and intersections, including Tran Quoc Toan street (section from Suong Nguyet Anh to Yersin) according to Decision No: 2366 /QD-UBND, September 22, 2021, with a total investment of 54.3 billion VND; According to the contract, the project will be completed in July 2022, however, in order to serve tourists and people traveling smoothly on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2022, the Provincial People's Committee has focused on directing with the spirit of urgency; Da Lat city and the contractor have coordinated overtime, but quality must be ensured; By the afternoon of January 29, 2022, the construction was basically completed 6 months in advance; Therefore, this project is one of the record projects completed ahead of schedule of all projects in recent years in Da Lat. The completed Tran Quoc Toan route will blend rare natural landscapes with Xuan Huong Lake to create a space of Xuan Huong lake with 10 unforgettable differences for visitors:

1/ Tran Quoc Toan Street is a route that meets 3 unique elements: having the widest road surface, the most beautiful landscape and the most open space in Da Lat city;            

2/ Tran Quoc Toan Street is one of the earliest constructions and exploitation routes in Da Lat since the early years of formation and development of Da Lat city;

3/ Tran Quoc Toan Street is the route with the most locals and tourists walking in the morning, it takes about 1 hour to go around the circumference of the lake

4/ Tran Quoc Toan Street is also the route where locals and tourists ride bicycle on in the morning. In 1 hour, a person can cycle about 4 rounds around the lake

5/Tran Quoc Toan Street is one of the routes with the most horse-drawn carriages parked in Da Lat, to take tourists around the lake and visit the nearby scenic spots and agricultural tourist attractions;

6/ For regional architectural works, if in the past 90 years ago (1932) in the southwest of Xuan Huong lake, there was an Indochina-class Palace hotel, in the future in 2022 in the Southeast, Da Lat City People's Committee will bid for investment attraction project Tran Quoc Toan Park project with multi-functional nature with scale of 06 hectares of national and international level;

7/ Next to Xuan Huong lake, Lam Vien Square is the largest open space in Da Lat today, this is where the current public art and cultural events are held in Da Lat and in the future;

8/ Beside Xuan Huong lake, there is Dalat flower garden with the most impressive history, size and variety of flowers in Vietnam;

9/ The road around Xuan Huong lake is the familiar place for the annual race Ho Chi Minh City Television Cup on the occasion of April 30;

10/ Xuan Huong lake has a poetic natural landscape, with a space that blends the sky, the ground and the lake bed to create an interesting natural picture, creating Xuan Huong lake always beautiful at any time of the day, of the month, of the year; That always captivates the hearts of so many tourists when coming to Da Lat but seeing is not enough, when returning, they always miss Ho Xuan Huong - the heart of Da Lat.

It can be said that Xuan Huong lake has a natural beauty with typical characteristics of Da Lat: romance, serenity, and charm. Xuan Huong lake has a poetic landscape with clear blue lake water, a large and flat lake surface, rows of Pine, Cherry Blossom, Purple Phoenix, lovely restaurants and cafes by the lake. Visitors can walk around Xuan Huong lake to watch the beautiful sunrise and sunset here. Xuan Huong lake is really one of the gifts that nature bestowed on Da Lat, leaving many nostalgias in the hearts of tourists from all over the world.

 Pham S; Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee