THUNG MAY LAKE

Thung May Lake is located right in Quy Hop town, reminiscent of Than Tho lake, Xuan Huong lake of dreamy Da Lat. If Than Tho Lake and Xuan Huong Lake in Da Lat city are the urban girls with a mountainous background, Thung May Lake is like a mountain girl who still had her humility and shyness.

Thung May is favorably placed in a small town so that she can put on a prosperous shirt, but nature tries to hold her back by the dreaminess of the clouds on the top of Pha Chon mountain not far away, the misty afternoons of Phu Quy.

On the way to Chau Ly, about 12 km from Quy Hop town, there was poet Vo Ngoc Son, a native  of Dien Chau, but he had been attached to this town since the early days. He knows Thung May as well as Tho people know about Quy Hop mountains and forests. Because of the curious writers, the poet actively told about the "story" that formed the name Thung May lake. With the clear voice of a son of the sea, in harmony with the great sound of high mountain and thick forest, he said: Around the early 1960s, Nghe An Provincial Youth Union organized for people from Hung Nguyen, Thanh Chuong, Nghi Loc, etc. belonging to the farm 12/9 to reclaim land for a new economy. At that time, this area was a wild and dense area with thousands rattan trees. Only weasels, foxes and other animals lived, but humans had not yet set foot in it, including Thai, Tho, and Thanh people, who are local people. Team 3, Farm 12/9 was stationed on the land is Thung May Lake today.

In 1963, Quy Hop District was established on the basis of separating from the former Quy Chau district into 3 districts: Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Que Phong according to Decision No. 53/CP dated April 19, 1963 of the Government Council. At that time, Quy Hop district had 13 communes, Mr. Hun Quang Kinh was moved from Quy Chau to be the first Secretary of the District Party Committee of the district.

In 1975, Mr. Hun Quang Kinh was assigned to work in the province, returned to visit Quy Hop, where he used to be the Secretary. Looking at the water flowing from Khe Lanh waterfall to this lowland, causing flooding for a large area, Mr. Kinh suddenly flashed an idea: It is necessary to have a lake that is both a landscape and a place to keep water to limit flooding when the rainy season comes. His opinion was seriously considered and agreed by the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee. The decision to build the lake was approved by the district. Team 3 was moved to another place to carry out the construction of the lake. The work has been carried out for more than three months, with the participation of about 3,000 officials, employees and people of Quy Hop. A 13-hectare lake has been formed from a desolate lowland.

The lake keeps water against flooding when the rainy season comes. In the summer, the lake is the air-conditioning lung to make the climate become cool, moreover the lake is also a wonderful landscape by the romantic scenery. The lake becomes a highlight in the overall planning and landscape of the district.

At first, the lake was called District capital lake because it is located in the center of the district capital, where the district offices are located. Some people call it Police lake because it is close to the district police headquarters. Others call lake 12/9 because the lake is located on the land of the old farm 9/12.

In 1985, the People's Council of Quy Hop discussed the official name of the lake. There were many opinions raised, notably there were names such as Tung Khoong lake (the ancient name of this land), Thung Song lake (because this is where there are thousands of rattan).

The most popular opinion is Thung May lake because rattan is the typical tree of this region. The name Thung May it also sets off the beauty of the lake every evening or dawn, the fog covers. Next to the lake not far away, thousands of clouds cover the top of Pha Chon mountain creating a mysterious beauty.