Editing Apos;Crystal Cloud apos; Installation Draws Crowds To Vietnam Rice Terrace

Vietnam is racing to develop its tourism sector in a bid to boost its economy and catch up with more popular Asian destinations like Thailand and Malaysia<br>  <br>Huge crowds trekked to the remote rice terraces of northern Vietnam Saturday to see a "crystal cloud" installation featuring 58,000 shimmering beads aimed at boosting tourism in a region better known for agriculture than bling-inspired public art.<br> <br>Local farmers mingled with curious tourists to capture photos of the netting decorated with [http://www.ajaxtime.com/?s=Swarovski Swarovski] crystals and draped over towering bamboo and steel poles on the top of the terraced hill in Yen Bai province.<br> <br>Some were in awe of the unexpected display in the far-flung rice field.<br> <br>"This is very unique, I've never seen any outdoor exhibit like this," said tourist Vu Chi Bao.<br><br>"When the sun shines and reflects on the crystals... it looks wonderful."<br>          The 'crystal cloud' installation features 58,000 shimmering beads<br>  <br>Farmer Lu Thi Ly was amazed at the growing crowds coming to the site.<br> <br>"We can't believe this many people know about these rice terraces now, these crystals have made them more popular," he said.<br> <br>But not all were dazzled.<br> <br>Several people took to social media to complain about the flashy installation, saying it tarnished the area's natural landscape.<br> <br>"I don't know what is beautiful about it, the original nature is already a masterpiece. It's just going to ruin it," Facebook user Luu Bich posted.<br> <br>Vietnam is racing to develop its tourism sector in a bid to boost its economy and catch up with more popular Asian destinations like Thailand and Malaysia.<br> <br>But it has also come under fire for forging ahead with controversial tourism projects.<br>          Organisers said they hope to tick up tourist visits to Yen Bai and 'open dialogue to create arts in public spaces'<br>  <br>A cable car to the country's highest mountain in northern [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/combo-du-lich-sapa-sa-pa-tu-ha-noi-tu-hcm-gia-re-dich-vu-chat-luong.html combo du lịch sapa] sparked outrage from some locals when it opened in 2016, and a similar project proposed in a remote cave in central Vietnam has drawn scorn in recent months.<br> <br>Organisers said they hope to tick up [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tourist%20visits,creativecommons tourist visits] to Yen Bai and "open dialogue to create arts in public spaces", according to the event's official Facebook page.<br> <br>Some 500,000 tourists visited the northern province last year, compared to 6.9 million to better-known Halong Bay and 2.5 million people to [https://www.kynghidongduong.vn/tours/combo-du-lich-sapa-sa-pa-tu-ha-noi-tu-hcm-gia-re-dich-vu-chat-luong.html combo sapa giá rẻ], according to official statistics.<br> <br>The figures include domestic tourism, which is fast-growing in Vietnam as officials try to draw visitors to sites like Yen Bai on the road less traveled.<br> <br>The crystal cloud display is open until the beginning of harvest season in October.<br>