Ha Giang Romantic Lanscape

Ha Giang is a major border province with grandiose landscapes and ethnic minority cultural traditions that have made this “roof” of Vietnam and its “lovers’ market” a truly impressive tourist attraction.  Once visited, it promises to be a “must” to revisit.

Our journey begins at the town of Ha Giang located about 350km North of Vietnam’s Capital of Hanoi.  Ha Giang sits in a valley surrounded by mountains and close to the gentle running Lo River.  Forty kilometres from Ha Giang you arrive in Quan Ba District.  Quan Ba is filled with range after range of magnificent mountains and, not surprising, the weather is cool year round. Here, the scenery is both peaceful and romantic.  Nearby Co Tien (Fairy) Mountain is reflected in the surrounding neatly terraced rice fields.  Stopping in the nearby Sung La Valley you experience a panoramic view of delightful beauty rarely seen in other parts of the country, a vista that combines truly vast mountains and seemingly mysterious jungles.

Dong Van District is yet a further delight to the eyes.  The grand scenery continues but is added to by the bright and diverse colours of the local ethnic minority homes and the costumes of its residents. Situated at an altitude of 1,100m, this district bordering on China is the home of Lung Cu Mountain, rising to approximately 1,800m above sea level and situated at the extreme northernmost tip of Vietnam.  It is not surprising that Lung Cu Mountain is called the “roof of Vietnam”. The old streets in the town of Dong Van, extending in the shape of a bow for more than a kilometre, have preserved the town’s ancient architectural heritage. Here, homes have been  built in the style of the highlanders: the floors are paved with stones, the walls are made with earth and the roofs are of Yin and Yang tiles.

Dong Van social gatherings are often held on weekends.  They are always bustling with activities and flooded by the bright colours of the clothes worn by locals, most of whom are the Mong.  Streams of market goers appear moving down the mountain slopes in the early morning, walking along with their horses. Buyers and sellers at the market pay little attention to business; they spend most of the time chatting with one another. Some may form an impromptu group: the men play pan pipes while the women stand around applauding. The whole environment is one of excitement and romance.  Mong men like to drink wine from large bowls while they sit around a boiling pan of “thang co”, their favourite traditional soup made with a mixture of meat, maize, herbs and other ingredients. They eat and drink wine until they become inebriated.  Frequently inebriated men remount their horses and are escorted on the long road home by gentle wives who keep their husbands and their purchases steady on their horses.  

About 12 km from Dong Van is a narrow pleasant valley that is the site of the palace of Vuong Chi Sinh, once considered to be the king of the Mong people, who long ago ruled the vast Dong Van-Meo Vac plateau. His luxurious palace, shaded with green samu trees, was built in ancient Chinese architectural style typical of the Man Qing era. Visiting Meo Vac means crossing Ma Pi Leng Mountain. In good weather, the mountain is alive with all of nature’s beauty. From the top of the mountain you hear the wind rustling and experience a panoramic view of a vastness stretching to the horizon. Nho Que River, the soul of Ma Pi Leng, flows like undulating silk.  By standing here and contemplating the wildness o