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Ha Giang
Located at the highest latitude in Vietnam, Ha Giang is surrounded by Cao Bang on the east, Tuyen Quang on the south, Lao Cai, and Yen Bai on the west. It shares a border with China in the north (274km boundary).
Ha Giang's complicated topography is divided into 3 areas. The area on the south has rocky mountain, separated rivers. The west area has sloping mountain side, high pass, valleys, and narrow springs. The low land area includes hills, valley of Lo River, and Ha Giang Town.
The climate is divided in two distinct seasons, rainy and dry, although it tends to vary depending on altitude. The annual average temperature varies between 24 and 28ºC. In winter, the temperature is sometimes down to -5ºC.
Mountains in Ha Giang are quite high, in which the highest Tay Con Linh point with 2,419m in height. There are good woods, over 1000 kinds of valuable drug trees, animals (tigers, peacocks, phoenix, pangolin) in primitive forests.
Coming to Ha Giang, tourists are attracted by poetic Dong Van Highland, Love Market of Khau Vai. They can buy embroidery such as handkerchief, haversack, and dress with colorful, fine pattern. They also take part in enjoyable market-day of local ethnics. The people and natural scenes here are unlike anywhere in Vietnam.
Ha Giang Town is 320km from Hanoi. Ha Giang is on National Highway No.2, 34, 279 linking to Yen Bai, Cao Bang, Lao Cai provinces in turn.
Attractions in Ha Giang :
1. Khau Vai love market - Khau Vai love market festival
2. Dong Van Highland
3. Ma Pi Leng Pass
4. Vuong King palave - H’mong people’s king palace
5. Lung Cu flag pole
Attractions in details :
1. Khau Vai love market - Khau Vai love market festival, Ha Giang
Khau Vai commune, located in Meo Vac district, the northernmost province of Ha Giang, is home to ethnic minority groups of Giay, Nung and Muong.
Each year, there is a market session on lunar March 27 (often falling on solar May), but it is not a farming produce trading market but a love market. The name and activities of the market have common things with love market in Sapa.
But what’s different is that Khau Vai is a love market for various ethnic minority groups from four mountainous districts in Dong Van Plateau and ethnic minority groups in communes adjacent to Bao Lam and Bao Loc districts of Cao Bang province.
Local senior people said that this love market dated back to 1919. Roads are now more accessible than the previous years, so more people come to the market. However, activities of the market are still rich in cultural identity.
A local myth tells the story of a young couple from different tribes who fell in love with each other. The girls belonged to the Giay group and the boy belonged to the Nung group. The girl was so beautiful that her tribe did not want to let her get married with a man from another tribe. Consequently, violent conflict arose between the two tribes.
One day, the boy witnessed an aggressive fight between the tribes as a result of their love. To stop the blood shed, the lovers sorrowfully decided to say goodbye. However, they made plans to meet once a year on that day, lunar March 27.
The place where they used to meet is Khau Vai, which thereafter became a meeting place for all of those in love.
In the market area, there are two temples called Ong and Ba (Mr and Mrs). A story tells that, once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl born in two different places of the Dong Van Plateau. The boy’s surname is Linh and the girl’s surname is Loc. They love each other very much despite being hindered by deep streams and high rock mountains.
Because their families prevented their marriage, they together came to Khau Vai, a prosperous land with rich plants which they could live on.
Although they did not have a child but they lived happily until they died. In honour of their merits in cultivating the wild land into a rich land, the local people built the two temples to worship them.
Therefore, on every lunar March 27, Khau Vai attracts couples of different ages, including those who seek their partners for the first time. However, most of them are those who love each other very much but cannot wed together because of many different reasons.
On the day when the market session takes place, it is likely that both the wife and her husband together go to the market but they look for their own partners to share emotions. If one of them has to stay at home, he or she is not jealous in love because the dating at the marketplace is really a faithful feeling exchange.
It can be said that the beauty of love is a basic factor to keep the existence of Khau Vai love market for such a long time.
With the assistance of Ha Giang Culture and Information Department, Meo Vac district and Khau Vai commune authorities hold the traditional love market of Khau Vai in order to promote cultural identity of ethnic minority groups in the locality.
The love market festival is held on lunar March 26 and 27 with the participation of a large number of locals. The festival features food and drink culture, song performances and folk games. Ethnic costumes, jewellery, ethnic musical instruments and culture and art publications are on display at the market, reflecting activities of the local people.
2. Dong Van Highland, Ha Giang
Dong Van Highland is located in Dong Van District, 146km far from Ha Giang Town, Ha Giang Province. Dong Van has a lot to offer: mountains, forests, hidden grottoes and caves, and many valuable plants for medical purposes.
Dong Van Highland is situated 1,025 m above sea level and is inhabited by the Tay and H’Mong ethnic groups. The temperature is approximately 1oC in winter and reaches 24oC on the hottest days. The plateau provides famous products such as Hau plums, peaches, and persimmons without seeds. Dong Van apples are as big as pears. In Dong Van, numerous valuable plants used for their medicinal value are found, including ginseng, anise, and cinnamon.
Dong Van is very beautiful with mountains, forests, hidden grottoes and caves, multicoloured orchid forests, plum and peach trees, persimmon orchards, and more. Visiting Dong Van, one can see Pho Bang, also called Pho Bang Street, which was built a long time ago and features multi-storey houses made of clay bricks and tile roofs. Visiting Dong Van on Sundays, one can shop in a very original mountain market where all kinds of goods and multicoloured clothes can be purchased.
3. Ma Pi Leng Pass, Ha Giang
Ma Pi Leng Pass, it is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac in Ha Giang Province Vietnam near the northernmost tip of Vietnam. I think of it as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.
The pass stretches 15 kilometres or more along the sides of magnificently beautiful mountain ranges and runs along a section of the Nho Que River that weaves its way like a silver ribbon through the limestone ravines. The attraction of the Ma Pi Leng Pass lies in the mountains and cliff walls that the road passes.
Now is a good time to travel on the Ma Pi Leng Pass, as the blazing sunshine makes the mountains seem even more imposing on clear summer days. Visiting the pass from July to October is fine but heavy rain may pose risk to your travels through the pass. Winter is not a good time as blankets of thick fog blur the picturesque painting, and the icy winds and weather chill you. If it is possible, arrange your trip to the pass in the early morning of a clear Sunday, when you will see lines of Dao, H’Mong and other people of other ethnic groups walking from all directions of the mountains to Dong Van Market. The old and young walkers exchange merry chats on the long journey as they shoulder bamboo baskets of rice and vegetables as well as take cattle, fowl, or whatever they can sell at the colorful market, which is far from the pass.Many of the ethnic people, especially young girls, dress up in their colorful costumes for their journey to Dong Van Market, as if they were going to a festival. Adults take their children, sisters or brothers to the market to share with them moments of merrymaking as well as bowls of noodle soup or other food specialties of the region.When the sun rises high in the sky it reflects its light on the deep pristine water of the Nho Que River, making it look like a current of silver winding through mountains and rocks of all shapes and sizes. Let your motorcycle or car run gently down the pass from Dong Van to enjoy the pleasant sound of the river murmuring like sweet singing coming from a far distance.The peak of the Ma Pi Leng is certainly the best place to gain a panoramic view of the pass, particularly in the late afternoon when you can see a beautiful sunset overlooking the river.
The Ma Pi Leng Pass peak is also called Heaven Gate, and you will feel as if you can touch the sky in this land of wonders. It is of course the best position to appreciate the magnificent mountain chains and cliff faces.
From the top, you can see ethnic people farming on small terraced fields by the sides of mountains, and witness how hard locals have to struggle with extreme conditions for their life. Despite the hardship, the people are friendly and willing to offer a smiling welcome to you. For these reasons many locals say proudly that the Ma Pi Leng provides visitors with “the most stunning scenery in northern Vietnam.” The pass descends into a pretty valley where a colorful bustling market and little town of Meo Vac are situated. Documents say workers of 16 peoples built the road between Dong Van and Meo Vac from September 1959 to March 1965. It took the workers 11 months of suspending themselves on the sides of mountains and cliffs to open and develop the Ma Pi Leng Pass.
4. Vuong King palave - H’mong people’s king palace, Ha Giang
Vuong Chinh Duc, once considered to be the king of H’mong ethnic people in Ha Giang Province, ruled a vast area from the province’s Dong Van Plateau to Meo Vac Town in the early 20th century.
Dubbed as Vua Meo (king of H’mong people), he was also the founder of the famous Vuong Dynasty, the largest in Ha Giang Province at the time, where he lived in his unique, luxurious palace shaded with green samu trees.
Named Vuong Palace, it was built in solid stone, fir wood and terra-cotta tiles in ancient Chinese architectural style typical of the Man Qing era in China. Though it seems very much out of place, the palace itself is quite interesting and there are a number of tombstones of the dynasty’s people surrounding it which are also worth a look.
Covering a total area of 1,120 square meters, Vuong Palace was built on an elevated site located in Sa Phin valley in Lung Phin Commune, Dong Van District of Ha Giang. The palace was used as the residence and also a fort of the Vuong Dynasty to protect themselves from attacks by their enemies.
Nowadays, no one lives at the Palace. It is maintained as an artifact and managed by the provincial government. The old royal house attracts keen interest from architecturally minded visitors due to its unique style of Chinese architecture and the legend of Vuong Chinh Duc’s life.
Travelers could reach Vuong Palace from Ha Giang Town by motorbike, driving approximately 125 kilometers through the districts of Quan Ba and Yen Minh. Another option is to head out from Dong Van Town which is just 12 kilometers from Sa Phin valley, a narrow, picturesque valley surrounded by hills and mountain ranges. In good weather, travelers will see the mighty mountain alive with all of nature’s beauty.
From the top of the mountain travelers can hear the wind rustling and experience the vast panoramic view stretching to the horizon. From Ma Pi Leng Peak the Nho Que river, which originates in China, flows like undulating silk.
Stopping for a while on the way and contemplating the wildness of nature while listening to the melodies of the H’mong panpipe is an easy way to feel the true liberation achieved through nature.
Soon the road skirts the tiny Sa Phin valley which has at its center a clump of bamboo concealing the ancient Vuong royal house. Simply put, it is much bigger than a normal house and looks quite old and special.
The Vuong Palace tour reveals 64 rooms that are divided into front, center and back areas. Every corner of the house is filled with the essence of the legendary Vua Meo’s.
Hoang Dieu Thuy, a local tour guide, said that the palace is unique as it was built on a tortoise shell-shaped site, chosen by a Chinese fortune teller under the order of Vuong Chinh Duc who believed it would bring luck, wealth and happiness for him and his family.
5. Lung Cu flag pole, Ha Giang
Lung Cu flagpole is Viet Nam’s northernmost point, 1,800m above sea level and situated on the border between Viet Nam and China is the Dong Van-Lung Cu plateau. In this area, there is a mountain named Rong (Dragon) whose peak, Lung Cu Peak, is marked by the flag station, a sacred symbol of Viet Nam.The huge, 54sqm flag on Lung Cu Peak represents on 54 groups of people of Viet Nam, and the area offers a truly spectacular view.
Ha Giang's complicated topography is divided into 3 areas. The area on the south has rocky mountain, separated rivers. The west area has sloping mountain side, high pass, valleys, and narrow springs. The low land area includes hills, valley of Lo River, and Ha Giang Town.
The climate is divided in two distinct seasons, rainy and dry, although it tends to vary depending on altitude. The annual average temperature varies between 24 and 28ºC. In winter, the temperature is sometimes down to -5ºC.
Mountains in Ha Giang are quite high, in which the highest Tay Con Linh point with 2,419m in height. There are good woods, over 1000 kinds of valuable drug trees, animals (tigers, peacocks, phoenix, pangolin) in primitive forests.
Coming to Ha Giang, tourists are attracted by poetic Dong Van Highland, Love Market of Khau Vai. They can buy embroidery such as handkerchief, haversack, and dress with colorful, fine pattern. They also take part in enjoyable market-day of local ethnics. The people and natural scenes here are unlike anywhere in Vietnam.
Ha Giang Town is 320km from Hanoi. Ha Giang is on National Highway No.2, 34, 279 linking to Yen Bai, Cao Bang, Lao Cai provinces in turn.
Attractions in Ha Giang :
1. Khau Vai love market - Khau Vai love market festival
2. Dong Van Highland
3. Ma Pi Leng Pass
4. Vuong King palave - H’mong people’s king palace
5. Lung Cu flag pole
Attractions in details :
1. Khau Vai love market - Khau Vai love market festival, Ha Giang
Khau Vai commune, located in Meo Vac district, the northernmost province of Ha Giang, is home to ethnic minority groups of Giay, Nung and Muong.
Each year, there is a market session on lunar March 27 (often falling on solar May), but it is not a farming produce trading market but a love market. The name and activities of the market have common things with love market in Sapa.
But what’s different is that Khau Vai is a love market for various ethnic minority groups from four mountainous districts in Dong Van Plateau and ethnic minority groups in communes adjacent to Bao Lam and Bao Loc districts of Cao Bang province.
Local senior people said that this love market dated back to 1919. Roads are now more accessible than the previous years, so more people come to the market. However, activities of the market are still rich in cultural identity.
A local myth tells the story of a young couple from different tribes who fell in love with each other. The girls belonged to the Giay group and the boy belonged to the Nung group. The girl was so beautiful that her tribe did not want to let her get married with a man from another tribe. Consequently, violent conflict arose between the two tribes.
One day, the boy witnessed an aggressive fight between the tribes as a result of their love. To stop the blood shed, the lovers sorrowfully decided to say goodbye. However, they made plans to meet once a year on that day, lunar March 27.
The place where they used to meet is Khau Vai, which thereafter became a meeting place for all of those in love.
In the market area, there are two temples called Ong and Ba (Mr and Mrs). A story tells that, once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl born in two different places of the Dong Van Plateau. The boy’s surname is Linh and the girl’s surname is Loc. They love each other very much despite being hindered by deep streams and high rock mountains.
Because their families prevented their marriage, they together came to Khau Vai, a prosperous land with rich plants which they could live on.
Although they did not have a child but they lived happily until they died. In honour of their merits in cultivating the wild land into a rich land, the local people built the two temples to worship them.
Therefore, on every lunar March 27, Khau Vai attracts couples of different ages, including those who seek their partners for the first time. However, most of them are those who love each other very much but cannot wed together because of many different reasons.
On the day when the market session takes place, it is likely that both the wife and her husband together go to the market but they look for their own partners to share emotions. If one of them has to stay at home, he or she is not jealous in love because the dating at the marketplace is really a faithful feeling exchange.
It can be said that the beauty of love is a basic factor to keep the existence of Khau Vai love market for such a long time.
With the assistance of Ha Giang Culture and Information Department, Meo Vac district and Khau Vai commune authorities hold the traditional love market of Khau Vai in order to promote cultural identity of ethnic minority groups in the locality.
The love market festival is held on lunar March 26 and 27 with the participation of a large number of locals. The festival features food and drink culture, song performances and folk games. Ethnic costumes, jewellery, ethnic musical instruments and culture and art publications are on display at the market, reflecting activities of the local people.
2. Dong Van Highland, Ha Giang
Dong Van Highland is located in Dong Van District, 146km far from Ha Giang Town, Ha Giang Province. Dong Van has a lot to offer: mountains, forests, hidden grottoes and caves, and many valuable plants for medical purposes.
Dong Van Highland is situated 1,025 m above sea level and is inhabited by the Tay and H’Mong ethnic groups. The temperature is approximately 1oC in winter and reaches 24oC on the hottest days. The plateau provides famous products such as Hau plums, peaches, and persimmons without seeds. Dong Van apples are as big as pears. In Dong Van, numerous valuable plants used for their medicinal value are found, including ginseng, anise, and cinnamon.
Dong Van is very beautiful with mountains, forests, hidden grottoes and caves, multicoloured orchid forests, plum and peach trees, persimmon orchards, and more. Visiting Dong Van, one can see Pho Bang, also called Pho Bang Street, which was built a long time ago and features multi-storey houses made of clay bricks and tile roofs. Visiting Dong Van on Sundays, one can shop in a very original mountain market where all kinds of goods and multicoloured clothes can be purchased.
3. Ma Pi Leng Pass, Ha Giang
Ma Pi Leng Pass, it is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac in Ha Giang Province Vietnam near the northernmost tip of Vietnam. I think of it as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.
The pass stretches 15 kilometres or more along the sides of magnificently beautiful mountain ranges and runs along a section of the Nho Que River that weaves its way like a silver ribbon through the limestone ravines. The attraction of the Ma Pi Leng Pass lies in the mountains and cliff walls that the road passes.
Now is a good time to travel on the Ma Pi Leng Pass, as the blazing sunshine makes the mountains seem even more imposing on clear summer days. Visiting the pass from July to October is fine but heavy rain may pose risk to your travels through the pass. Winter is not a good time as blankets of thick fog blur the picturesque painting, and the icy winds and weather chill you. If it is possible, arrange your trip to the pass in the early morning of a clear Sunday, when you will see lines of Dao, H’Mong and other people of other ethnic groups walking from all directions of the mountains to Dong Van Market. The old and young walkers exchange merry chats on the long journey as they shoulder bamboo baskets of rice and vegetables as well as take cattle, fowl, or whatever they can sell at the colorful market, which is far from the pass.Many of the ethnic people, especially young girls, dress up in their colorful costumes for their journey to Dong Van Market, as if they were going to a festival. Adults take their children, sisters or brothers to the market to share with them moments of merrymaking as well as bowls of noodle soup or other food specialties of the region.When the sun rises high in the sky it reflects its light on the deep pristine water of the Nho Que River, making it look like a current of silver winding through mountains and rocks of all shapes and sizes. Let your motorcycle or car run gently down the pass from Dong Van to enjoy the pleasant sound of the river murmuring like sweet singing coming from a far distance.The peak of the Ma Pi Leng is certainly the best place to gain a panoramic view of the pass, particularly in the late afternoon when you can see a beautiful sunset overlooking the river.
The Ma Pi Leng Pass peak is also called Heaven Gate, and you will feel as if you can touch the sky in this land of wonders. It is of course the best position to appreciate the magnificent mountain chains and cliff faces.
From the top, you can see ethnic people farming on small terraced fields by the sides of mountains, and witness how hard locals have to struggle with extreme conditions for their life. Despite the hardship, the people are friendly and willing to offer a smiling welcome to you. For these reasons many locals say proudly that the Ma Pi Leng provides visitors with “the most stunning scenery in northern Vietnam.” The pass descends into a pretty valley where a colorful bustling market and little town of Meo Vac are situated. Documents say workers of 16 peoples built the road between Dong Van and Meo Vac from September 1959 to March 1965. It took the workers 11 months of suspending themselves on the sides of mountains and cliffs to open and develop the Ma Pi Leng Pass.
4. Vuong King palave - H’mong people’s king palace, Ha Giang
Vuong Chinh Duc, once considered to be the king of H’mong ethnic people in Ha Giang Province, ruled a vast area from the province’s Dong Van Plateau to Meo Vac Town in the early 20th century.
Dubbed as Vua Meo (king of H’mong people), he was also the founder of the famous Vuong Dynasty, the largest in Ha Giang Province at the time, where he lived in his unique, luxurious palace shaded with green samu trees.
Named Vuong Palace, it was built in solid stone, fir wood and terra-cotta tiles in ancient Chinese architectural style typical of the Man Qing era in China. Though it seems very much out of place, the palace itself is quite interesting and there are a number of tombstones of the dynasty’s people surrounding it which are also worth a look.
Covering a total area of 1,120 square meters, Vuong Palace was built on an elevated site located in Sa Phin valley in Lung Phin Commune, Dong Van District of Ha Giang. The palace was used as the residence and also a fort of the Vuong Dynasty to protect themselves from attacks by their enemies.
Nowadays, no one lives at the Palace. It is maintained as an artifact and managed by the provincial government. The old royal house attracts keen interest from architecturally minded visitors due to its unique style of Chinese architecture and the legend of Vuong Chinh Duc’s life.
Travelers could reach Vuong Palace from Ha Giang Town by motorbike, driving approximately 125 kilometers through the districts of Quan Ba and Yen Minh. Another option is to head out from Dong Van Town which is just 12 kilometers from Sa Phin valley, a narrow, picturesque valley surrounded by hills and mountain ranges. In good weather, travelers will see the mighty mountain alive with all of nature’s beauty.
From the top of the mountain travelers can hear the wind rustling and experience the vast panoramic view stretching to the horizon. From Ma Pi Leng Peak the Nho Que river, which originates in China, flows like undulating silk.
Stopping for a while on the way and contemplating the wildness of nature while listening to the melodies of the H’mong panpipe is an easy way to feel the true liberation achieved through nature.
Soon the road skirts the tiny Sa Phin valley which has at its center a clump of bamboo concealing the ancient Vuong royal house. Simply put, it is much bigger than a normal house and looks quite old and special.
The Vuong Palace tour reveals 64 rooms that are divided into front, center and back areas. Every corner of the house is filled with the essence of the legendary Vua Meo’s.
Hoang Dieu Thuy, a local tour guide, said that the palace is unique as it was built on a tortoise shell-shaped site, chosen by a Chinese fortune teller under the order of Vuong Chinh Duc who believed it would bring luck, wealth and happiness for him and his family.
5. Lung Cu flag pole, Ha Giang
Lung Cu flagpole is Viet Nam’s northernmost point, 1,800m above sea level and situated on the border between Viet Nam and China is the Dong Van-Lung Cu plateau. In this area, there is a mountain named Rong (Dragon) whose peak, Lung Cu Peak, is marked by the flag station, a sacred symbol of Viet Nam.The huge, 54sqm flag on Lung Cu Peak represents on 54 groups of people of Viet Nam, and the area offers a truly spectacular view.