Travel-tours

Ta Van Village

2011-03-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Ta Van is located in Vietnam in the northern province of Lao Cai, about 5 kilometres from Sapa, at an altitude of 1, 816 meters. This province borders the province of Yunnan in south-west China, and the indigenous people here share many cultural features with their Chinese neighbours.

Also located in the valley of Muong Hoa, Ta van is a village of Giay people, who look more like the traditional Viet living the Red delta. This village is normally a combination in the visit to Lao chai village on the trek to Muong Hoa valley. It is also a popular stop for those who would like to experience an overnight home stay with a family of Giay people here, sharing dinner with them as a member of their family.

Ta Van is a small village set within a picturesque valley not far from the northern Vietnamese mountain resort of Sa Pa. The area is renowned for its colourful ethnic minorities, and Ta Van is home to two such groups. A stay with one of the farmer families here will give you a close-up experience of the life-style and culture typical of the area. Trekking in the surrounding area is most satisfying

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Ham Rong Mountain

2011-03-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Characteristics: Ham Rong Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sapa Town
Legend has it that in the distance past, all animals lived together in a chaotic environment. One day, Jade Emperor gave an order that every species of animal had to find for them an area to live.
Having heard the order, they scrambled for a place to reside. The three brothers of dragon who were living in a large lake hurriedly ran to the east but could not find any place; they then ran to the west. The two older brothers ran fast and came to the destination first. The youngest brother ran slowly and strayed into the crowds of lions, tigers and big cats. Fearing that these animals would attack it, the dragon opened its mouth to defense itself. At that time, the order of Jade Emperor was no longer available, so the three dragons petrified. The two older dragons, which were waiting for their brother, face Lao Cai City, and the youngest one raising its head and opening mouth faces the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. So the mountain is named Ham Rong (Jaw of Dragon).
Visitors to Ham Rong have chances to climb up the San May (Cloud Yard) to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Townlet, visit the orchid gardens with beautiful and colorful flowers

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Muong Khuong Market

2011-03-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

Big market with a wide range of ethnic groups: Hmong, Dao, Nung, and merchants from other ethnic groups who come all the way from China to sell their products. Several Pa Zi women sell traditional incense made from the bark and resin of scented trees.

Muong Khuong market takes place on Sundays and is located in a small border town, which is frequented by Flower Hmong, Tu Di, Tay and Giay ethnic minorities. They come from surrounding villages to buy and sell local products such as food and material for agriculture and fabric.

Opening: 6 am of Sunday
Closed time: 1 am

The district is looking to develop into an eco-friendly destination

Muong Khuong district is planning to remodel itself into a centre of community-based eco-tourism in northwest Lao Cai Province in its current period of development (2005-10), said the chairman of the district people committee Nong Van Hung at a recent tourism conference.

The district, which has 13 markets and seven handicraft villages, has chosen tourism as the driving force that can better the lives of its population of 51,000 who s current capital per head is VND3.5 million (US$209).

Muong Khuong District is about a 10-hour train ride from the capital and then approximately 50km east from Lao Cai centre. The district is then accessible by motorbike or bus from Lao Cai City, Vietnam.

The locality is home to 14 ethnic groups including HMong (the largest group who account for 43 per cent of the population), Nung, Dao, Pa Di and Phu La. The mix in ethnicity lends the area a colorful character, visible in the market and the wares each group has to offer.

"The market is one of the main tourist attractions which sees a lot of visitors, especially as the district also serves as a link to other famous sites like Sa Pa Town, Bac Ha (Bac Ha tour)and Si Ma Cai districts in the province and the border gate with Yunnan, China," said Hung.

"The agriculture-based district will target community-based eco-tourism in a sustainable manner that will help develop future social-economic projects over the course of the next few years," he said, adding that the district is expected to open more border gates for increasing tourism traffic from China.

Vibrant market

Muong Khuong District is well-known to travellers for its many markets lining National Road 4D. It gives visitors a chance to glimpse into the life and traditions, not to mention goods on sale, of the HMong, Nung and Dao.

"We want to transform tourism in Lao Cai Province into a powerful industry and Muong Khuong District is just one of the tourist destinations we want to focus on and improve upon. Currently, we are upgrading the infrastructure and landscapes in the district to make it more attractive to tourists," said vice director of Lao Cai Province s Culture, Sport and Tourism Department, Le Duc Luan.

Challenges ahead

During the conference, travel agents highlighted the problems tourists faced and how they needed to be rectified as it was important to ensure that travelers did not leave with bad impressions of the area.

"We are fully aware that Lao Cai is famous for its sites, especially Sa Pa Town and Bac Ha District and how tourists are drawn to the area s weekly markets and lifestyles of the different ethnicities. However, we are afraid that an overload of tourist traffic could prevent visitors from travelling throughout the province," said Dang Thi Tho, head of the Hanoi branch of Phoenix Voyage Travel Company.

"What we have learned from our 10 years of offering tours in the province is that authorities need to open more sites so that visitors have more options to avail of when they visit Lao Cai. Our customers, mostly from France, would visit Sa Pa and Bac Ha but never considered prolonging their stay in the province because nothing attractive was on offer there," Tho added.

Tran Thi Huyen Thanh, director of Wild Lotus company, said: "I have seen just how beautiful Muong Khuong District s natural landscape is. That is its advantage but it needs to tap into it and explore creative ways to promote it so that the area becomes an ideal destination for travellers to Lao Cai Province."

However, the 34-year-old director said that the District needed to revamp the markets to make them easier to access and browse through in a carefree manner. He said locals needed to be made aware of norms of social etiquette in their dealings with tourists.

"At the moment, many locals do not even smile or turn their heads if tourists want to take photographs with them. Instead it is common for them to ask for a little money if they are asked to pose for photographs or they trail tourists, and harass them into buying their wares. This chaotic atmosphere needs to change," said Thanh.

The district opened a lodge in centre of Cao Son Village, where visitors could stay overnight and then go on a trek the following day throughout forests and markets in or near Cao Son, Lung Khau Nhin, Pha Long, Ta Gia Khau, Ban Lau, Ban Xen and Lung Vai.

Many spoke of their pleasure visiting brocade weaving sites and maize wine villages in Ta Chu Phung and Di Thang. Perhaps more such lodgings need to be opened.

New plans

In the current 2005-10 five-year plan for tourism development in the district, authorities in Lao Cai hope to complete work on a road that will link Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai districts to Ha Giang next year. This should facilitate tourism in the area as it will give travellers opportunities to explore in a convenient manner.

The road will also turn Muong Khuong District into a centre of tourism and provide a viable trade route from Hekou, Ma Guan and Yunnan in China to Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai districts in Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Bac Ha Market

2011-03-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is a big market filled with many different hill-tribe peoples. It is the most colorful market in North Vietnam. At the market, you have chance to enjoy BacHa people s simple but unique kinds of food with special wines made from rice, cassavas, corn and different sorts of fruits such as plumps, apples, peaches...

talking to the minorities through the guide s interpretation. What is more, after visiting the market, you are continuing to visit the H’mong King s house (King Hoang A Tuong) built by the French colonists and the Chinese in 1920. Return the town for lunch (by van). In the afternoon, spend time walking to another village (Ban Pho village)

Bac Ha market is well-known for its naturally sub-tropical scenery. Tam Hoa plums are really a local specialty: sweet and fresh. This seems to be created by its own land, people and nature.
Average temperature here is 19°C and it's not so cold as in Sa Pa. Bac Ha is specifically identified by each mount, each house and naturally-made carpet of white plum-flowers in spring. There are 14 ethnic minorities and the H’Mong ethnics count for 47% then the Dao, Tay, Nung, Phu La... Mountaineers take care of their horses as their properties, means of transport and close friends.
Besides plums, Bac Ha is reputed for its alcohol (made of maize). Maize is grown on high mountains, its low in productivity but high in nutrition. To make alcohol, it's fermented with Hong My seed (the local only plant). Bac Ha alcohol is well-known due to its source of water. So it's surely believed never to have faulted one in Bac Ha market. Visitors can see the locals selling their own alcohol without feelings to be cheated.

Brocades are for sales in the market or in shops or by street-vendors. There are hand-made or manufactured products. It takes a village-girl even half a month to make a brocade of 20cm long. Their skirts or costumes cost them long time to make. Their dresses express their patience, skills. Visitors can see the girls making brocades right in the market.
Traditional values and identities are well-maintained in the market. Such markets as Bac Ha, Coc Ly have really become rendezvous for visitors at home and abroad. There is almost no bargaining or competition here. Sales girls look quite naive, sincere. They go to the market mainly to meet people and exchange funs. Especially, there is a horse market in town-centre, each market-day there are almost 100 - 200 horses for sales or exchange.
H’Mong or Tay or Dao ethnics’ minority girls and boys, with their best dresses on, go to the market to relax and meet their friends. At sunset, they leave with a promise to see again.
Visitors to Bac Ha are opportune to understand the local traditions and customs, taste local specialties, meet nice people and know a land code-named: white plateau.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Xin Cheng Market

2011-03-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

On every Wednesdays, Xin Cheng Market offers the opportunity to discover a colorful gathering point of many local minorities such as the Flower Hmong, Tay or Giay. On the way to the market along the Chinese border, you will enjoy amazing mountain scenery, charming rivers and terraced rice fields.
People from the area meet at the market to exchange tobacco, clothes, fruits, horses, buffaloes and many other local products. Xin Cheng is also a social gathering point for the villagers to meet and exchange the latest news. On the way back to Sapa, you will pass by the Hmong King Palace which was built in the early 20th century during the French colonial era. This tour departs early in the morning from Sapa or Lao Cai and finish around 4pm

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Cao Son Market

2011-03-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Departing early from Lao Cai or Sa Pa for about 130 km, you will enjoy beautiful scenery and visit Lung Khau Nhin and Muong Khuong markets. We then take a dirt road which leads up into the mountains through Pine Tree forests and villages that surround the tiny markets. Flower H'mong, Tu Di, Tay and Giay ethnic minorities come to trade local products such as food, agricultural supplies and fabric. After exploring these markets your car will take you to Cao Son - the most stunning part of Lao Cai province. Here you will visit the most secluded, peaceful villages and have the opportunity to observe traditional practices such as distilling wine from corn and making bacon. You will be offered a special corn cake when you drop by local houses. You will be transferred to Sa Pa or Lao Cai at your request

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Can Cau Market

2011-03-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Can Cau market is one of the most fascinating open-air markets in the region, specialising in livestock. It's 20km North of Bac Ha and just 9km south of the Chinese border. Visitors are generally H'mong groups from highland villages. The local H'mong are the famous variegated or Flower H'mong due to the intricate and colourful nature of their costumes, and their colourful dresses makes is a beautiful sight. Almost every Saturday around 8 different minorities are represented at the market. Travel is often made by horseback as a way of carrying the heavy loads to and from market. Can Cau also attracts a large number of Chinese traders, evidenced by the booming dog trade here

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Coc Ly Market

2011-03-16T09:18:00.000-07:00

It is the colorful market in a mountainous area where the Flower H'mong mainly gathers to exchange their homemade products. This Tuesday market is about 35km from Bac Ha. You can get here via a fairly good road, or by road and river; hotels in Sapa and Bac Ha can organise trips. Coc Ly is a small village on the Chay river inhabited by the Flower H'mong Minority people

The Flower H'mong traditionally wear a distinctive and bright colored costume. They are a gentle, softly spoken people who live in the steep mountainous country close to the Chinese border. Because Coc Ly is more remote than Sapa, the dress and way of life is more traditional than in the large centers. The market deals in fruit, vegetable, pork and chickens, in addition to colourful fabrics and items of traditional dress. There is a buffalo sale in progress and many of these placid animals are tethered close to the market. Buffalo are still widely used in the growing process, especially in the mountainous regions. Horse are an important form of transport in the North West and a quite a few, sturdy ponies were tied to tree around the market. The horse carry a light timber frame on their back to carry produce to and from the market.
There’s no dancing or singing, but Coc Ly Market in Laocai Province always turns colorful and festive on Tuesdays, when ethnic people gather there to buy and sell goods, dine and drink, or just wander to enjoy the ambience of the montagnard market.
Many ethnic traders from Bac Ha and other parts of Lao Cai Province dress up in colorful costumes and bring horses, chickens, buffaloes, vegetables or whatever they can sell to the festive market in the wee hours, and will not return home until 1pm.
Certainly, what catches the eyes of visitors most are the different colors of the costumes worn by ethnic people and the handicrafts they sell at the market, about 50 kilometers from Laocai City in the northern province.
You can see young and old Hmong women, wearing skirts and hats with different types of embroidered flowers, crowding the market during the opening hours of Coc Ly. Scarves, clothes, decorations and other items made of tho cam (ethnic fabric) on sale also add color to the bazaar by the Chay River.
The colorful items are put on sale not just for locals but also tourists, particularly foreigners. However, you should remember to bargain when you want to buy your favorites, and the items at the booths located at the start of the path you walk on always have higher prices. Keep walking toward the end of the traditionally ethnic market until you find a real bargain.
A good idea is to stroll every corner of the once-a-week bazaar as you listen to unexpected conversations, see nice surprises and learn how ethnic people sell and buy farm produce, life’s necessities and other things.
After visiting the market, which is the most fresh and unspoiled market of the region, offering a wide range of different colorful ethnic minorities such as Flower C'mon, Black Dao, Tay , Fula, Lachi, Sandui and Nung....there will be an exciting boat cruise winding you through a breathtaking, out of this-world landscape where the mountain grow from water presenting their most hidden mysteries, including caves and tiny minority ...A picnic lunch box can be prepared for your most convenience..

Source:www.traveltosapa.com

Lung Khau Nhin Market - Thursday

2011-03-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Taking place every Thursday, Lung Khau Nhin Market is a small market hiding itself amongst the mountains and forests of the far north Vietnam about 10 km from the border with China. Although not being so big or
famous among visitors as Coc Ly and Can Cau, Lung Khau Nhin market, be side a normal shopping place, play an important role to spiritual life of local ethnic peoples Flower H’mong, Black Zao, Zay, and especially to those who come from very small ethnic groups such as Pa Zi, Tou Zi, Tou Lao who live in small and isolated villages around this corner of the country, come for meeting, socializing...

From Lao Cai: 65Km and takes nearly 2 hours by road; From Sapa: 102km and takes about 3 hours by road

Source:www.traveltosapa.com

Architectural heritage

2011-03-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

In the Lao Cai province, the buildings of specific architecture fall into two main categories:

- The traditional buildings of the local ethnic groups
- French buildings dating back to the colonial era

The Tay stilt houses:

Made of strong durable wood (such as “iron wood” called Lime), these houses are built on stilts, with the traditional palm roof to keep the summer heat away. They are often surrounded with balconies and open on all four sides to let the breeze in. Three thousand palms are necessary to cover an average-size house (8m x 12m). One single family does not own enough palm-trees to make a roof, so the whole village helps: relatives and neighbors bring their palms and their know-how, in return for which the family will provide food and alcohol for everyone until the roof is completed. The most beautiful stilt houses are found in the districts of Bao Yen, Bao Thang and Van Ban.

The Nung and Tu Si houses with traditional baked clay roof tiles

These wood-frame houses have become very rare. The roof tiles are made of clay, baked at high temperature in wood kilns buried in the ground. After 5 days of baking, the still hot tiles are sprinkled with water. Those that do not break will protect the houses for a century at least. This technique, known as “ rakou” tends to disappear because the hundreds of kilos of wood necessary to bake the tiles are hard to find. King Hoang A Tuong’s palace in Bac Ha is covered in traditional clay tiles. Some can still be seen in the north of the Muong Khuong, Si Ma Cai and Bac Ha districts.

The rotproof wood Hmong houses

To build the walls and roof of their houses, the H’mong and the Dao use one of the most popular woods in the area, peumou (Fokienia Hodginsii) also called “coffin wood” because the H’mong and the Chinese like to bury their dead in it. Insects do not attack peumou and it does not deteriorate when in contact with water. Roofs made of peumou shingle will last up to 70 years. Some can be seen in Cat Cat, Lao Chai and Tavan.

Some vestiges of colonial architecture

Many French architects living in Indo-China borrowed building techniques and decoration patterns from Vietnamese and Chinese architecture. The few Sapa buildings that have survived the wars show how these influences have mingled, with the palace of Hoang A Tuong in Bac Ha as best example. Some of Sa Pa colonial-era villas and the houses along the main road in Muong Khuong testify to this cultural syncretism.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Hoang Lien National Park

2011-03-16T08:58:00.000-07:00



Hoang Lien National Park Hoang Lien National Park, just outside Sapa town, is unique for experiencing nature at close hand. The Park encompasses approximately 30 km2 of scenic mountainous landscape, including Vietnam s highest peak, Fansipan (3143m). The Park contains temperate and sub-temperate forests which cover the Hoang Lien mountain range. The forest and surrounding vegetation provides habitats for a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Many of these are found only in north-west Vietnam and are of great biological significance. Hoang Lien National Park Hoang Lien National Park is located in the Hoang Lien mountain range belonging to Sapa and Than Uyen districts, Lao Cai Province and includes Vietnam s highest peak, Mount Fansipan (3,143 m). The park supports a wide variety of habitat types: elevations below 1,800m support lower montage evergreen forest; elevations between 1,800 and 2,500m support upper montage evergreen forest, elevations between 2,500 and 2,800m support sub-alpine forest, while the vegetation above 2,800m is dominated by stands of dwarf bamboo with scattered, stunted trees. Below 1,000m, the forest has been almost entirely cleared and replaced with anthropogenic habitats, including secondary grassland, scrub and cultivation. Secondary habitats are also found at higher elevations. The park supports a high diversity of animal groups. 347 bird species have been recorded in and around the nature reserve, including 49 species that are restricted in Viet Nam to north-west Tonkin. The park also supports approximately one third of Viet Nam s known amphibian species, the highest recorded amphibian species richness of any protected area in Viet Nam. Several amphibian species are currently known only from the site, and around 10% of the national park s amphibian species are globally threatened. Invertebrate diversity is also very high, and many species of invertebrate discovered at the site are known from nowhere else in the world

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Sapa Town

2011-03-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

General info about Sapa Town:

Sapa is located in Lao Cai province (formerly Hoang Lien Son province) in north-west Vietnam. Sapa means "town of sand" (Sa (sand), Pa (town) in Chinese characters). The town is situated at 1500 meters above sea level. Northern Vietnam was previously known as Tonkin, and the Sapa area was named “Tonkinese Alps” by French.

The area was discovered by Europeans when a Jesuit missionary visited SaPain 1918. French colonists were attracted by the climate and scenery, and in 1932 began developing the town as a health resort. After moving minorities from the town, they built a church , some hotels, an aerodrome by Tram Ton Pass, tennis courts, the hydro-electric power station in Cat Cat village and over 200 villas in town and the surrounding area, which have since been abandoned or destroyed. They also established road links with Lao Cai and Lai Chau. The road was fixed in 1969 by the Chinese, many of whom were killed during the construction. The Silver Waterfall used to be host to a cemetery built in their honor.

Since 1945, Sapa has been governed by the Vietnamese political system. In early 1979, there was an armed assault on Sapa which destroyed most of the buildings. Due to Vietnamese resistance this conflict lasted less than two weeks. Only a few of the original French buildings remain intact. Major population centers such as Lao Cai were razed to the ground. The ruins of the French villas are prominent on the route from Sapa to Sin Chai village.

Sapa is the natural starting point for a unique experience in the mountainous area, which includes the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, Vietnam s highest peak of Fan Si Pan (3143m) and 5 different hill-tribes, each one colourful, distinct, and with its own language and cultural values. Some of the villages, especially the more remote ones, are still largely untouched by modern ways of life, and staying overnight privately offers an unusual insight into an otherwise unknown aspect of life in Vietnam.

The climate:

The mean annual temperature in Sapa is 15.4C (59.7F) with a maximum of 29.4C (84.9F) in July and a maximum of -3.2C (26.2F) in December. The coolest months are December to February and snow falls most years for 1-3 days. In December 1922, 12 cm s of snow fell in Sapa town so if visiting the area at this time of the year be prepared for cold weather!

Frosts are frequent during the winter and mist shrouds the Fan Si Pan ridge and Sapa town. Foggy days are common, with an average of 137 per year.

The mean annual rainfall is 2763mm, with a high of 4723mm and a low of 2964 mm . The rainy season is between May and September. Humidity ranges from 75-91% with an average of 87%.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Sapa Landscape

2011-03-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Sapa also known as “Tonkinese Alps”, once was the French Hill Station for its amazing scenery and special climate. Nowadays, Sapa is a major tourist destination of North Vietnam, not only for its location as a natural starting point for the unique experiences in the mountainous area, on Hoang Lien Son mountain range, but also for its own stunning landscapes.

To be favoured by generous nature, Sapa has almost every attraction that the mountainous destination would have. From Sapa Town, which is 1,600 m asl, one will have a bird eye over the North Vietnam’s deepest and longest Muong Hoa valley set by the towering peaks, including Fansipan, of Hoang Lien Range. There the villages, surrounded by forests and waterfalls, are scattered around and spread to heaven s rim. The mountain, carved to be rice terraced for producing rice and maize, has been the back ground for the enormous painting of the amazing landcape. For decades, the valley has been home for 5 different hill-tribes ( Hmong, Red Dao, Tay, Giay and Xa Pho), each one colorful, distinct, and with its own language and cultural values. Some of the villages, especially the more remote ones, are still largely untouched by modern ways of life

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Lao Cai History

2011-03-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

In the 19th century, the Lao Cai area served as fighting ground for various armed groups, among which the famous Black Pavilions and White Pavilions. These gangs of plunderers had taken refuge in the mountains of Vietnam after the Taiping rebellion in China.

A little history
In the 19th century, the Lao Cai area served as fighting ground for various armed groups, among which the
famous Black Pavilions and White Pavilions. These gangs of plunderers had taken refuge in the mountains of Vietnam after the Taiping rebellion in China. Their main purpose was to control the shipping trade on the Red River. Sea salt from Vietnam, opium from the Yunnan province, new rice, fabrics, manufactured goods were to be their primary objectives. Between 1850 and 1886, the town of Lao Cai was taken, destroyed and fortified several times by different groups.
On March 30th, 1886, Colonel de Maussion and his troops arrived in Lao Cai. Their objective was to pacify the area in order to create a stable border with China and to open a trade route to China via the Yunnan province. The French wanted to be the first to reach Yunnan before the British managed to open a trade route starting from Burma. At the time, the French thought that Burma would be a new eldorado, especially because of its luxury silks and ore reserves. As of the 1910s, Lao Cai made it possible to control the opium trade, from which the colony derived the best part of its resources. For this purpose, the Foreign Legion set up military posts in Bat Xat, Muong Khuong and Bac Hà and militias were created in the villages. Until 1945, then again from 1947 to 1950, the town was administered by a French resident.
Traditionally, the shipping trade on the Red River has always been done by sampans capable of carrying up to 12 to 15 tons of goods, which sailed from Hanoi to Lao Cai in 35 days. In 1898, China granted the French government the right to build the Yunnan railway. The first works started in 1901 and the railway track reached Lao Cai in April 1906. The overall cost of the project was 78 million gold francs for 384 kilometres. The railway line cost the lives of 12.000 Chinese and Vietnamese workers and 80 Europeans.
In 1913, the road from Lao Cai to Cha Pa was but a mule track, only practicable on foot or on horseback. Today’s paved road was not marked out until 1924. As of 1925, the connection was established between the road and railway networks. At 9:00 p.m., the traveller could board the train in Hanoi and got off nine hours later in Lao Cai, after which a two hours’ drive took him to Cha Pa. The trip back was just as easy: leaving Cha Pa at 5 :00 p.m. one was back in Lao Cai at 7 :00 p.m., in time for a meal at the Hôtel de la Gare before boarding the night train at 8:30 p.m.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Culture Ethnies

2011-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

The population of the Lào Cai province is a mosaic of ethnic groups. An incredible variety of peoples, some of them unique to Vietnam, are found on a relatively small area.

In fact, visitors can meet 24 ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture and traditions. This cultural wealth is explained by the diversity of landscapes and of land available for farming. History also offers clues as to why the highlands in the Lào Cai province served as a refuge for certain ethnic groups during political unrest like the Taiping rebellion in 19th-century China.

The seven most numerous ethnic groups in the Lào Cai province account for over 90% of the whole population. The following groups are found: the Kinh (the true Vietnamese) 35%, the Hmong 22%, the Tay 14%, the Dao (Mien) 13%, the Thai 9%, the Nung 4.5% and the Giay 4.3%. The other ethnic groups: the Phula, Hani, Latis, Tu Di, Pin Tao, Tu Lao, Pa Di, Sapho, Lolo and the Xa Mang are sometimes represented only by a few villages and a few hundred individuals.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

H'Mong Ethnic Minority

2011-03-16T08:33:00.000-07:00

History: The Black Hmong immigrated from China approximately 300 years ago.

Language: The spoken language belongs to the Hmong - Dao language family. The Hmong writing was romanized in 1961 but is not widely used today.

Costume: The Black Hmong women are famous for making cloth from hemp and dying it a deep indigo blue. They wear long blouses decorated with batik flowers over short trousers, and wrap long scarves around their legs. They wrap their long hair around their head and wear a blue turban. The men wear long jackets with shirts and a long waist coat embroidered at the collar, and a small hat. Today some Hmong wear Viet or western clothes.

Social organisation: Hmong women are respected in their community as being equal with Hmong men. Husbands and wives are very affectionate and do many of their tasks together like going to the market, working on the field and visiting relatives. In this way, they help each other to develop a strong community life.

Marriage: For the Black Hmong it is important that a girl knows how to embroider and work well in the field. These skills are more important than her beauty. Boys and girls are allowed to get to know each other before they get married. They go to the love market where they eat and sing songs together. After this time, the boy can propose marriage and if the girl agrees, she goes to live in his house. She is put in a small room and visited by the boy’s mother and sisters who give her food to persuade her to accept the marriage.

The boy must give the bride s family silver coins, pigs, chicken and rice wine for the wedding ceremony. The bride has some time to decide if she accepts the marriage - even after living with her husband for a few days, she can choose to break their agreement. If the boy doesn’t have a dowry to give to the girl’s family, he lives in her house until he is able to marry her.

Funeral: When there is a death in the family, the deceased’s children fire a gun to let everyone in the area know. People in the village come to deceased s house with anything they have - chicken, rice, a small pig or rice wine - to help the family. Everybody sings and eats until the deceased is wrapped in a mat and carried to a grave by one group, while a coffin, which has been kept in a cave somewhere near the grave, is carried by another. Both groups have to run very fast to meet at the grave to make the deceased forget the way home. If the deceased’s family is not able to supervise the funeral rituals, they can wait for a few years before organising a special one called ma kho. They invite people in the village to a place by the grave for the funeral for a celebration, at which they sing and dance.

Beliefs: Many places are reserved for worshipping in a Hmong house – there s a place for ancestors, for the house spirit, for the kitchen spirit, even the door spirit. There are different rituals which forbid people to walk into the Hmong house or their villages. For example, a green tree branch on the front door indicates that entrance is forbidden.

Artistic activities: The Black Hmong are very good at making agricultural tools, wooden furniture, musical instruments and jewelry. They are also famous for their handicraft and embroidery. They generally only make such items to meet their own needs, but other minorities in the area buy their produce because of its high quality. Since the advent of tourism in Sapa, many Hmong women make decorated cloth to sell on the town s main streets.

Festivals: Like the other minorities, the Black Hmong have lots of different festivals during the year. They ensure that there is always time for community activities, which play an important role in their life. One of the most important festivals is the New Year, which they celebrate for an entire month. It happens about one month earlier than Vietnamese Tet. During this time, boys play flutes and girls play an instrument made from two leaves. They all spend time together playing traditional games.

The Blue Hmong minority

The Blue Hmong share the same origin as the Black Hmong. Most of their rites and rituals are the same - only their clothes are different. The Blue Hmong women wear long skirts over long trousers, with a blue bib worn over the top.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Tay Ethnic Minority

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History: The Tay are the earliest known minority in Vietnam, who are thought to have arrived from inland South East Asia about 500 BC. They settled in valleys in the north west part of Sapa.

Language: Tay language belongs to the Tay - Thai language group. Their alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet devised in 1960, similar to the Viet alphabet.

Costume: The traditional dress is made from indigo dyed cotton. It is usually plain, with little embroidery or other decoration. The women wear a simple shirt with silver buttons down the front teamed with black trousers. Both sexes wear colorful head scarves. Nowadays the Tay are often seen wearing Viet and western clothes.

Social organisation: The Tay social system used to resemble a feudal society. One man in each village owned the land, forest and rivers. He ruled over the people living on that land. This regime appeared very early and ended in 19th century.

Tay now live in villages of mixed ethnic groups, enter into mixed marriages and leave their traditional settlements to work in other areas. They have adopted other elements of Kinh culture and of the Tai speaking people, are considered the most integrated into main stream Vietnamese culture.

Birth: While pregnant and even after giving birth, the mother and father have to avoid many different things in order for both mother and child to be healthy, for the child to grow up quickly and strongly and to avoid evil spirits. When the new born is three days old, there is a ritual in honor of the midwife. One month after the birth, there is a celebration and party to name the baby.

Marriage: Young Tay men and women are free to love, but the decision to become husband and wife rests with their parents. The boy s parents need to know the potential bride s fortune so they can compare it to their son s. To do this, they consult an astrologer who judges how well matched they are. If the signs look favorable, the marriage can take place.

After the wedding, the wife stays with her parents until she is pregnant. She will only go to live at her husband’s house in the late stages of pregnancy.

Funeral: The funeral rituals are quite similar to Vietnamese. The funeral brings deceased s spirit to the world of the after life. Three years later, there is a ritual to bring the spirit to the ancestors and to end the mourning period. There is an annual day in honor of the deceased.

Beliefs: The Tay worship ancestors, the house spirit, kitchen spirit and the midwife.

Housing: The Tay live in houses built on stilts originally designed to protect them from wild animals. Nowadays, they use the first floor for storage and cooking. When building a new house, the owner has to choose the right place very carefully. Many factors are considered, including his age and horoscope. On the day that he and his family move to the new house, the head of the family must start a fire and keep it burning all night.

Food: The Tay used to eat sticky rice most of the time, but now eat regular rice. For festival occasions, they make many kinds of cakes such as square rice cake (banh chung - symbol of the earth), round rice cake (banh day - symbol of the sky) for the New Year Festival and pounded young sticky rice that is roasted (com) for the Mid Autumn Festival.

Production activities: The Tay use traditional wet rice cultivation. The rice is grown on the hills with very little water, which is well utilised using irrigation methods like digging canals and laying water pipes. They produce high quantities of food by practicing such intensive cultivation methods.

Source: traveltosapa.com

Red Dao Ethnic Minority

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History: The origin of the Red Dao is uncertain. It has been surmised that they arrived not long before the Hmong during the 18th Century.

Language: The Red Dao spoken language belongs to the Hmong - Dao language family. Their writing is based on Chinese characters adjusted to accommodate their own spelling.

Costume: Red Dao women usually wear a long blouse over trousers. Their clothes are colorfully embroidered with designs that appear on both sides of the material. The men typically wear a short shirt with long trousers, and a head-scarf. Both men and women have a square piece of fabric on the back of their shirts which represents that they are children of God. They wear similar hairstyles - long on top, with the rest smoothly shaved. Many women shave their eyebrows as well. Women also wear a distinctive red triangular shaped turban decorated with silver coins and red tassels.

Social organization: The Red Dao men play a dominant role in the family, community and the economy. They also play a major role in ceremonies such as marriages, funerals, and building new houses.

The Dao people have many different family names. Each lineage has its own system of different middle names to distinguish people of different generations.

Birth: The Red Dao women usually give birth in their bedroom with help of their mother and sisters. The new born is given a bath with hot water. The family hangs green tree branches or banana flowers in front of the door to prevent evil spirits from bringing harm and wickedness to the baby. When the baby is three days old, they celebrate a ritual in honour of the mother.

Marriage: Parents select partners for their sons. When a boy is fourteen or fifteen years old, his father takes him to have a look at a girl he thinks is fit and healthy and can help with the housework. The couple chosen to be married then have to consult a diviner who judges their compatibility based in a ritual using a chicken leg, and their horoscopes.

The girl s value is shown by how many silver coins, chickens, pigs and jars of rice wine the boy s family have to give her family.

During the marriage ceremony, it is customary to stretch a piece of string in front of the procession. The groom carries the bride on his back, and she must step over a blessed pair of scissors to cross the threshold into his house.

When a family has no son, the parents can buy a groom who will live happily with his bride s family. However, if a boy is so poor that his family can’t afford a dowry, he has to live in his bride s house - which causes him great shame.

Funerals: When there is a death in the family, the deceased s children have to invite a man called thay tao to supervise the rituals and find the right piece of land for a grave. The deceased is wrapped in a mat, placed in a coffin inside their house and carried to a grave built of stones. In the past, if the deceased was over 12 years old the body was cremated.

The funeral rituals celebrated ensure that the deceased rests in peace. The ceremony, which lasts for three days, usually coincides with initiation rites for Red Dao boys. The first day liberates the spirit of the deceased, the second day is a time to worship the deceased in the home, and the third day is the boy’s initiation rite.

The boy has to sit on a throne at the highest place in the village until he falls into hammocks hanging below him. This represents him falling down from the sky to be born on earth, another symbol of the Dao belief that they are the direct descendants of God.

Housing: The Dao ritual to select land for a new house is very important At night, the household digs a bowl sized hole and fill it with rice grains that represent people, cows, buffalo, money and property. The family will know where to build the house based on the dreams that follow during the night. In the morning, the family inspects the hole to see if the rice remains - if not, the house will be built elsewhere.

Beliefs: Dao religion has elements of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. They worship the ancestors of the family together with the legendary holy man Ban Vuong, who is considered the earliest ancestor of the Dao people.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Xa pho Ethnic Minority

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History: The Giay immigrated from China 200 years ago. They are strongly influenced by Chinese culture. Language: The Giay people speak a language of Tay - Thai group. They do not have their own writing. Costume: Like the Tay minority, the Giay women dress in simple clothes. They wear a five panel blouse split at the sides and buttoned on the right with dark indigo trousers. The blouses are different colors depending on the age - old women usually wear the darker shades. Women wrap their hair around their head and fix it in place with red threads. Giay, like other minorities, have adopted elements of Viet and Western clothing. Social organisation: Before the Revolution of August, 1945, the Giay society was divided into different classes. The upper class was composed of administration officials who owned the land. They paid soldiers and housekeepers to take care of weddings and funerals. Farmers working on their land had to pay taxes as well as doing the hard labour. Birth: Pregnant women have to avoid many things - wood is not burned from the top to the bottom to avoid difficulties when giving birth, and they are not allowed to attend funerals or visit a place for worshiping for fear of losing their spirit. When it is time to give birth the pregnant woman makes offerings to the Mother spirit. When the baby is one month old, they make offerings to the ancestors. At the same time they give the child a name and establish his or her horoscope, which will be used later when it is time to choose a partner for the marriage, and the right time to be put in a coffin when he or she dies. Marriage: The procedure for marriage is based strongly on Chinese traditions. A go-between is very important as they help propose the marriage to a potential bride. Once this has happened, the groom s family gives the bride a necklace and a bracelet to show their intentions - a kind of engagement. For the wedding, the groom s family must offer the bride s family food and money, and give close relatives a chicken, a duck and a silver coin. Once married, the bride is carried to her new house on the groom s back, as if she walks her spirit will find its way back to her parents. Funeral: Giay people believe that if a funeral is well organized, the dead will go happily to heaven with their ancestors. If not, the dead will be forced to live in hell or become animals. In a rich family, the funeral can last from five to seven days with extra rituals such as running along the river to lead the spirit on a procession. The children must mourn their parent s death for one year. Beliefs: The Giay altar is located in the middle of the house. There are three incense bowls set from the left to the right to worship the Kitchen God, Heaven and Earth, and the family ancestor. If the master of the house is a son-in-law who wants to worship his real parents, he must set up a fourth incense bowl to the far left. If a family has no altar for the Mother spirit, they set a fifth incense bowl to the right. Some families set up a small alter beside the big one to worship their parents-in-law.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Xa pho Ethnic Minority

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History: The Xa Pho came to Vietnam about 200 - 300 years ago. Some believe that their clothes indicate they immigrated from the southern islands of Asia, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Language: Their language belongs to Tibeto - Burmese language group. Other minorities say that Xa Pho people can speak most of the other languages in the area, but it is "difficult to hear their language which sounds like birds singing".

Costume: The Xa Pho s clothes are very different from other minorities. Women wear a short shirt with a long skirt made from indigo-dyed hemp fabric. They use a bright red thread to embroider decorations all over their clothes.

Social organasation: The Xa Pho community is particularly strong and neighbours play an important role in their villages. If a family has no food, they can visit their neighbours for every meal. If both families have no food, they will go to another family together. When no one in the village has any food, they all go to find fruit and vegetables in the forest. When a family kills a chicken or a pig, everyone in the village can come to have some without an invitation.

They are semi-nomadic; they do grow dry rice, but most of the time they live on what nature has to offer. While other minorities may live together in villages, these timid people live in isolation. There is only one tribe who live in Sapa, and they have a very low living standard compared with other minorities in the same valley.

Birth: After a women gives birth, strangers are prevented from coming into the house. The family either hang a hat on a pillar in front of their house, or use a blackened pilllar with leafy branches attached called dum dum to warn people away. A name-giving ceremony is carried out 12 days later. Each person has two names - one is used in a normal situation, and other when worshiping the ancestors and being worshipped after death.

Marriage: Young Xa Pho have the right to have sexual relationships before marriage. The Xa Pho has a very low population, so the man wants to make sure his partner can have children. The marriage will be organised after the young couple know the woman is pregnant. The future bride starts making her wedding dress while her groom prepares pigs, chicken and other food for the wedding.

Funerals: The deceased is placed in the middle of the house, with the head in the direction of the household altar. Water used to wash the deceased s face is left to evaporate. There must be a bowl of rice with a pair of chopsticks and a barbecued or roasted chicken next to the alter. The deceased’s children put straw around the wooden coffin, as they used to use straw as mattresses. The coffin is buried in a grave or a tomb. Lots of people must attend the funeral to ensure that the spirit of the dead doesn’t stay at the tomb or cemetery.

Housing: The Xa Pho live in houses built half on stilts and half on the ground. Furniture is very simple and made of bamboo or rattan.

Artistic activities: The Xa Pho dance for many occasions - marriage, funerals, births, even when they have run out of food. Their dancing style is very different to other minorities. Accompanied by a drum beat, they join hands and dance in a circle around a fire.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Minority in general

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There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. The resultant diversity in culture and history of these minorities has created one of the most complex human environments in South East Asia. The main ethic group, the Kinh (Viet), accounts for approximately 87% of the population. The remaining 13%, some 8.5 million people, occupy a variety of midland, upland and highland areas, though are mainly concentrated in the western part of the country where they inhabit two-thirds of the border areas. The ethnic groups vary in size, ranging from over 1 million to less than 200 persons. The ten major groups account for about 85% of the ethnic population. Most minorities are found in equal or greater numbers in southern China, Laos, Cambodia, northern Thailand and Burma.

Facts regarding the origin, distribution, subdivisions and cultural character of the minorities remain uncertain. The classification of ethnic groups varies, in a number of cases Vietnamese, Chinese, French and British designate the same people by different names. The distinction between ethnic groups is made on the basis of linguistic criteria. The minorities are divided into three major language families: Austro-Asiatic, Austronesian and Sino-Tibetan. However, the 54 ethnic groups included many local groups of different denomination with a multitude of dialects. Also, minority groups who share the same language often have distinct thought and behaviour patterns. Thus, a system of classification based on language alone would be imprecise. Groups may be sub-divided by differences in dialect relationships geographical position, altitude of settlement, socio-political structure and traditional dress.

Political & administrative history

Before the French rule (1859-1954) many minorities had developed patterns of social organisation, either living as rural communes or under a feudal system where one minority often dominated another.

Under French rule most minorities were required to carry out unpaid labour and were subject to heavy taxes. As with many minorities, the ethnic groups in Sapa were actively opposed to the colonialists, and immigration into Vietnam, particularly of Hmong, continued between 1864 to 1892 to augment guerilla forces made up of mixed minority groups. During the 40 years preceding the 1945 August Revolution the French faced at least seven minority revolts.

Between 1945 and 1975 the government of Vietnam aimed to achieve the co-operation of ethnic groups in the war of reunification. This was attempted by granting them constitutional rights equal to those of the Kinh majority. In the mid 1960s relations between the government and northern minorities improved due to the introduction of an official policy based on the principle of self-government centred on Soviet communist practice for ethnic groups. The government established two Autonomous Regions in the north and north-west of the country led by a People s Council and its administrative body, on which the various minorities in the region were proportionally represented. These Autonomous Regions were abolished in the post-reunification period.

Minority participation in the two Indo-China wars contributed to their integration in to the political, economic and life of the country. This is reflected in the delineation of their political and civil fights as written in the 1981 constitution.

The present government approach to the minorities is through a settlement programme aimed at further integration the minorities into national life. Ethnic groups are represented at a country level by the National Assembly. In 1987, 14% of members were minority peoples, in-line with their proportion of the total population. Other political legislative and executive bodies exist for and with the participation of minorities, such as the State Committee for Ethnic Affairs and civil committees at provincial and district level.

Ethnic minorities in the Sapa district

Excluding the Kinh people or ethnic Vietnamese, eight different ethnic groups are found in Sapa; Hmong, Dao (pronounced Zao), Tay, Giay (pronounced Zai), Muong, Thai, Hoa (ethnic Chinese) and Xa Pho (a denomination of the Phu La minority group). However, the last four groups comprise less than 500 people in total. The population of the district is estimated at 31,652 (1993) of which 52% are Hmong, 25% are Dao, 15% are Kinh, 5% are Tay and 2% are Giay. Around 3,300 people live in Sapa town, the remainder are peasant farmers distributed unevenly throughout the district.

The minorities are governed under the same legal and administrative systems as the Kinh majority. Each province is sub-divided in to a number of districts which hold a degree of autonomy in local government. The district is further divided in to communes which have an elected president and small committee responsible for agricultural and legal issues, amongst other thing. There are 18 communes in the Sapa district, with populations of between 970 and 4,500. These communes are made up of between two and six villages, each with an elected leader.

Education and Health

Education and health care are supplied free to the minorities by the state. Every commune in Vietnam is supposed to have a primary school, and each of the 550 districts typically has at least one upper secondary school. However, in Sapa not every commune has a primary school and school attendance rates by minority child are low since formal education is not a traditional part of minority culture.

Primary schools provide classes in Vietnamese, basic arithmetic and Vietnamese culture. These classes are held between three and six mornings each week and are attended by less than 3% of each commune. Children attending school are able to participate in household chores or agricultural work during the afternoon. In the summer months some communes offer similar classes to adults during the evenings. There is a secondary school in Sapa attended by about 120 minority children. Pupils board on a full-time or part-time basis depending on family commitments.

Few communes have trained health staff and most refer serious cases of diseases such as malaria, dysentery and measles to the hospital in Sapa. Traditional herbal remedies are primarily used by the minorities, comprising medicinal plants gathered in the forest. A traditional medicine garden is located near the bus station in Sapa. This is supported by the Institute for Medicine in Hanoi and most of the plants are used in Hanoi. Other traditional gardens exist within province, for example at Lao Cai, for use by local people.

There are very basic water treatment, sewage or waste disposal facilities in the district, and many communes have no means of dealing with their waste. It is therefore important that visitors take sensible health precautions, particularly regarding drinking water. Similarly, it is important not to increase the existing burden the environment by adding to the waste disposal problem. Minimize the effects of your visit by disposing of rubbish sensibly and re-use plastic bottles by sterilizing drinking water if possible. Many locally produced drinks come in glass bottles which are recycled.

Agriculture

The majority of people in Sapa are subsistence farmers in forest areas with some traditional practicing “swidden” agriculture (slash & burn) which has led to much forest clearance. The annual calendar of events is centred around agriculture.

Rice cultivation is the main economic activity, though production is limited to one crop per year due to the winter climate being unsuitable for optimal rice growth. Between March and May, depending on the weather and the number of fields to be cultivated, rice is planted in the terraced paddy fields. Before planting the fields are ploughed using buffalo as draught animals. In July weeding of the rice crops takes place. Between September and October the rice is harvested. Between February and March maize is planted and crops are harvested between June and August.

As a result of population growth there is high pressure on existing land. As rice is limited to only one crop per year and there is limited scope for expansion of agricultural land the ethnic minorities in Sapa face an annual deficit in food production. This shortage varies between families but most can only produce enough to provide for between four and eight months. The poorest families in each village receive rice provided by the government, usually surplus stock from the Mekong Delta.

Livestock is reared to provide food during periods of rice shortage or on special occasions and also for sale to enable basic necessities to be bought. Livestock kept by local people includes cattle, water buffalo, pot-bellied pigs, goats, ducks and chickens.

The minorities also gather natural produce from the forest, both to supplement their income and for domestic use. These include dead wood for fuel and building materials, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and ginger. Men from the ethnic groups are skilled hunters using homemade flintlock rifles, traps, crossbows, knives and dogs to catch animals in the forest. Hunting is now illegal though animals such as monkeys are still trapped if they are raiding crops.

Opium cultivation exists in the north-western provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lai Chau and Son La. Addiction in minorities has been reported, as has the use of opium for medicinal purposes. Opium farming war banned in Vietnam in 1954, though cultivation for personal use was permitted. In 1986 all cultivation and possession for sale or personal use became illegal. Punishment includes fines and prison sentences for re-offenders. To discourage opium cultivation in Sapa the Hmong have been permitted to cultivate Panax Pseudo-ginseng within the remaining forest areas. This cash crop is sold to the Chinese for use in traditional medicines.

There is no traditional delineation of work between the sexes. Each member of the family carries out jobs to which they are suited. Men are responsible for heavy work including ploughing, threshing, building, repairing the house and making agricultural implements. Women are responsible for planting, weeding, harvesting, food preparation and making clothes. Children are responsible for tending buffalo, and they, together with the elderly, help with lighter work and household chores.

Tree Planting

Tree planting programmers exist in Sapa to provide alternative sources of wood for fuel and building materials. This alleviates pressure on the remaining natural forest. These reforestation projects are supported by the Vietnamese government. A number of foreign aid and development agencies are also contributing to tree planting efforts as an integrated approach to raising the standard of the ethnic groups.

Protective forest legislation acts as a disincentive to "swidden" agriculturalists, and those clearing land for cultivation are fined. Economic lumber species such as Fokienia hodginsii are used in furniture production and command high prices in Lao Cai ($400/m3) and China ($900/m3) for furniture production. The trees are cut by local people, though they are only paid a small fraction of the commercial value of the wood. Economic timber species are included in the tree planting programmes to reduce the incidence of illegal logging and provide an alternative source of income to the district.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Sapa History

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The Sa Pa plateau was identified in 1901 during the first topographic plotting of the area. A military post was built in 1903. In 1906 the first westerner to settle in Cha Pa, named Mr. Miéville, worked with the department of agriculture. The number of French permanent civilian residents was never very high, only twenty odd people in 1942, plus a small colony of English-speaking protestants of unknown origin.

Originally, Cha Pa was created for medical purposes: the bracing climate of Cha Pa was beneficial to westerners exhausted by a long stay in Vietnam, especially «people with chlorosis, post-infectious anaemia, previous history of malaria, and a whole array of neurotics: people with neurasthenia, phobia, overworked people or hypochondriac women». Certain diseases, such as «chronic bronchitis with associated emphysema or asthma and certain skin diseases» could also be cured. The military sanatorium, completed in 1913, was built on the hill on which the municipal cistern and its pumping station now stand.

As of 1914, the main purpose of the civil authorities was to create in Tonkin a veritable summer capital in the mountains. In the summer of 1914, the offices of all the local services were moved from Hanoi to Cha Pa. The works had started in 1912, the tourist office was created in 1917 and in 1925, there were already 80 kilometres of footpaths offering a great variety of hiking trips. The forestry service planted evergreens, some of which are still standing today. In 1922 the building of the most sumptuous hotel in the station, the Résidence du Tonkin started on «governor’s hill».

In 1909, thanks to Miéville, the « Sapa Hotel » was inaugurated to the east of the station on the road to Lao Cai, while the «Fan Si Pan» hotel was only built in 1924. The « Métropole », a luxury hotel with 50 rooms and ten suites sited at the foot of the Ham Rong on the bank of the lake, was inaugurated in 1932. The «Hôtel du Centre», a more modest establishment, was built in1937.

The first villas were built in 1918 by the Hong Hai Coal Board and by the Haïphong cement factory (at the place where the Victoria Hotel now stands). A hundred or so other villas were built between 1920 and 1940 on neighbouring land given for free, some specimens of which can still be seen. In the lower area are located the private villas, administrative buildings and hotels. In the higher area, one finds the big military sanatorium and the governor ‘s summer palace. The church was built in 1934, followed by a protestant temple sitting on the hill overlooking the road to Cat Cat. By the end of the 1930s, Cha Pa had reached its peak and over a thousand colonials went there to rest and have fun. Until the mid-40s, Cha Pa was to remain the fashionable mountain resort of the Hanoi colonial society.

In order to meet the increasing demand for food, the local authorities created agricultural stations. The aim of these stations was to feed the summer visitors and « put an end to the typical problem of hotels where bread is wanting because a party of six had the unfortunate idea of turning up without sending a telegram two days earlier ». Vietnamese people launched into agricultural production, providing the town with « all sorts of foods »... The Taphin estate produced pork, chicken, vegetables, fresh fruit, jam, milk, potatoes, cheese and… wine. Trade was flourishing in the hands of Chinese people and Vietnamese from the delta area.

The growth of Cha Pa was an incentive to modernisation and between 1924 and 1927 the public authorities had it equipped with running water, a sewage system and an electricity network supplied by a power station built on the Cat Cat waterfall, whose renovated buildings are still in operation, as well as a telegraph and telephone network. In 1942, untypically for such a small place, a complete town plan of Sa Pa was drawn, which included over 400 plots of building land.

In February 1947, the Viet Minh attacked Cha Pa and destroyed the military installations and part of the hotels (among which the Métropole) as well as villas. In March, the Foreign Legion occupied Cha Pa again until October 1949 when the French troops left the region for good. In March 1952, the French headquarters ordered the air force to bomb the town. The Governor’s Palace, the sanatorium complex, public buildings and most of the villas were destroyed. The Vietnamese population fled the ruined town and did not return until the early sixties. Not until the early 1990s did Sa Pa start developing again.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

History of the Taphin Monastery

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History of the TA PHIN monastery

At the end of 1941, twelve nuns belonging to a congregation of devout Reformed Cistercians, « whose only purpose was prayer and penitence», were thrown out of the monastery of Our Lady of the Angels in Hakodaté (Japan). Eight of them as well as the prior wished to stay in Asia. On January 8th, 1942, the French ambassador in Japan wrote to the bishop of Hung-Hoa, Mgr. Vandaele, and solicited that they be welcomed on «missionary ground».
On February 13th, 1942, for the token rent of one piastre per year, the Superior Resident granted a long-term lease over « the estate of the old fruit-growing station of Ta Phing (44 hectares of buildings and lands), uncultivated or fallow land ».
On June 11th, 1942, the sisters arrived at Lao Kay railway station and were installed in a wooden building «in poor condition», «each had only the clothes she was wearing, and 200 yens».
On June 19th, the French Resident in Lao Kay gave them « 8 milk cows, 9 calves, 2 oxen, 2 heifers, 1 bull, and farming implements »

The aim was to start « large-scale raising of pigs and chickens» and to « usefully complement the dairy products, milk, butter and cheese produced by the Chapa station in insufficient quantity for the number of summer visitors both civil and military ». The sisters also « set about to grow black wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat… » and develop « fruit trees, potatoes, vegetables and vineyards ». As of September 1942, the sisters were producing peach, apple and other fruit jams and had difficulties satisfying « the numerous orders for butter and cheese of the Port Salut type coming from Hanoi ».
As of August 1942, legionnaires were supervising the Annamite workers digging a platform on which the new monastery was to be built. The foundation stone was lain on October 8th, 1942 in the presence of the Superior Resident, and a parchment was deposited in a cavity made in the south-east corner-stone of «Our Lady of Peace Monastery».
In fact, only the first phase of the work was to be completed, and the rest of the convent, which was supposed to welcome « a hundred sisters, lay sisters and novices » was never built. Nor were the planned guest quarters and chaplaincy. Only the farmhouse buildings were ever built. During the 1947 unrest, the sisters hurriedly fled to Hanoi and the monastery was burned down.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

A message from your host

2011-03-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

We feel honoured by your visit and hope that it will be an opportunity for you to better understand our way of life, habits and culture.
Hopefully, if the language barrier and lack of time are not too much of an obstacle, we will be happy to answer your questions, welcome you to our modest homes and exchange cultural information with you. You wish to get to know us, but we too have a lot to learn about your way of life and habits, that sometimes seems just as strange to us as some of ours to you.
However, the sudden influx of tourists may have negative effects on our villages because many of our foreign guests are not aware of our sometimes complex customs. Certain attitudes or behaviours considered normal by you, may be considered shocking here and create problems and misunderstandings on both sides. This is why we would like to let you know a few basic rules.
You sometimes talk about “ethic tourism”, we prefer to talk about mutual respect.

- Drug consumption is forbidden here, we want to protect our youth from this terrible habit.

- Touching sacred objects, walking through sacred places is forbidden and offends us. Please, seek information.

- Being badly dressed, dirty or partly undressed is considered aggressive and disrespectful.

- Drinking in excess, speaking in a loud voice or shouting is considered aggressive.

- Public display of affection and kissing are considered immodest and offending behaviour.

- Ask permission before taking pictures of people, we will be happy to grant it. Do not give money if money is not asked.

- Do not buy antiques or ancient jewellery from local families: you would rob them of their heritage and history.

- Do not give to children, this would encourage begging. Prefer presents to parents or elders and thank them for their hospitality.

- The best way to thank us is to buy recently made handicrafts: although cheap for you they represent a lot of money for us.

- Always offer to pay if a villager provides a meal or accommodation.

- Always announce yourself before entering a house or a property, we will be happy to let you in.

- Do not encourage prostitution.

We thank you in anticipation and wish you a most pleasant stay.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com

Handicrafts in Sapa

2011-03-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

Handicrafts in Sapa

Until the 1980s, most of the mountain populations in Vietnam used to produce nearly all their everyday life objects. Clothes, basketwork, metal and wooden objects, jewellery, pottery, etc. were made locally according to techniques that were often specific to an area or an ethnic group. These objects are still made today for family use and occasionally offered for sale.

Fibres: hemp, cotton and silk dyed with natural dyes :

The Tày grow cotton, spin it, weave it, and dye it to make the traditional blankets for the wedding dowries. The Hmong grow hemp and use its strong fibres to make their clothes, which they dye with indigo. In certain villages, people raise silkworms to make the beautiful silk thread they use to embroider their clothes. The Dao (Mien) women and the Hmong make veritable pictures with their incredibly precise embroideries. Lots of traditional fabrics can be found in the Sa Pa and Bac Hà ethnic markets. Most of the patterns embroidered by the Hmong and the Dao or woven by the Tay and the Thai carry a meaning. They often symbolise a baby, a tree, a bird, a snail, the moon, etc.

Basketwork: from forest to kitchen :

Rattan and bamboo are the raw materials used for basketwork. Each ethnic group and each area has its own techniques and own patterns. The Tays’ are square-shaped, often decorated with floral patterns, while the Dao’s (Mien) and the Lao’s are raised designs with colour strokes.

For their domestic use, the Nung and the Tay make very fine baskets for sorting rice or legumes. In order to protect them, they store them over the wood fire where the smoke makes them more resistant. The Vietnamese shoulder piece is the most popular carrying device in the lowlands, while the back-basket is found everywhere in the mountains.

Wood, steel and silver: traditional skills, still unrecognized :

Thanks to the wide diversity of wood species and to the carpenters and joiners’ know-how, the houses, furniture and all the wooden objects are still made locally. One of the most famous wood species in the Lao Cai area is peumou (Fokienia Hodginsii), a species of slow-growing cypress whose wood is rot-proof. Chinese buyers have been paying a heavy price for it for over a century.

Using reclaimed materials, blacksmiths used to make ploughshares, knives and trivets. Despite the competition of industrial products, the high-quality knives and pruning knives made by the Hmong are still much sought-after by farmers from all ethnic groups.

Silver jewelery is still made by numerous ethnic groups. The Hmong from Sa Pa and the Dao are renowned for their necklaces consisting of several silver circles put together – the weight of the jewel is also a wealth and status symbol as silver metal used to be one of the main ways of hoarding wealth. The Tày from Van Bàn make beautiful silver bangles. Depending on the area and on the subgroups they belong to, the Hmong and the Dao are distinguished by the shape of their earrings.

Incense :

Virtually all ethnic groups produce their own particular sort of incense. The Tày from Van Ban (Van Bàn), use powdered cinnamon bark to make a brown incense with a warm, sweet fragrance. The Pa Zi from Muong Khuong make pale green incense out of powdered wild leaves, whose fragrance is greener and a little sharp. The Hmong from Bac Hà gather tree bark to make ochre-coloured incense with a powerful scent.

Source: www.traveltosapa.com