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 Ha Giang Destination: Dong Van - the old street

Ha Giang, a mountainous province in the extreme North of the country with Lung Cu flagpole liken as “a high forehead of the motherland”, has a total area of more than 7,884 sq km. It borders Tuyen Quang province in the South, Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces in the West, Cao Bang in the North-west, Yun Nam and Quang Xi provinces (China) in the North with a borderline of over 274 km in length.

Its climate is temperate so it is cool through the year and the air is fresh. It has been remarked an ideal destination by domestic and foreign tourists.

Dong Van is 139 kilometres away from Ha Giang’s center. The trip is long.. Pass over Pac Sum mountain pass through Cong Troi and Quan Ba, and down Trang Kin slope. Climb up Na Khe mountain, past Yen Minh (Yen Minh district’s temperature is the highest in Ha Giang), past Van Chai and head beyond Lung Cam and Pho Cao, a Hmong village. Trek up the road to Tham Ma, past Lan Xin (the coldest region in Ha Giang) and climb over the fantastic “9-corner slope”, a zigzag of switchbacks with extreme sloping corners. On the right sits the fortress, the former hoem of the Hmong king Vuong Chi Sinh. The fortress is now nationally acclaimed cultureal and historic heritage site.

The journey to Dong Van can be as satisfying as the destination, presenting tourists with mountain passes and markets and, of course, the people. Lo Lo Chai village is the only village with hundreds of ethnic Lo Lo Den people . Itls regarded as the origin of the Lo Lo ethnicity in Vietnam. Ma Pi Leng peak, which also lies between Ha Giang center and Dogn Van, is a 10 kilometer hike with sweeping vistas of the Nho Que river in the valley.

Dong Van used to be a small hamlet named Nghien village after nearby Nghien Forest. A natural spring flowed year-round from the rocky mountain, which is why the area was settled.

In 1890, when the French first set foot in Dong Van, they garrisoned at Pu Lo mountain’s foot

Today all that remains of the ancient village is Dong Van old street. Yin Yang tiles, now ebony black with age, can be ground on every house on this small street. Its stone-pillar market has pillars which were carved in 1926. The French post is almost entirely preserved.It’s said that the old street has maintained its rustic character because of poverty, that the people don’t have enough money to build new houses.

Although a small tourist sight, Dong Van is marvelous and worth a visit.