Brief information about Ha Giang Vietnam

Emerging as a hot destination in north Vietnam, Ha Giang is replacing Sapa as the most attractive place to enjoy natural beauty and ethnic culture. Amongst the highest latitudes of Vietnam, Ha Giang is certainly a terrific destination for the taking in the sights of special hilly landscapes. Ha Giang's resident consists mainly of minor ethnic groups that compose its own culture.

Area and also history

Ha Giang

Ha Giang is a hilly province in the Northwest Vietnam in which the Vietnam-China boundary extends more than 274km long. The district is additionally the resource of Lo River streaming right into Vietnam, contiguous to China to the north with global border entrance Thanh Thuy. Southern of Ha Giang is Tuyen Quang; eastern is Cao Bang and Lao Cai to the West. Ha Giang is about 320km to the north of Hanoi, complying with Highway no. 2.

Ha Giang is quite a brand-new city with only 120 years of history. Looking at a great deal of problems in regard to unfavorable place and reduced degree of infrastructure, Ha Giang is changing from a financially underdeveloped province into a tourist area that entices a lot of site visitors in the last few years.

Like other Northern highlands of Vietnam, the climate below is amazing in the summer and also incredibly chilly in the winter months which ones may see snow. The temperature of Ha Giang varies from 5 - 28 Celcius level, which is pretty ideal for tourist.

Ha Giang's visitor destinations

Like Sapa, the most prominent tourist attraction of Ha Giang are the numerous grandiose mountains. Although mountains here are not as high as Sapa's mountains and also seem not to be steep enough to challenge adventurous climbers, they attract attention for comprehensive area of limestone with unique formation of peaky rocks.

The most famous rough area of Ha Giang is Dong Van Rock Plateau, which is recognized by UNESCO as one of 77 geological parks worldwide. Lung Cu community lying inside Dong Van Rock Plateau is one more indispensible location as it marks the quite northern tip of northeast Vietnam by Lung Cu Flag Tower on Dragon Hill.

Not only that, Ha Giang is a location of extravagant organic caverns such as Phuong Thien Cavern, Chui Cave, Fairy Cavern as well as Swallow Cave. Although all the caves provide fantastic surroundings with wonderful forms of stalactites, each one has its own story and also qualities. As an example, tale states that fairies used to bathroom in Fairy Stream inside Fairy Cavern which is the source of its name.

Ha Giang is also prominent for its wonderful woodlands in which there are greater than 1,000 species of excellent timbers, drug trees also rare animals like tigers, peacock or pangolin.

Ha Giang's special society

This hilly district's residents are composed primarily of ethnic minorities with a major of Hmong, Tày, Yao and also Nùng ethnic groups. Thanks to this ethnical variety, nowhere could one see even more fusing traditions than Ha Giang. Each of the ethnic team has its unique custom in regard to wedding celebration, worship, celebrations or funeral service. To highlight, a Hmong bridegroom can only obtain wed only if he could rob his wife yet no one learn about his activity to be successful pass the test.

In Ha Giang, for tourist to see one of the most special personalized of the ethnic minorities, it is advised to take a hiking tour or traveling by motorcycles because there are numerous ethnic districts living separately from the mainstream society. Pertaining to these tribes, ones could see beauties on their doors to get rid of satanic forces as well as ghouls. The residents are additionally quite friendly that welcome strangers like honored visitors and could alleviate you their unique meal: Thang Co (steed meat hot-pot).

An unique spot only be seen in Ha Giang is "Khau Vai Passion Market". The market-day is held monthly just on the 26th and 27th of a Lunar Year. Therein, both solitary as well as wedded people in different ethnic teams could come to find ones' suitable life-partner and also sharing their sensation and understanding per various other. Lunar New Year seem to be the very best time to go to Ha Giang when ones can see a wide variety of standard customs of ethnic minorities here, such as commemorating success, rain habit, boys routine, weapon shooting competition, pan-pie performance or "Còn" Tossing competition.

How to arrive?

Since Ha Giang's infrastructure is still on its method of improvement, ones could only reach this destination by auto or motorbikes along the High Way No. 2 to the north of Hanoi, through 3 districts: Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho as well as Tuyen Quang. It's exceptional if one has an exclusive car or otherwise, you can go to some train terminal in Hanoi like Giap Bat, Gia Lam, My Dinh, Luong Yen or Ha Dong to purchase an instructor with fairly low reasonable, varies from 100,000 VND (about $5) per one way ticket.

Visitors to take part in Ha Giang flower festival

Ha Giang People's committee has approved the plan submitted by Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to host Tam Giac Mach flower Festival in Dong Van district, however the festival will be organized in the right time with emphasis and characteristics of Ha Giang province.

According to plan, Tam Giac Mach flower festival will take place in October this year when Tam Giac Mach flower is in full bloom and most beautiful, the festival will be held along with a chain of cultural activities such as the Third H'mong flute festival, the amateur photo exhibition with subjects about Dong Van highland, Rock plateau tourism fair...

Dong Van plateau in Ha Giang

This will be the first Tam Giac Mach festival held in Ha Giang town at provincial scale. Ha Giang is expected to promote and advertize the special characteristics, local traditional culture of ethnic minority groups living in the area Global Geopark Dong Van. 

Early October is the time when Tam Giac Mach flowers come to season. This time, Ha Giang become busy with thousands of people, most of them are young travelers from Hanoi flock to Ha Giang to enjoy the beauty of Tam Giac Mach flower blooming all over the place, across the hillsides and villages of Dong Van, Meo Vac and Yen Minh districts.

If you choose Dong Van as the first destination of the trip to Ha Giang in Tam Giac Mach season then Pho Cao should be the first place to behold the first flowers of the season. Standing right on top of the hill looking down, you will see a carpet of Tam Giac Mach, the color of flower in the early season is light pink and fresh, the picturesque gardens stretch across the mountain valleys. Local people used the powder of Tam Giac Mach fruit to make cakes or mix with corn and make alcohol with very special flavor.

Delicious food travelers love in Ha Giang

Ha Giang special food

Ha Giang is not only known as a mountainous province with spectacular landscapes, customs and traditions, colorful festivals, sheer limestone mountains but also we see it as a piece of land with of attractive natural products and one of the best attractions that lure travelers is the food culture with dishes made from many materials available in nature that have become exotic, interesting and impressive specifically available only in the highland region of Ha Giang

In this article I will introduce some specialties of Ha Giang land that have become famous and I myself have tried during our Ha Giang adventures. If you have a chance to visit this region just don't forget to taste them.

1 - Banh Cuon Trung (Rice rolls with eggs)

In the cold stone land of Ha Giang, one must eat something really hot, so hot air to fight the gloom air emanating from the rocks. But Egg rolls, specialty of the border land is a "cold dish", used with hot soup cooked from bone, sweet and tasty.

When the sauce is ready, you just dip the thin piece of rice, wrap with red color of egg yolk, everything is deep in the self-made sauce and enjoy the strange and tasty flavour of the remote land.

Some places to enjoy Banh Cuon Trung:

- Banh Cuon Mrs Lan, address 116A Ly Tu Trong street, Ha Giang town.

- Banh Cuon shop, just across the old Dong Van market

2 - Chau Au Tau (Au Tau porridge)

In Ha Giang there are unique dishes that make visitors never forget. Bitter Porridge or Chao Au Tau is one of them.

In a cold winter night, wandering in the town of Ha Giang, take a seat at the corner of the restaurant and order a bowl of Chao Au Tau, full gamut of taste in a small bowl of soup: fragrant glutinous rice mixed with aromatic rice cultivated on upland well cooked, the buttery flavour of a bulb of Au well cooked with pig trotters soup, odor herbs, spice leaves...A bowl of Chao Au Tau looks very attractive by harmonious combination of rice, minced meat, bone water, herbs... It is not easy to make Chao Au Tau, the bulb of Au is thoroughly soaked in strong rice water and stewed in 4 hours. Sticky rice Hoa Vang is mixed with white rice cooked in broth chopped pork leg and Au flour, add a little chopped lean meat, another little extra spice, the porridge tastes bitter and many people called bitter porridge.

Many visitors to Ha Giang, enjoy the tasty Chao Au Tau for the first time would return for it. Chao Au Tau is not just a dish but also a medicine for cold. Chao Au Tau is available in Ha Giang all seasons however only sold in the evening. In the cold winter night in the mountains, sitting in a warm restaurant by the red flame kitchen and savor Au Tau porridge is also an interest for those who love to discover new things.

3 - Thang Co

The aroma of cardamom, nuts and lemongrass, mingled with the fat of the meat warm the air in the cold weather of winter. H'mong men to Dong Van market all want to have a bowl of Thang Co soup, drink some cups of wine with friends. Men who have many friends are invited to many wine, those who are drunk at the end of the market session is considered as blessed for having many friends. 

The market in Dong Van has been rebuilt, look similar to markets in the cities however the roofs and ceilings cannot replace the umbrellas of ethnic women. In the middle of the market, the Thang Co shops are placed behind the foodstuff. Pork, buffalo, beef is hanging for sale in the big hooks, the wine shops are right beside the Thang Co shops, wine is stored in the big plastic can or ceramic jars carried on horseback from the early morning or the night before, a world of wines mingled with the flavour of hot fiery leaves.

H'mong people usually bring to market Men Men, a kind of corn cakes, when they come to market they buy a couple of wines and a bowl of Thang Co is enough to make a party with friends. You must squat when eating Thang Co, the bowls are put on a long wooden span and served by a wooden spoon, there is always a bowl of salt and hot chili, a little salt would make the Thang Co very strong. Thang Co must be eaten with friends so that you can talk about family, health and business and the sounds of cheers go all about the market. When you begin to get drunk people would sing and play flut, all men and women can be drunk at the Thang Co table.

4 - Com Lam in Bac Me (Sticky rice cooked in bamboo pipe)

Ha Giang is a fertile region with delicious sticky rice that has become famous, the Com Lam Bac Me is becoming a special dish of the Tay ethnic people here.

Techniques to process Com Lam is simple, raw materials is sticky rice treated thoroughly and soaked in water from underground sources, put in a bamboo pipe and blocked with banana leaves, people use young bamboo, cut into tubes with one end open and the other end is blocked, like the bottom of the pan, glutinous rice is washed carefully, add some salt, mix well and put into the tubes, pour water approximately above the rice. The open end of the bamboo pipe is blocked with dried banana leaves and then grill on fire or put under the fire wood, spin the tube around slowly to make the rice heat up evenly. As long as an hour or less (depending on how big the pipe is), the fragrance of glutinous rice spread out then the Com Lam is ready.

Before eating, use a knife and remove the green skin outside the pipe (now burned black) and the white layer inside, the Com Lam is shaped in the form of a pipe, surrounded by an ivory silk shell of bamboo tube. In the old days Com Lam is a priority for pregnant women and women who were feeding new born babies. A scientific explanation, that eating Com Lam will avoid the nature of copper, iron, aluminum as cooked by metal pan and therefore would not affect the quality of milk of the mother, when eating the Com Lam has the fragrance coupled with banana leave and grilled pipe, Com Lam can be eaten with sesame or grilled fish from river.

5 - Reu Nuong (grilled moss)

Moss from rock has been considered a kind of aquatic plant. But for the Tay people in Xuan Giang commune, Quang Binh district, stone moss is a special dish.

The food processed from stone moss is also call Que, this is a tasty and nutritious dish with unique flavour. According to local people, when they go looking for moss they usually go to large fields where moss is plenty and tasty, moss is washed thoroughly until it is free from sand, moss then can be processed into different dishes.

Moss from streams is plenty however less delicious. Moreover moss is seasonal so for people here, moss is a precious dish. Moss can be cooked in different dishes such as fried, dried however the most delicious and original grilled with difference spices.

Tay people say "Que chi ap, tap chi ho", means moss should be grilled on charcoal. When the moss is grilled you don't spin the bag of moss but grill one side of the bag then the other side, when tapping the bag with two fingers and feel soft inside then the moss is ready. Since the moss is seasonal so in addition to processing fresh moss people also dry the moss, put in the kitchen to make food reserves. Only the distinguished guests are treated dry moss in the kitchen.

Spectacular view from Heaven gate in Quan Ba

Quan Ba district in Ha Giang

Tour Ha Giang Vietnam, Quan Ba heaven gate is located about 50 km north of Ha Giang town, this is the gateway to the Dong Van geological park. Heaven Gate is on top of the pass from Ha Giang to Quan Ba district, once upon a time behind the gate was kingdom of Hmong people with 4 districts Quan Ba, Dong Van, Meo Vac and Yen Minh. In 1939 the French built huge a wooden door, 150cm thick at this place, now the door is no longer there, only a sign in both English and Vietnamese languages: Quan Ba Heaven Gate.

To visit the Heaven Gate, visitors have to climb a few dozen more steps to the highest peak, this is the most ideal place to have a glimpse of the Dong Van plateau, looking backwards downhill, the zigzag road weaving between clouds and mountains. Looking to the front is a large valley with rolling prairies, yellow rice terraces mixed with brown color of earth. Stand prominently is Quan Ba twin mountain or Fairy Mountain that make visitors feel like in the sea of clouds.

Enjoy the love festival in Ha Giang

Khau Vai market festival in Ha Giang

Khau Vai love market is also called Phong Luu market which was dated back in early 20th century. The market takes place on a hill at Khau Vai village, Meo Vac district, tours to Ha Giang Vietnam. Each year, the market opens only one time. Khau Vai love market is referred to the inconclusive love affaris and reunions, the anxious wait of lovers...

According to legend, Khau Vai love market came after an unhappy ending love story when a young couple from two tribes was in deep love however their love was broken because of difference and hatred between their tribes, the boy and the girl parted however promised to meet again one time a year at Khau Vai peak on the lunar 27th March. Since then, the market in Khau Vai has become a festival for local people come and meet, young and old people dance, sing tribal songs, drink wine and eat traditional Thang Co soup, overtime people from different groups such as Tay, Nung, Dzao also join the market and made it a popular activity for people in the remote 

From 5pm on the day before market, thousands of people are seen walking and riding horses on their way to market, many of them have to walk overnight to reach the market on time, on their backs are rattan baskets full of fruit, wine, food...the festival of Khau Vai market is long time expecting activity of people not only in the region but also for tourists to Ha Giang.

Horse fight in Ha Giang

Horse fight in Ha Giang

The first horse fighting competition made it's debut in 2013, this strange tournament was held for the first time in the north pole area, the tournament took place at Bang Hanh commune, Bac Quang district, Ha Giang province.

Horse fighting Festival attracted the participation of 30 competition horses , which are considered the finalists as hundreds of horses in mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Cao Bang had qualified the preliminary knockouts.

Horse fighting competition in Ha Giang has attracted thousands of visitors in and outside the province , even international visitors to witness , many elderly people and young children are interested in the strange images of the fights. Because prior to the dramatic battles, the horses are very familiar with the daily life of farmers in the highland, on the trips over the mountain, bring goods to markets. 

The only difference with other bullfighting festivals in some provinces which are known to many people in Hai Phong , Vinh Phuc is that the buffaloes are slaughtered immediately after the tournament ends despite losing or winning sales were slaughtered immediately after the tournament ends, in the horse fighting competition in Ha Giang the horses will come back to their daili work packing, plowing...

In the horse fighting festival held in Ha Giang in August 2013, the structure of prize includes: One first prize , One second and two third prizes, the winner will gain 25 million Vietnam Dong First Prize. To encourage the spirit of participation, the organizers decided to give cash awards to all horse owners who have horses participating in the contest, and the prize will be increased for the final game.

Horse owners are encouraged by the organizers with big prizes, the audiences were encouraged by the unique performances of or the gladiators in the arena coupled with village commentators, passinating the audiences in the field.

How about the horses, what is the reason to make them so excited and courageous? Only those who are witnessing the gladiator horses opening their mouths biting opponents with teeth or make a rear kick finding the way to defeat opponents see the appeal of each game.

To create a dramatic performances, the organization send the 3rd member in the field to encourage the male horses to display his own martial art, the third party is not human or any other animal but a beautiful female horse the organizers have selected from a ''beauty contest'' before, the appearance of the beautiful "horse girl" on the pitch has made the games more interesting for the winner will have a chance to express feelings with his girlfriend.

Thanks to her motivation, both gladiators want to win, want to express his feelings and thus become more aggressive despite the danger, injury, and even their lives to win. The audiences witness the original tricks of the fighters, although fall rolling on the ground the fighters get up and fight to the end.

While the gladiators fought hard to win the prize for the owner and a special bonus for himself, a lot of audiences in neighboring communes watching every trick, then discuss every moment of the game, there are both young and elderly people. Hoang Van Le, 78 years old said some decades ago in the war against the French and then the American this area was a revolution stronghold, almost all families have horses, the horses were used to transport goods, bring people through the mountain as there were no road" Le continued 

"there used to be many many horses, in recent years people use motorbike for transportation and they have sold all their horses, it is doubtful if there is any more horse in the commune, the fighting horses today are from other places, not this commune, my family also has a horse, our children wanted to sell him but I refused, as long as I am still here the horse is with me"

It is known that many elderly people in Bang Hanh commune still remember their childhood when every morning they mounted their horses and went to school, at that time only rich families had horse for their children to go to school, it's been decades and the images have faded in the memory of people. A young man in Bang Hanh has another thought "I can not get away from the horse, he helped me a lot in my work, he took me to school when I was little, then he helped carry rice to the markets..."

When the competition came to an end the commentators and audiences all cheered as if to congratulate the winner of the festival, after the quick prize presentation ceremony the horse fighters return to their daily job, see the audiences again next years...

The organizers believe that in addition to stirring up memories, preserve cultural values in the highland areas of Vietnam, the festival also helps promote and attract tourists to the region.