Hoang Yen Chao Castle, Lao Cai

The castle was built at the beginning of the 20th century (between 1914 and 1921). Its owner was Hoang Yen Chao of Tay origin. He was the father of Hoang A Tuong, a tribal mandarin under the domination of the French colonialists.

The castle covers an area of 4,000m² in which the main building occupies 420m². In front of its arched doors are earthen banks. Occupying a pivotal position overlooking the Bac Ha valley, the castle serves both as the residence of Hoang Yen Chao, then Hoang A Tuong and as a fortress. Its network of walls, bunkers, and battlements were reinforced by a mortar mixed with sugar molasses. In a distance, the white castle jutting out from the valley looks imposing and majestic.

At present, this castle is put under a restoration scheme to better help tourists get insight into the changes of the local life.

Fansipan Mountain, Lao Cai

Geologists say the Hoang Lien Mountain Range, with Fansipan as its highest peak, did not emerge in the mountainous North West of Vietnam until the neozoic period (circ. 100 million years ago). Fansipan, a rough pronunciation of the local name “Hua Xi Pan” means “the tottery giant rock”. The French came to Vietnam and in 1905 planted a landmark telling Fansipan’s height of 3,143m and branded it “the Roof of Indochina”. Very few people climbed to the top of Fansipan at the time. Then came the long years of war and Fansipan was left deserted for hunting and savaging. The trail blazed by the French was quickly overgrown by the underbrush.
It takes six or seven days to reach the 3,143m summit, the highest peak of the Indochina Peninsula.

In 1991, Nguyen Thien Hung, an army man returned to the district town and decided to conquer Fansipan. Only on the 13th attempt did Hung, with a H’Mong boy as his guide, conquer the high peak by following the foot steps of the mountain goats. Scaling the height was meant to satisfy his eager will and aspiration to conquer the mountain without expecting that his name would be put down in the travel guidebook. After that the Sapa Tourism Agency started a new package tour there. It seemed the Fansipan Tour was meant only for those who wished to test their muscular power.
The summit of Fansipan is accessible all year round, but the best time to make the ascent is from mid-October to mid-November, and again in March.

Foreigners like best to book Fansipan tours between October and December, as this period is more often than not free from the heavy rains that obstruct the jaunt. But the Vietnamese prefer their tours to the peak of the mountain from February to April, as it is not so cold then. However, the best time for the trek to the mountain is from the end of February to the start of March, when the flowers all flourish and the climbers may behold the carpets of brilliant blossoms, violets and orchids, rhododendrons and aglaias.

The caves of Muong Vi, Lao Cai

Caves and caverns of Muong Vi are 28km from northeast of the provincial capital of Lao Cai, in a valley ringed by mountains.

Na Rin Grotto is nearly 1km long with many entrance-doors. In the grotto there are stalagmites and stalactites shining in dim lights and many magnificent figures could be imagined along the stream banks. It’s also called Hang Tien (Fairy Cave). Legend has it that the Ruler of the Heaven, allowed his three beautiful fairy daughters to visit the Earth for a short spell. But it was a different kind of spell that overcame them as they gazed at the beautiful landscape and decided they didn’t want to return home. Father was furious and ordered the god of thunder (Thien Loi) to bring them back by force if necessary and mete out due punishment to his daughters for their disobedience, but the fairies hid in a cave 200m above a river. Failing to find them, Thien Loi trampled down a spur of the mountain inside which the fairies were hiding. Seeing no hope of escape, they threw themselves into the river and drowned. Their bodies drifted downstream, and some villagers found and buried the beautiful dead. And on that spot in present-day, Bao Nai Commune there stands a temple called Ba Co (three ladies) in honor of the three fairies. People come here from all over the place to worship, pray and offer incense.

On the slopes of a tall mountain is a windy cave, called Cam Rang, where the stalactites are thick and colored. Thousands of bats live near the entrance, and inside is a fantasy world of limestone pillars and needles.

Cam Tam is also the name of a grotto at the mountain’s base. The crystalline rocks are 3m tall, and the stalactites and stalagmites resemble the tools and cattle that generous fairies (a separate bunch from the three mentioned above) brought for the local farmers.

It’s unsurprising that Muong Vi has been given national heritage status by the Ministry of Culture and Information. The place is like a natural gift to the people of the land. If you chance to visit any part of Lao Cai, remember to pick up some Tam Hoa and Hau plums, Ban Pho and San Lung rice wine, medicinal plants, and the gaily colored ethnic fabric (tho cam) spun and woven by ethnic minorities of Thai, Dao and Mong.