The Northernmost area of Vietnam

October 30, 2011  about News, Travel

The border area of Lung Cu on the Dong Van rock plateau is called the rooftop of Vietnam and is legendary for its very special charm.

The rooftop of Vietnam
Lung Cu is about 200km from the town of Ha Giang. On the road from the town to the border area there are steep cliffs on one side and deep abysses on the other. Lung Cu, or Lung Ngo in the Hmong language, is situated in the Dong Van district of Ha Giang province. On the top of Mount Rong (Dragon) stands the octagonal Lung Cu National Flag Tower with its base decorated with blue stone reliefs featuring patterns of Dong Son bronze drums and illustrating different period of Vietnamese history as well as the customs of the ethnic groups in Ha Giang province. At the top of the tower the Vietnamese flag flutters in the wind. The flag is 54sqm, symbolizing the 54 ethnic minority groups in Vietnam. In the distance are waterfalls and terraced fields and mountain villages with houses on stilts can be seen on the other side of the stone walls.
In the spring time, the forest of Lung Cu is full of white plum flowers spotted with snow while the valley of Lung Cu is full of pink peach flowers. Here, Sa moc trees grow in spite of the frost, snow and cold wind.
Lung Cu still preserves many historical and cultural objects from the reign of the Hung Kings onwards. During the Tay Son dynasty, King Quang Trung ordered a large drum to be placed here and the drumbeat was the only means of long distance communication at that time. The drum is now located in the out-post of Lung Cu.
The Ma Pi Leng, O Quy Ho, Khau Pha and Pha Din mountain passes are praised by tourists as the “four great mountain passes” in northern mountainous Vietnam. Ma Pi Leng and Dong Van Rock Plateau have been called “Geological Statues” by French scholars for a hundred years. Looking down at the deep abyss from this mountain pass, one can see the Nho Que River far below. It takes more than a day to reach it from the top of the pass.
Ma Pi Leng, which means “the bridge of the horse’s nose”, is a dangerous stretch of mountain road. It passes the peak of Mount Ma Pi Leng in Dong Van Rock Plateau, which is about 2000m above sea level, and forms part of Hanh Phuc Road that links Ha Giang City, Dong Van and the town of Meo Vac.
On November 16, 2009, this part of Ma Pi Leng was recognised as a “national beauty spot” by the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Accordingly, the Ma Pi Leng mountain pass is also considered a special geological heritage site. The summit is considered as one of the best observation spots in Vietnam and the Nho Que River Gorge is regarded as a unique tectonic valley.
Unique cultural traditions

Amidst the rocky mountains of Dong Van, ethnic groups such as the Hmong, Dao, Tay, Nung, Lo Lo and Pu Peo attract both domestic and international tourists with their unique cultural traditions and lifestyles. Houses built hundreds years ago in the Old Quarter of Dong Van still maintain many of the local cultural characteristics.
The busy and crowded Sa Phin market in Dong Van is held every week. Women go to the market to shop while men go to meet people, drink wine, eat thang co (a traditional Hmong dish made from different kinds of meat) and play the khen (pan-pipes). Children accompany their parents and many young people go to the market to find future spouses. Tourists from abroad are easily enchanted and may get lost amid the bright colours and boisterous sounds that are typical of this mountain market.
Khau Vai Maket was first opened in 1919 on a hill in Khau Vai Hamlet, Khau Vai commune, Meo Vac District. Today, it is held every year on the 27th day of lunar March. On March 26, crowds of local people in traditional dress travel to the market from all the corners of the mountainous area. Those from distant villages up to three mountains or four or five streams away from the market, leave very early for the market. Despite the rugged rocky mountains, deep streams and dangerous sleeve-shaped stretches of road, they all flood into the market and wait eagerly. Harmonious singing and the inviting sounds of the khen la (leaf pan-pipes) can be heard. Khau Vai Market is also known as a “love market”. Since the 1990s, young people from ethnic groups in the region have gone to the market for entertainment and to look for lovers. Many people have found their future spouses at the market.
A global geo-park
 According to preliminary statistics, Dong Van Rock Plateau consists of 45 geomorphologic vestiges, 33 tectonic vestiges and numerous fossils in the layers of sedimentary rock. Conical and pyramid shaped limestone rocks can be found at the top of Mount Ma Pi Leng and interesting rock “forests” and “gardens” can be found near the Khau Vai Love Market. The Nho Que Gorge, which was formed by a fault in the earth’s crust, is particularly unique. It is more than 1km deep and flanked by steep limestone cliffs about 700m high.
Presently, this area is home to approximately 250,000 people, belonging to 17 ethnic minority groups in Vietnam with their own traditional cultural identities. In addition to the community festivals, local folk arts include an oral inheritance of poems, legends, folk ballads, proverbs, songs and dances, including the dance of the Lo Lo people, the Khen dance of the Hmong people, and the folk songs of the Hmong, Dao, Pu Peo, Tay and Nung. Some ethnic groups are found only in Ha Giang province such as Pu Peo, Co Lao, La Chi, and Bo Y, all together, they make up a diverse and unique culture.
VN Cultural Window

Repatriation of Hmomg Refugees from Thailand to Laos Completed

The repatriation of over 4,000 Hmomg ethnic refugees from a camp in Thailand to Laos was completed Tuesday morning, said Lieutenant General Niphat Thonglek, director-general of the Border Affairs Department under Thailand's Supreme Command.
The repatriation was completed at 6.30 a.m., local time as all of the Hmong refugees are now at a shelter in Bolikhamsai Province in Laos, Lieutenant General Niphat said, Thai News Agency reported.
The repatriation was smooth and there was no violence during the repatriation process, Lieutenant General Niphat explained.
The repatriation was done on a humanity basis, Lieutenant General Niphat said.
The government early Monday morning began deporting the over-4, 000 ethnic Hmong from the refugee camp in a Thai northern province of Phetchabun across the border to Laos.
The move to clear the Huay Nam Khao refugee camp in Phetchabun began at 5:30 a.m. local time (2230 GMT Sunday), carried out by about 5,000 soldiers, officials and assisting civilian volunteers.
After the repatriation, the empty camp is to be formally closed soon.

Thailand agrees to repatriate 5,000 Hmong refugees to Laos

Thailand has agreed to repatriate 5,000 members of the Hmong ethnic minority to Laos from Thai refugee camps, a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP Saturday.
Thousands of Lao Hmong live in the camps in north east Thailand and are seeking political asylum.
They say they fear persecution because many Hmong once fought alongside US forces during the Vietnam war.
"There is coordination between the government and Laos to send Hmong refugees back to Laos according to the minister," foreign ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat told AFP.
"The process to return the refugees includes screening them to ensure that those who return will not be in danger," he added.
Thailand Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya made a visit to Laos on Friday but the ministry said the issue had not been discussed during talks.
Thailand claims the Hmong refugees are economic migrants seeking work, and has already been slowly shipping the Hmong back to Laos, to the horror of human rights groups who say that some may genuinely be in danger of persecution.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has accused Lao security forces of arrests, torture, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings of Hmong in the past and has demanded both countries allow UN monitoring of any repatriations.
The resettlements have slowed amid Thailand's recent political turmoil but Laos appears eager to wrap up the process before it takes the regional spotlight when it hosts the 25th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in December.
Thailand has lately been cultivating Laos as a key regional ally, with energy-hungry Thais buying increasing amounts of electricity from their communist neighbour to the north.

As the director and star, Eastwood is the driving force in 'Gran Torino'

Photo:Chuck Kuhn

Photo:Chuck Kuhn

HOLLYWOOD -- At this point in his career, when Clint Eastwood stars in and directs a film, all bets are off. Things that would be old-school and sentimental in other hands morph into something different when he is involved. If Tina Turner's motto is that she doesn't do anything nice and easy, Eastwood's would be that the ordinary is just not his style.
Aimee w/Hmong/Sapa Photo:Chuck Kuhn


Clint Eastwood stars as a bigoted retiree in a neighborhood increasingly populated by Asian immigrants in 'Gran Torino.' This is Eastwood’s first turn as actor since 2004 in 'Million Dollar Baby.'

Which brings us to "Gran Torino," Eastwood's second directing project this fall, his first work as an actor since 2004's "Million Dollar Baby" and a film that would be less interesting if he were not involved.
Working from a script by first-time screenwriter Nick Schenk, Eastwood has, with his impeccable directing style and acting presence, turned "Gran Torino" into another in his ongoing series of films that ponder violence, its place and its cost. It combines sentiment and shootouts, the serious and the studio, in a way that has become distinctly Eastwood's own.
It is also a film that is impossible to imagine without the actor in the title role. The notion of a 78-year-old action hero may sound like a contradiction in terms, but Eastwood brings it off, even if his toughness is as much verbal as physical. Even at 78, Eastwood can make "Get off my lawn" sound as menacing as "Make my day," and when he says, "I blow a hole in your face and sleep like a baby," he sounds as if he means it.
Eastwood plays retired worker Walt Kowalski (a distant relation of Brando's Stanley, perhaps), a man with a formidable scowl and the temperament to go with it. Kowalski is Mr. Fed Up, someone with a bad word for everyone, whether it be feckless sons, pierced grandchildren or priests he considers to be too young to pry into his life.
Newly widowed, Kowalski is especially upset with changes going on in his Detroit neighborhood. Hmong immigrants, refugees from Southeast Asia and especially Vietnam, where the Hmong helped American troops during the war, have moved in everywhere, even next

Chuck Kuhn w/Hmong children
-door.

An equal opportunity bigot whose R-rated language ("fishheads" is about the only printable epithet he uses) flays all immigrant groups equally, Kowalski's blinding prejudice comes in part from memories of experiences in the Korean War he is doing his best to repress.
This role may sound like standard Archie Bunker, but it is hard to resist when Eastwood, an actor with presence to burn and who snarls dialogue like a cornered wolf, takes it on. Perhaps the best thing about Shenk's script is that it enticed Eastwood to end his self-imposed acting hiatus and bring his one-of-a-kind aura back to the screen.

Classically against his will, Kowalski is drawn into the life of the neighborhood, specifically the plight of Thao (Bee Vang), the fatherless teenage boy next door who is being pressured to join a local Hmong gang and foolishly attempts to steal Kowalski's prize Ford Gran Torino. Kowalski also likes the sassiness of Thao's slightly older sister Sue, played by Ahney Her, an actress who like the rest of the neighbors is a member of the Hmong community.
As this closeness grows, "Gran Torino" will start to feel familiar and create concern that this is all there is to the film. It is familiar, but only up to a point. Suddenly, that point is past and much more serious questions come up, questions of responsibility, of vengeance, of the efficacy of blood for blood.
These questions seem to take Kowalski by surprise. It's almost as if Eastwood all at once finds himself in a different movie than either he, or us, really expected. But if the past few years have proved anything, it's that anywhere Eastwood is, movie audiences are wise to follow.

Sa Pa feels the burden of too many tourists

Photos:Chuck Kuhn
It’s no secret that Sa Pa Town is one of the country’s most beloved tourist destinations for local and international travellers but as traffic increases, so does the burden on the town’s service industry.

Landmark: Sa Pa’s church is a popular tourist attraction.

It is thus heartening to hear that authorities in Sa Pa town in Lao Cai Province are planning to open more tourism sites and facilities to attract and accommodate those who flock here. Last year, the town saw 320,000 tourists stay in the 20,000 rooms currently available in this idillyic location 300km northwest of Hanoi.

At the moment the most popular site is Cat Cat Village, 3km from Sa Pa centre with its stunning landscapes and treks; it is also home to the Mong people. Other popular locales are the ancient stone field in Ta Van Village, Ta Phin Village (home to the Dao ethnic people), Silver Fall and Dragon Jaw mountain.

While Sa Pa undoubtedly has a lot to offer first-time visitors, it is unlikely to draw them back as it has nothing new to offer returning visitors.

At least this was the assessment of the 12 tourist companies which visited Sa Pa town and northeast provinces of Ha Giang, Bac Can and Tuyen Quang. They were there to survey existing conditions and discover ways to create new avenues to enhance tourism in the future. They believe that this would ease the burden on Sa Pa’s overcrowded situation.

"We are worried that tourists may refuse to return as they would have seen all the old tourist sites," said the director of the Green Sa Pa Tour company, Dao Van Phong.

"The limitation in sight-seeing opportunities is another reason tourists only stay a short while in town," Phong said.

So far this year, the town has hosted over 165,000 tourists, of which 50,000 were foreigners.

"We plan to open more tourism routes between Sa Pa town and Bac Ha town and Muong Khuong District in Lao Cai as well as [create] adventure tours in Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang provinces," said Ha Quoc Trung, director of the Tourism and Information Centre of Sa Pa Town.

"We also encouraging businesses to invest in the hotel sector to meet the increasing demand of tourists," said Trung.

Menace of vendors

Vendors often converge in Cau May Street, near Sa Pa market which is the town’s centre. Vendors can be seen rushing out whenever a bus pulls up with tourists, offering them all kinds of wares and creating a cluster of chaos, much to the annoyance of many people hoping to be left alone.

Sa Pa is filled with enterprising ethnic groups whose names match their colourful costumes: Red Dao, Flower Mong, Black Mong, who often trail tourists, goading them into buying their handmade products. Vendors, who are mostly from the Mong and Dao communities, and live nearby, can always be found in town, especially on weekends, selling their wares.

"It’s creates a bad image on the locals. I feel awkward watching street vendors chasing visitors, trying to get them to buy their products," said Hoang Thi Huong, a resident who lives in Fansipan Street.

"The town should arrange a certain and convenient location where souvenirs can be sold and bought. This way tourists won’t feel so trapped when visiting," Huong said.

"We are not at all against vendors. Their selling souvenirs forms part of the package of a tourist destination but it needs to be done in an orderly manner," said Phong.

"We will support them all the way in finding an ideal and peaceful spot where they can sell souvenirs but such a decision has to come from the local administration."

According to Phong, the town needs to avail of other sites that will be of immense interest to visitors.

"There are still some villages northeast of town, where people have fiercely clung on to their traditionals like Nam Sai, Nam Sang, Ban Khoang and Ta Giang Phin." He believes these would attract many tourists and convince them to stay longer.

(Source: Viet Nam News)