World Heritage Sites in Vietnam

Out of the world cultural heritage sites recognised by UNESCO, Vietnam possesses three sites (including the old imperial city of Hue, My Son Sanctuary and the ancient town of Hoi An), two natural heritage sites (Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park), a heritage site with geomorphologic, geological, cultural and historical values and two intangible heritage sites (Hue royal court music and the space of Tay Nguyen gong culture).

Old Imperial Capital of Hue:

Located in Central Vietnam, Hue was once the country’s capital under nine dynasties of Nguyen Lords for nearly 400 years (1558-1945). Coming to Hue, one will be lost in the ancient feudal capital where exists a system of pagodas, temples, citadels, royal tombs and magnificent architectures which are harmonized with romantic natural landscapes. Also, Hue is the cultural centre of the whole country because it still preserves the most typical traditional cultural characteristics. With its great heritage, the old imperial capital of Hue was recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1993.

Ha Long Bay As a unique heritage site:

Ha Long Bay, which was once the residential place of ancient Viet people, still retains many important vestiges of the process of the founding and development history of the earth. It is a great art-work formed by nature with thousands of rock islands in different forms and shapes and beautiful and miraculous caves that help create a lively and mysterious world. Furthermore, Ha Long Bay has high bio-diversity with typical eco-systems, such as mangrove forest eco-system, coral range eco-system, tropical forest eco-system, etc., and it is abundant in flora and fauna. Ha Long Bay was officially recognized for the first time as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 1994 and a world heritage site for its geomorphologic, geological, cultural and historical values for the second time in 2000.

My Son Sanctuary:

Located in a valley with an area of 2 sq.m in Duy Phu Commune, Duy Xuyen District, Quang Nam Province, My Son Relic Site boats the most important sanctuary of the Champa Kingdom where solemn rites were held. With 70 shrines and towers built with the Champa architecture, it is considered one of the major sanctuary centres of Hinduism in the Southeast Asian region and the only heritage site of this kind in Vietnam. With its unique values, My Son Relic Site was recognized as a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO in 1999.

Ancient Town of Hoi An:

Located in Quang Nam Province, this ancient town that was established around the 16th-17th centuries was well-know as a busy commercial port in Southeast Asia. Its architecture still remains intact with relic complex of houses, clubs, pagodas, communal houses, temples, wells, bridges and ancestral worshiping houses, wharfs, markets, etc. Criss-crossing roads divide the Town into a chessboard-shaped model, the most popular one of the Oriental commercial trade towns in the Medium period.
Despite the ups and downs, the local daily life with its traditional customs and cultural characteristics are maintained. It can be said that Hoi An is a lively museum of architectures and urban lifestyle from the feudal regime. In 1999, Hoi An Ancient Town was recognized by UNESCO as a world culture heritage site.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park:

Located in Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, the Natural Reserve is classic as witnessed by its lime-stone tectonics, caves, underground rivers and a rich and diverse flora and fauna systems, many of which are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and the world. Also, the Park houses over 300 different types of caves so it is also known as “The kingdom of caves”. Particularly, the system of Phong Nha grottos is evaluated by the British Cave Research Association as one of the most valuable such systems in the world with “The world’s longest subterranean rivers running through limestone mountains; the most beautiful and largest stone and sand beaches, the most magnificent and unusual stalagmites and stalactites”.
In 2003, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park was recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage site.

Nha Nhac (Hue Royal Court Music)

It is the first intangible heritage of Vietnam to be recognized by UNESCO. According to UNESCO Council’s evaluation, “Vietnam’s royal court music has the meaning of ‘refined music’. It mentions Vietnam’s court music which is performed at annual festivals, celebrations and special events, such as the enthronement ceremonies, funeral ceremonies or official receiving ceremonies. Among various kinds of music developed in Vietnam, only nha nhac is considered the national music”. For this reason, Nha nhac was recognized by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2003.

Space of Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands)

Gong Culture Covering five provinces of the Central Highlands including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong, the space of the gong culture is a kind of art closely attached to the cultural history of the ethnic groups who live along the Truong Son Range in the Central Highlands, including the E De, Ba Na, Ma, Lac and others. Each ethnic group beats gongs in their own way to create different pieces of music on the occasions of festivals, such as welcoming the New Year and a new house celebrating ceremonies. Over the years, gongs have become a typical cultural characteristic, unique and attractive of the Central Highlands. In 2005, the Space of Gong Culture in Vietnam’s Central Highlands was officially recognized as “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO.

Free Ebook: Vietnam: A Natural History

Vietnam Today - A Guide To A Nation At A Crossroads

Are YOU an Eco-Friendly Traveler?

Are YOU an Eco-Friendly Traveler? Read These Tips!
Scientists have spoken: Mankind is destroying the planet. It seems simple enough to cut carbon emissions while we are at home, but what about vacations or business trips? You can be kind to the environment even while you travel.

Here are some tips that will steer you in the right direction.

Plan and Prepare Well in Advance of Your Travel Dates
1. Forego paper tickets and book electronically via telephone or online. You will save paper (and time).
2. Discontinue the newspaper while you are gone or have it delivered to the local library or doctor's office instead.
3. Before setting out on your trip, reduce the heat on the hot water tank, lower the thermostat, and unplug all electronics (like cable boxes, cordless telephones, and DVD players).

Vehicles Have a Huge Impact on the Environment
1. If possible, try to use public transportation or airport shuttles. Rent a vehicle only as a last resort.
2. If a rental is your only option, try to reserve a compact vehicle that will be easy on gas. Some rental agencies even provide electric cars or hybrids.
3. Before you head out, check tire pressures. Underinflated tires cause increased gas consumption.
4. Instead of using the air conditioner, open a car window when feasible.
5. Drive conservatively. Save fuel with a light foot on the accelerator while staying well within the speed limit.
6. Avoid idling your vehicle. If it will be sitting for more than 60 seconds while you load luggage or run an errand, switch off the ignition.
7. Participate in bus, train, or walking tours when available.
8. See if you can find a bike rental and get out in the fresh air.

Hotel or Bed and Breakfast Accommodations
1. Book lodging that is centrally located to your intended activities.
2. Make a point of reserving rooms in an establishment that promotes eco-friendly practices. Be sure to ask the innkeeper or booking clerk what they are doing to protect the environment.
3. Leave a note for the maid. Tell her that you want to use hotel towels for a couple of days before sending them to be laundered.
4. Don't turn on the radio or TV unless you are really paying attention to it.
5. Leaving the room? Turn down the heat and/or air conditioning and make sure that the coffee maker, iron, TV, and other electrical devices are switched off.
6. If your hotel or inn has an elevator, ignore it and use the stairs instead. Your body will thank you for the exercise, and you will be doing your share to conserve electricity.

More Eco-Friendly Travel Tips
1. Never use regular alkaline batteries. Instead, pack enough rechargeables to get you through a complete day, along with a battery charger. You might also want to investigate the purchase of a solar charger.
2. If you must recharge your cell phone, game console, or laptop, don't leave it charging overnight. Start early enough in the day or evening so that you can monitor the progress and shut down the device when it is up to 100%.
3. Instead of working out on a motorized stair climber or treadmill in the hotel gym, put on your walking shoes and go for a jog or walk in the fresh air.
4. Disposable or regular film cameras are not environmentally-friendly. Invest in a digital instead. Prices are becoming more reasonable every day and the capabilities are rapidly improving.
5. Avoid individually-wrapped hand cleaner packets, disposable razors, and other one-use items. Stick with smaller-sized reusable and/or refillable products.
6. An all-in-one cleaner can take the place of shampoo, laundry detergent, and hand cleaner. It will save room (and weight) in your luggage.
7. Speaking of weight in your luggage: pack light. It will conserve gas on your way to the airport, and will result in fuel savings for all other types of transport while you travel.
8. Avoid buying coffee or snacks in disposable containers. Pack your own mug - and if you want coffee to go, ask the restaurant or snack bar to fill it for you.
9. Be a good eco-citizen and pick up any trash you discover while you travel.

These tips are just a beginning. Be eco-conscious in everything you do, and you will find other ways to help save our beautiful planet. (Source: Written by Kathy Steinemann)

Sapa Discovery!

The Lao Cai province offers an unusual variety of spectacular or charming landscapes, from the Fansipan massif (3,143m), the highest summit in South-East Asia with its perfectly preserved high-mountain vegetation, to the low plains and wide rice-growing valleys scattered with palm-trees in the south.
The Fansipan massif represents the biggest natural reserve in Vietnam: Hoang Lien National Park. The park covers nearly 30,000 hectares and is unique in all South-East Asia for its tiered forest ecosystems. It contains over 2,000 plant species and about 500 animal species, among which the black gibbon, of which there are only a few families left.
Two other features of the landscape immediately attract the visitor’s attention: the paddy-fields tumbling down the slopes in vertiginous staircases and the innumerable limestone peaks and crests emerging from the clouds in the morning, a sort of Halong Bay transferred to the mountains.
The terraced paddy-fields are built by the Hmong and Dao on the slopes where the water supply is sufficient to provide irrigation throughout the growing season. It takes a tremendous amount of work to create and maintain the paddy-fields and, in the absence of all instruments; it requires an elaborate ancestral technique, already used by the Chinese peasants before they emigrated during the second half of the 19th century. The surface area of the projected terraces is calculated according to the available water-flow. All the terraces must be perfectly horizontal, so as to maintain a constant water level before they pour into the terrace immediately below.
The fields of steep limestone peaks, usually covered with thick forests, are the result of the dissolving action of rain-water on limestone. The brown or red earth found at the foot of the peaks is the residue of this dissolution, the fertile « terra rosa » used by the peasants despite the numerous rocky residues mixed with it. The local populations clear and exploit the forests and find there many useful food and pharmaceutical products as well as raw material for handicrafts.

WORTH DISCOVERING:
If you are only staying 2 or 3 days
You can easily discover the fascinating beauty of the main valleys and villages surrounding Sa Pa at the foot of the Fansipan: Cat Cat (residence of Black H’mong people), Lao Chai (residence of Black H’mong people), Ta Van (residence of Giay people), Giang Ta Chai (residence of Red Zao people) and Ban Ho (residence of Tay people). … Hikers can walk to all these places, and may want to enjoy the unique experience of staying with local people, in a local family house built on stilts, in Lao Chai or Ban Ho.
If you are lucky enough to stay longer
Climbing the Fansipan is a unique experience, but it represents a real expedition requiring adequate mountain-hiking equipment, perfect physical condition, excellent training in hiking and experienced guides. For your own safety and pleasure, we recommend you prepare it carefully, with the help of the recommended agencies. You can also experience the exceptional: discover landscapes and populations with an authentic way of life in areas hardly open to strangers. These tours can only be done by four-wheel drive vehicles, with a guide, and with special authorization from local authorities. Please contact one of the authorized agencies.

Colorful Markets Around
Muong Hum Market: Every Sunday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.This market, the biggest cardamom market in the area, was already there during the French colonial period and serves as a meeting place for the ethnic groups living in the mountains: Giay, Dao, White Hmong, Hanhi. Those living in the highlands, like the Hmong and the Zao (Dao) come down to sell their specific products such as cardamom and other spices and mountain plants. In Mường Hum, you should taste the paddy rice brandy (made with unhusked rice) from the dao village of San Lung. Its fruity flavour and mildness have made it famous well beyond the limits of the Lào Cai province.
Muong Khuong Sunday market: 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.
Pha Long Market: Every Saturday morning from 6 a.m. to twelve. Very rural seldom visited market, where you can meet ethnic groups that are only found in this particular district of Vietnam, mostly Hmong, Nung, Tou Zi, Pa Zi and Tou Lao. Along the road, in a landscape of mountain peaks, numerous Nung et Hmong villages. Lots of traditional houses with baked earth tiled roofs.
Can Cau Market: Every Saturday from 6 a.m. to 12, in the middle of the paddy fields and corn fields, the various Hmong groups from the highland villages sell their farming products and buy fabrics, farming tools and kitchenware. The local Hmong wear traditional costumes that are so gaudy and heavily embroidered that the Chinese, the French and the Vietnamese have nicknamed them the “Flowery Hmong”. Numerous Hmong farmers travel back to their villages on horseback, the only way to carry heavy loads in these steep areas.
Bac Ha Market: The biggest ethnic market in the Lao Cai province, where you will find buffaloes, horses, blacksmiths, saddlers, but also traditional medicine doctors, with their thousands of mountain herbs and plants, and lots of traditional clothes and local artefacts. Several groups of deep-coloured Hmong are found there, as well as Dao, Tay, Nung, and Phu La. Make sure to arrive before 9 a.m., the market ends at about 12 :30. Sleeping in Bac Hà, on the Saturday offers an opportunity to watch the preparations for the market and the successive waves of villagers going there. Tasting the local corn spirit is a must, but be prudent, it may be up to 55° proof!
Tuesday Coc Ly market: About 35km from Bac Ha, Coc Ly Market is a colorful Tuesday market in a mountainous area where ethnic people gather to buy and sell goods, dine and drink, or just wander to enjoy the ambience of the montagnard market by the Chay River.

TRANSPORTATIONS
Sa Pa is 38km away from Lao Cai by road; the mountain road is in excellent condition. There are lots of buses and shared and private taxis, especially outside the railway station at arrival time of trains from Hanoi, allow 2$ for the bus ride and 5$ for a private taxi from Lao Cai to Sapa.
You can drive from Hanoi to Lao Cai (350km, 9-12 h-hour-drives) or take the train. The schedules below are for information only, please check them and check the tariffs on the internet site of Vietnam railways : vietnam travel
Hanoi: Departure -> 06:15 / 21:30 / 22:00 / 22:10 - Lao Cai : Departure -> 10:20 / 19:00 / 20:50 / 21:15

Lao Cai : Arrival -> 15:30 / 05:00 / 06:00 / 07:20 - Hanoi : Arrival -> 19:25 / 04:00 / 04:20 / 05:00
The night train offers four-berth compartments, very basic, but with air-conditioning, and a few better equipped carriages for tourists such as: Ratraco, Tulico Express, King Express, Etpumkin, Toserco… carriages, with two or four-berth comfortable compartments. In the 21:30 train from Hanoi and the 20:50 train from Lao Cai, you will find the luxury carriages of the “Victoria express”, accessible only to patrons of the Victoria Sa Pa hotel. (Excerpt from Sapa Tourism Department)

A message from your host!

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. (See photo above)

1. Drug consumption is forbidden here, we want to protect our youth from this terrible habit.
2. Touching sacred objects, walking through sacred places is forbidden and offends us. Please, seek information.
3. Being badly dressed, dirty or partly undressed is considered aggressive and disrespectful.
4. Drinking in excess, speaking in a loud voice or shouting is considered aggressive.
5. Public display of affection and kissing are considered immodest and offending behaviour.
6. Ask permission before taking pictures of people, we will be happy to grant it.
7. Do not buy antiques or ancient jewellery from local families: you would rob them of their heritage and history.
8. Do not give money if money is not asked.
9. Do not give to children, this would encourage begging. Prefer presents to parents or elders and thank them for their hospitality.
10. The best way to thank us is to buy recently made handicrafts: although cheap for you they represent a lot of money for us.
11. 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!

vietnam travel

Sapa - Colorful Land!

Area: 678,6 sq. km
Population: 38,200 habitants
Ethnic minority Group: H'mong, Tay, Zao, Zay, Xa Pho, Viet (Kinh) People
Townlet: Sapa
Communes: Ban Khoang, Ta Giang Phinh, Trung Chai, Ta Phin, Sa Pa, San Sa Ho, Ban Phung, Lao Chai, Hau Thao, Thanh Kim, Ta Van, Su Pan, Suoi Thau, Ban Ho, Thanh Phu, Nam Sai, Nam Cang.

Sa Pa History
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 « Cha Pa 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.

Ethnics

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. (excerpt from Sapa tourism department)

The breathtaking scenery in the northern highlands

Terracefield in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai province, North Vietnam