Xa Phin moss-roofed house village ( Ha Giang city) where tourists find themselves again - Photo: NAM TRAN
"You have to ride a motorbike and wander into the highland villages to see and understand that Ha Giang is not only a tourist destination or a check-in photo, but it is a place that captures your soul." That is what Minh Anh (Hanoi) shared after her second trip to Ha Giang before turning 30.
Going to Ha Giang at the age of 22
The children at the school that Minh Anh met when she was 22 years old - Photo: NVCC
The first time he came to Ha Giang as a fourth-year student, Minh Anh and his friends chose motorbikes as their means of transportation to travel and explore the new land at the headland of the Fatherland.
To the 22-year-old girl, Ha Giang is so beautiful that she has to stop every 500m to take pictures. The pictures have no people, just mountains, rocks and wind in the June sun.
At that time, there was not much information about Ha Giang. The group chose the route through Yen Minh and Mau Due to reach Meo Vac. At that time, the group went together to do their graduation project.
Please rate your travel experiences at this link.
Ha Giang brings images that a girl from the lowlands has never seen before. They are tiny babies with rosy cheeks following their parents to the fields, and women who are less than 1.5 meters tall but carry on their backs bundles of corn stalks almost twice as long as a person.
"At that time, I just found life here strange, people in the highlands still have many difficulties. Especially the little children with dirty hands and feet took care of each other, took each other to school because their parents were busy in the fields, while my younger sister was pampered at home, only had to eat and study," Minh Anh shared.
The first trip to Ha Giang made Minh Anh cry because of sympathy for the children, but also amazement at the majesty of the rocky plateau landscape.
Ha Giang in 2016 - Photo: NVCC
Crying and laughing at the same time
After traveling all over the country to conquer the islands and distant seas, Minh Anh once again chose Ha Giang as her destination before turning 30. It was a longer, more detailed trip that was planned.
"I like to "hide" and explore the villages. I like the feeling of discovering new roads and always wonder where this road leads? As long as there is a road, I can still go. According to Google maps, I searched for the villages: Xa Phin moss-roofed house village, Lao Xa village, Lo Lo Chai village...", Minh Anh said.
Each stone and road in Ha Giang tells its own story - Photo: NVCC
It was spring, Ha Giang was still very cold. Especially when groping up to Xa Phin village, there were some sections where the road was covered in fog and could not be seen clearly. But slowly, following the map and asking the locals, Minh Anh finally saw the first mossy roof, then the whole village with dozens of roofs covered with green moss.
"Wow! I couldn't believe my eyes at that time, the whole village was peaceful without a single visitor. People lived their daily lives, carrying baskets on their shoulders up the mountain to pick tea.
"Children were playing around in the cold, wearing only light clothes, jumping around on piles of palm leaves and then pulling each other over the fence of a newly built house. That scene reminded me of my own innocent childhood of climbing trees, wading through streams, and skipping naps," Minh Anh recalled.
That was just the first stop on the second trip to Ha Giang. The destinations on this trip were all full of experiences.
Leaving Ha Giang city, Minh Anh traveled more than 400km from the city through Bac Me, Du Gia, Meo Vac, Nho Que river, Ma Pi Leng pass, Dong Van and then returned to the city.
Even though she had been to Ha Giang before, the scenery on both sides of the road still made this girl stop and stand before the golden sunset on the rocky mountains.
Peaceful scene in the late afternoon from Ha Giang road - Photo: NGUYEN HIEN
But the most memorable moment of this trip was the conversation between a French female tourist during a night stay at Lao Xa ancient house.
"My English is not very good, I can only communicate at the level of asking a few questions. The female tourist impressed me with the image of her carefully sketching each line of corn hanging in front of the porch.
After asking more, the girl told me that she really liked drawing but had not drawn for a long time. Then when she came to Ha Giang, it was her feelings and impressions of this land that urged her to draw again. In that small notebook, there were not only corn cobs but also rocky mountains, the road to the village... Oh, it turns out that I was not the only one who was moved when I came to Ha Giang, and this time I cried not because of sympathy but because of the feeling of finding myself again," Minh Anh shared.
From July 1, 2025, Ha Giang merged with Tuyen Quang, named Tuyen Quang province.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/den-ha-giang-di-500m-phai-dung-lai-mot-lan-2025062614153629.htm
Comment (0)