Ancient village of the Vang brothers
From Dong Van town, Ha Giang, my companions and I crossed the winding road like a silk strip to reach Lung Cu flagpole - the headland of the Fatherland. My friend is Mr. Nguyen Sy Duc, who is working as a homestay manager in Then Pa village. So I decided to turn in to visit.
Existing for several hundred years, the ancient village of Then Pa of the Hmong people nestles at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole.
It is a small, ancient and extremely peaceful village.
The story goes that, a long time ago, the ancestors of the Hmong people migrated to the Dong Van stone plateau, Ha Giang to live. Among them, the majority of the Vang brothers chose to live in Then Pa village. The Hmong people in this village originated from Guizhou, China, and were also the first Hmong people to set foot on Vietnamese soil.
The Hmong people in Then Pa village and the family of Mr. Vuong Chinh Duc (Vang Dung Lung) also have the same origin. Currently, the village has 33 households all with the surname Vang. They live together peacefully at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole.
The Hmong people in this village originated from Guizhou, China, and were also the first Hmong people to set foot on Vietnamese soil.
Do tourism to preserve traditional houses
Moving deeper into the village, you will see traditional houses with yin-yang tiled roofs and earthen walls. The villagers live mainly on farming and wine making.
Since the beginning of 2024, tourism has begun to creep into every Hmong house. The people have welcomed the first visitors, sharing their work for tourists to experience. Coming to the village, you will be guided in weaving and indigo dyeing. Then, you can dye yourself a beautiful indigo fabric to bring home.
From the beginning of 2024, tourism began to creep into every Hmong house.
The Hmong people here are also masters at distilling wine. There is a secret wine cellar hidden underground. If you move here, you can find a precious wine cellar with many delicious wines: corn wine, buckwheat wine and galangal root wine are 3 types of wine that people treat guests.
Also from this secret wine cellar, tourists will enjoy many rare cocktails. Among them, Hmong cocktail is considered the most special because it is mixed using the secret method of the Hmong people.
Search for the precious wine cellar with many delicious wines
Activities inside Then Pa ancient village
Currently, the village has 11 households welcoming tourists to stay overnight. Community homestays are sold at 180,000 VND/person including breakfast. Double rooms cost 1,200,000 VND, twin rooms cost 1,500,000 VND, twin wooden houses cost 1,800,000 VND, and the whole community house for group guests costs 2,000,000 VND.
Stopping to rest at Then Pa ancient village, visitors will enjoy traditional Hmong cuisine such as smoked meat, wild vegetables, local chicken, black chicken hotpot...
Highland baby
People are dyeing fabric
Besides eating, drinking and sleeping activities. At Then Pa ancient village, tourists can also experience extremely impressive performances by the Hmong people in the village such as playing the Hmong flute, dancing, traditional Hmong singing, the two-stringed fiddle, leaf flute, Hmong flute...
Sitting and enjoying a traditional Hmong cocktail, I looked up at Lung Cu flagpole. It seemed that everywhere in the village I could see the Vietnamese flag fluttering in the deep blue sky. That must be the biggest difference between this ancient village and other villages in the border area.
If you visit Lung Cu flagpole, try spending a night in this beautiful ancient village. You will be addicted!
Lung Cu flagpole in the distance
