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The reputation of the Hoang A Tuong family
Since ancient times, the chieftains of the border regions have been considered lords of their respective areas. In Lai Chau, there was King Thai Deo Van Long; in Ha Giang, there was Vuong Chi Sinh; and in Bac Ha, there were the father and son Hoang A Tuong.
The lavish lifestyle and wealth of the Hoang father and son are still recounted by the elderly in Bac Ha as anecdotes. Before the Revolution, Hoang Yen Chao and Hoang A Tuong owned dozens of hectares of the best farmland at the time. Besides collecting various taxes like other local chieftains of the era, the Hoang father and son had a monopoly on collecting all the beeswax from the mountain cliffs and trading opium on the route from China to the lowlands.
The original Hoàng A Tưởng mansion had a panoramic view, situated "backed by mountains and overlooking the river".
The Hoang A Tuong family poses in front of their mansion (Photo courtesy of the family).
Hoang Yen Chao in Western attire and his first wife on the second floor of the mansion.
Mrs. Hoang Thi Hin, the granddaughter of Hoang A Tuong, now nearly 70 years old, showed us a historical photograph of the old mansion. A castle stood amidst sturdy earthen ramparts mixed with molasses.
I heard the entire mansion spans 4000 square meters. All four sides of the wall are surrounded by tall watchtowers in the center, guarded day and night. Indeed, it's not much different from the fortresses of old Europe.
The current residence.
The staircase leading up protrudes significantly outwards.
Even now, though the surrounding ramparts have been demolished, the mansion still stands tall, its horizontal and vertical towers enough to amaze and impress anyone who sees it. In total, there are 36 rooms. The arched staircase protrudes outwards, and beneath it are two guard towers and a small resting place for the guards.
Climbing seventeen steps leads to the balcony and then to the main gate of the castle. The castle courtyard, nearly two hundred square meters in size, is paved with fired bricks and is often the venue for lively dances that last all night. Three rows of two-story buildings, each with three rooms on each floor, surround the courtyard.
The main building is 1.2 meters higher than the ground level, with a pointed, tiled roof.
Terracotta, tiled floor.
The facade is decorated with elaborate motifs.
On either side are two rows of houses with a similar layout.
The buildings are lower than the main row.
The arched, rolling doors have a distinctly Western style.
Mr. Vang Van Giao, an elderly resident of Ta Chai village, recounted that: In early 1914, Hoang Yen Chao, the father of Hoang A Tuong, began construction of the mansion. The construction site was chosen by highly skilled Chinese feng shui masters. It was a hill possessing all the elements of dragon vein, water, and sand, nestled against a mountain overlooking a river, with mountains behind and on either side providing support, and a clear, winding stream in front.
Decorative patterns that penetrate the wall are both aesthetically pleasing and create a sense of spaciousness.
These loopholes are crucial for defense and combat.
With the authority of a prefect in the vast plateau, Hoang Yen Chao mobilized tens of thousands of laborers and thousands of oxen and horses for the construction of his mansion. The laborers were mostly criminals and were divided into two groups. Each group constructed half of the house independently before joining them together.
The design of the building was entrusted to two architects: one French and one Chinese. Professor Giáo stated that the mansion was modeled after Western villas in Hong Kong at that time.
Questions remain about the "treasure" tunnel.
Behind the mansion, there is still a rather large tunnel, completely constructed of concrete several tens of centimeters thick. The tunnel entrance is rectangular, about 1.5 meters high and 1 meter wide. Deep inside is a room measuring 5-6 square meters, and at the end of the tunnel is a staircase leading up to the hill behind the mansion.
The entrance to the tunnel is located behind the mansion.
An escape route or a drug stash?
The staircase leads up to the hill behind the mansion.
Some believe this is an opium cellar (similar to the opium cellar in the Vuong Chi Sinh mansion in Ha Giang), while others suggest it was an escape route built by Hoang Yen Chao in case of an emergency. Some even claim that treasure belonging to the Hoang father and son still remains among these underground chambers.
Mr. Hoang Tuan Anh, head of the Culture and Information Department of Bac Ha district, added: "It's possible that the tunnel was previously a passage to the military camp behind the mansion. In 1979, during the border war, this tunnel was reused by military units. We don't know if it has been altered from its original state."
Terracotta tile roofs are a characteristic feature of the highlands.
The staircase leading to the second floor of the mansion.
The mountain ranges are hazy in the distance.
Locals in Bac Ha once rumored that on the day of the house's inauguration, the two architects disappeared. It is unknown whether this disappearance was directly related to Hoang Yen Chao's desire to keep the design blueprints and secrets of the mansion private.
Around the 1950s, when Lao Cai was liberated, Hoang A Tuong's entire family fled to Lam Dong province, leaving behind their mansion in Bac Ha town. It is unknown whether all of Hoang A Tuong's vast wealth was taken with them or if it remains hidden somewhere within the mansion.
Some items belonging to the ethnic minorities in the Bắc Hà highlands are on display.
Now the rooms are empty, the only valuable items remaining are...
The four benches are very elaborately carved.
The building bears the hallmarks of Western architecture.
The building was completed in 1921, after seven years of continuous construction.
Although the rumors about the treasure are of uncertain veracity, if the Hoang A Tuong mansion were properly developed and opened for tourism, it would be a real treasure of Bac Ha in particular and Lao Cai in general.
