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This year, instead of "checking in" at the famous scenic spots of Ha Giang, I chose a less crowded place. My first stop was Khuoi My village, located just over 15 km from Ha Giang city on the slopes of Tay Con Linh mountain. The road to the village has recently been renovated, and cars can now easily climb the steep slopes, allowing you to admire the pristine beauty of this highland Dao ethnic village. Here, you won't find many familiar earthen houses or yin-yang tiled roofs; instead, you'll find simple thatched roofs covered in green moss.
With just over 50 houses in the entire village, the breath of modern life hasn't yet swept away the old-world tranquility of the misty Northeast. And in the chill of early spring, the wild peach blossoms along the roadside burst into bloom, their characteristic five-petaled pink blossoms of Ha Giang further enhancing the unique, fairytale-like charm of Khuoi My.
From the bustling Old Town of Dong Van, celebrating the Lunar New Year, I returned to Ha Giang city via the most treacherous mountain road: Mau Due - Du Gia - Bac Me. This long, winding road, over a hundred kilometers long, embraced the tranquility of the mountains and hills, the simple houses, the terraced rice fields awaiting the watering season, and the pristine white blossoms of spring. The poor road surface did not discourage those who love to travel, because the ethereal scenery of clouds and sky in the gentle chill of early spring only made one fall even more in love with Ha Giang.
We stopped at the French outpost (Lung Ho) where the old traces had faded, leaving only a few crumbling stone walls, but life around us still blazed with the blue smoke of evening cooking fires. We were captivated by the blossoming white pear branches and happily shared cakes with the highland children, our hearts overflowing with love for the charming and majestic land of Ha Giang.
The author on a New Year's trip - "visiting" the northernmost region of the country.
Ha Giang has always been a meaningful destination in this border region – not only because of the heroic Vi Xuyen, a strategic outpost protecting the homeland and ensuring peace, but also because of its breathtakingly beautiful "mountain slopes and pass valleys," like a love poem, making "every time I come," I long to "cross the rapids and waterfalls," and meet again in the "distant misty mountains and forests"...
