Peaceful Upland Town of Pho Bang

Pho Bang Town is located in Dong Van District of Vietnam’s northernmost province of Ha Giang , surrounded by mountains whose peaks are hidden by clouds all the year round.

Pho Bang Town is located in Dong Van District of Vietnam’s northernmost province of Ha Giang , surrounded by mountains whose peaks are hidden by clouds all the year round. It is after 9 o'clock in the morning, but the town is still so quiet. In a house some elderly villagers are sitting and quietly chatting around the fireplace. Sitting in an old traditional earthen house, visitors experience a peaceful existence allowing them to contemplate the surrounding traditional beauty and wholesomeness; stone fences imprinted with the builders' compassion for his work, ears of corn bundled together and hung to dry from the rafters or listen to the entertaining banter of neighbours. PeacefulPho Bang Town in the morning. Dried ears of corn bundled together in a house in Pho Bang Town. The window of an earthen house that stands the test of time. 53-year-old Ly Sui Chin in Ward 2, Pho Bang Town, in his house with typical interior decorations of the local area. At the front door of most houses in Pho Bang Town, there is a pair of couplets written in Chinese scripts with wishes of good luck and prosperity. Children in Pho Bang Town. Women sowing clothes by the window is often seen in Pho Bang Town.  Making dumplings during Tet holidays. Rearing fighting birds is a hobby of the local men. Most of Pho Bang residents are the Hoa ethnic people, so their house designs have unique traits of their group. These earthen houses have wooden rafters and Yin-Yang tiled roofs.        From Pho Bang Town and looking far into the distance we saw dark green mountains surrounding the town. The clouds, resembling a large scarf covering the mountain tops, shielded the town from the outside world.   Among Pho Bang Town's population of more than 400 people, the Hoa and Mong ethnic natives account for the majority, and their co-existence creates a unique cultural trait. The local residents do farm work or trade in small business, and they all like a quiet life. There are nearly 100 houses located along an asphalt road. In front of each house, there is a pair of couplets written in Chinese scripts that have stood the test of time. There are only a few shops near the road. On the house verandas, women are processing vegetables, cutting the dried wood or sewing and embroidering clothes. To tailor and embroider a traditional dress for themselves is a unique custom of the local women. From a young age they are taught by their grandmothers and mothers to make and embroider clothes, a practice that has been happening for eons.  Pho Bang Town is also called by many tourists as "an oversleeping town", or "a town falling into oblivion". But in reality, life here is still going on despite the laidback mind-set, treacherous mountain paths or the unpredictable rains and harsh weather. The local people keep to their quiet lifestyle, diligently working on the rice and corn fields located close to sheer mountain drops. However, on market days the town becomes rather animated. Ly Sui Chin, a Hoa ethnic man in Ward 2 said the market is held once a week and on the count-down schedule (i.e. it is on Sunday this week, and the next will be on Saturday, then Friday ...) Here, the local people and those from neighbouring areas come to exchange or purchase goods and socialize.   Visitors to the upland town of Pho Bang not only find for themselves moments of relaxation, but also discover its wilderness in terms of the local history and people. The trip will be unforgettable experience that will linger with them a lifetime.