SAPA
A legend known to all Vietnamese people accounts for the split between lowlanders and highlanders. The Dragon King of the south married Au Co, a beautiful northern fairy, and at first they lived in the mountains where she laid one hundred eggs, which hatched into one hundred boys. However, after a while, the Dragon King missed his watery lowland home and decamped with half of his sons, the ancestors of the main ethnic Vietnamese, or Kinh (Viet) people. The fifty left behind in the mountains were the ancestors of the ethnic minorities, also referred to as "Montagnards" or "hill tribes".
Sapa is a big home of Vietnam's diverse hill tribes including Hmong, Dao, Thai, Zais, and Xaphos which comprise the majority of inhabitants in the area, outnumbering the Vietnamese live in the lowlands. All of them wear their traditional attire and working on rice terraces of ever-changing hues. The temperate weather covers this mountainous region. It is quite good for ecotourism. Nowadays, its population is 3,000.
The Sapa town was founded in 1905. This incredibly picturesque town located on the bank of the Muong Hoa River at the altitude of 1,750m, Sapa is one of the 8 districts of Lao Cai province. It belongs to the Hoang Lien Son chain, dominated by the peak of Fan Si Pan, the highest top of the country that culminates in 3,147m. Situated at the 1,650 meters above sea level, Sapa holds the spectacular misty panoramic views and is indeed cold. But that’s only because there’s no sun. There’s no sun because the town year-round congregates with fog, mist, and clouds which frequently makes the whole area shrouded in mist.
Hill tribes gather for the weekend markets in Sapa & Bac Ha to trade with each other as well as with foreign visitors. Their contribution is not only sale and buy handicrafts, jewelry, orchids, mushrooms, and honey, but also to grow relations with other groups, playing games or perhaps find a sole mate. In some weekend evening, singing courtships and marriages take place.
Adventurous travelers often consider the hill station of Sapa and the outstandingly beautiful valley around it, the highlight of their trip. They go to Sapa for the scenery and also to see and share in the lives of the ethnic minorities.
