By Dzung Trieu law firm

YEN BAI – the province with great potential

The rice terraces in Yen Bai

Yen Bai is an agriculturally based province with great potential.

Yen Bai (Yên Bái) shares its borders with six provinces: Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Son La, Phu Tho, Tuyen Quang. The province is inhabited by approximately 750,200 people. The train runs from Hanoi to Lao Cai pass the Yen Bai town. From Lao Cai town you can continue to Sapa, Lai Chau or Bac Ha and Ha Giang. Yen Bai province is not exactly a place where there are thousands of foreign tourists , which may be an advantage.

Yen Bai province is visited mainly by Vietnamese tourists.

The history of Yen Bai is known for its French colonization, the most well known episode being the “Yen Bai mutiny“. This was an uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army on February 10, 1930 in co-operation with civilian supporters. These supporters were members of the Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (Vietnamese Nationalist Party).

Mountains and rice terraces in Mu Cang Chai.

The region is inhabited by 30 different ethnic groups, mainly Thai people.

The Kinh people, who form the majority of the provinces population settled here together with local minority tribes. There are approximately 30 ethnic groups in this area, 4 of the groups are the Yao people. The Thai and Hmong people are the biggest ethnic groups of this province. Forestry and agriculture form the main economy of the province.

The large Thac Ba lake is easily accessible from the town of Yen Bai.

Approximately 15 km from the town of Yen Bai is the well known Thac Ba lake. Thac Ba lake is a great natural wealth of the country, and is an important source of hydroelectric power. It is also called a “ Small Ha Long“ with hundreds of islets and it is a convenient place for ecotourism. This lake has almost 1,300 islands and a lot of caves. Dong Cuong Festival is an important festival of the province and is held every year after the Tet festivities. You can see lots of popular games and traditions with your own eyes. The main attraction of Yen Bai, is however, the mountains and rice terraces in Mu Cang Chai.

Thac Ba Lake, 15 km from the town of Yen Bai.

Mountain ranges and beautiful valleys with rice terraces and fields.

Beautiful scenery and landscapes can be seen mainly at the Mu Cang Chai and Nghia Lo town. In Nghia Lo and Mu Cang Chai, you can see the second largest rice fields in northern Vietnam. In autumn / fall, the rice paddies start changing into a yellow-gold colour. The Harvest runs from September until the end of October. These fields are recognised as a national scenic site as well as the unique cultural identity of the Hmong ethnic group.

Suoi Giang – the place where hundreds of year old special tea grows.

The area is also surrounded by small villages and wooden houses of the Thai and Hmong ethnic people. The town also holds a general market where you can buy almost anything. You can visit the area near the village of Suoi Giang, where you can see the tea trees which are 100-400 of years old. Local people of the area call this tea “medicinal tea“ (Zie Sua) and believe that it has curative properties . The altitude is approximately 1,500 – 2,200 meters above sea level, and there is a mild climate with an average annual temperature of 20 °C.

Hmong women in the province of Yen Bai.

Cheap guesthouses and hotels can be found in the Mu Cang Chai area.

In Yen Bai city, Nghia Lo and Mu Cang Chai you can find a variety of cheap vietnamese guesthouses. Prices are very low, around 6 USD / person. For a short stay these are quite sufficient, in Yen Bai you will not find any luxury hotels. Check out the selection of hotels in Yen Bai. If you travel to the north of Vietnam (Lai Chau, Sapa), you can take the bus that leaves at 7:00am from Mu Cang Chai in the city center (this time can change, ask at the hotel).

Luc Yen district with the gem market in Yen The town.

In the northern part of Thac Ba lake is the small inconspicuous town of Yen The (Luc Yen district). At first glance it isn‘t any different from other towns in northern Vietnam. In this town, however a small market with precious stones and gems takes place every day in the morning (7.00 – 10.00 pm). Some stones found in this area fetch high prices, but some stones are also cheap. The whole area is well-known for mining and prospecting for these stones, for example ruby and sapphire. Yen The town is a little out of the way from Yen Bai town (about 80km, see map), but if you plan your way around, its worth a stop here.