Explore Dong Van Ancient Town, an attractive tourist destination in Ha Giang

 

Ha Giang not only has majestic mountains but also brilliant and romantic flower fields. Dong Van Ancient Town has come over the years. Centuries-old houses with bustling market days or festivals imbued with the culture of the people here. All these things have made Ha Giang has been and will always be an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists. Let’s KarstPlateau.com discover the beauty of Ha Giang Old Town!

1. Introduction to Dong Van Old Town

 

Dong Van Ancient Town is located in Dong Van Town, Dong Van district, Ha Giang province; located at altitudes from 1,000m to 1,600m above sea level. It is located in the middle of a valley surrounded by four rock surfaces.

In the 20th century, this neighborhood was home to several Tay, Hmong. Then, it gradually became vibrant and bustling thanks to the Nung and Dao people migrating to live here. After many developments and changes in Ha Giang to stimulate tourism, this neighborhood still retains its impressive ancient and simple appearance.

The houses in Dong Van ancient town are hundreds of years old, built with nearly the same architecture. Most are two-story houses, roofed with yin-yang tiles. Overall, Dong Van’s ancient town is a harmonious combination of Vietnamese culture and Chinese architecture.

2. The best time to travel to Dong Van Ancient Town

The year-round climate in Dong Van Ancient Town is quite cool and pleasant, so visitors can travel here at any time of the year. In winter, this place will be a bit chilly, but experiencing winter in Dong Van’s old town is also very interesting.

In addition, you can also choose to go to Dong Van Old Town from early October to November, this is the buckwheat flower season in Ha Giang. You will both explore Dong Van’s ancient town and admire the scent of brilliant flower fields. 

3. How to get to Dong Van Ancient Town?

To be able to go to Dong Van Old Town, you can choose one of the following options:

If you want to go on the road while watching the poetic and majestic beauty here, motorbikes are the best choice
Alternatively, you can also take a passenger car. You should choose some reputable bus companies such as Bang Phan, Thinh My, Hai Van Express,… and it will take about 6 hours to get there.

4. What does Dong Van Ha Giang Ancient Town have?

Take a stroll to see Dong Van’s Ancient Town

The special feature of this old town is that it has its beauty, sophistication, and difference at each time of day.  In the morning, the old town is beautiful and gentle with the color of sunshine in a magical quiet space, bringing fresh and pleasant air into the high mountains; In the afternoon, when the sunset falls, this place is beautiful, gentle, and romantic in the afternoon light, it is a little sad. The evening is the time when Dong Van ancient town is most brilliant thanks to the red lanterns that highlight a whole courtyard.

Experience Dong Van Ancient Town Café

Despite going through many ups and downs in history, the old house is still almost intact, imbued with intersecting architecture. The shop is simple and full of modesty, a bridge between the past and the present, but it has a strange attraction to each visitor. This is a destination not to be missed for tourists when coming to Dong Van.

Come to Dong Van market

The market is built including three rows of houses forming a U-shape in the central area of Dong Van ancient town. This is the place where ethnic people here buy, sell, and exchange goods. 

When coming to the market in Dong Van ancient town, you will encounter many indigenous people in beautiful costumes. Here you can find souvenirs, especially crafts. In addition, spices and specialty ingredients in Ha Giang are also easy to buy in this market.

5. What to eat in Dong Van Ancient Town

Thang Co: One of the specialties of Dong Van that you should not ignore. This traditional dish is cooked from the meat and bones of buffalo, cow, and horse. Combined with spices such as cardamom, anise, cinnamon, etc.

Kitchen buffalo meat: It is a familiar dish of the Northeast mountains and forests with an extremely special flavor. This dish is a blend of buffalo meat with kitchen smoke, macadamia, and forest leaves.

Bac Me Lam Rice: Although it is just a simple dish, it is very popular with tourists. The special flavor of rice comes from the aroma of glutinous rice mixed with the smell of dong leaves and baked banana leaves.

Au Tau Porridge: It is a special dish only available in Ha Giang because it is cooked from the tubers. Because au tau root has medicinal properties, one of the characteristic features of au tau porridge is its bitter taste, similar to the bitter taste of Panax pseudoginseng. However, this bitter taste blends with the fleshy, flexible piece of au tau and combines with the sweetness of simmered bone broth and the rich aroma of eggs, creating a sweet, unique, and attractive flavor.

Dong Van rolls: This is one attractive breakfast dish. This dish is served with a broth simmered with pork bones that is quite rich.

Dong Van Ancient Town also has many interesting things waiting for you to explore. Only when you come to the place can you feel all the scenery, people, and cuisine here. Hopefully, with the information that KarstPlateau.com shares, you will have interesting and memorable experiences here.