In two years, Hoai Sa made 10 trips to Hoang Su Phi. He wrapped his experiences about the landscape, people, and culture of the land in the book ‘The Love Story of the Mountain’.
Hoai Sa (Hanoi) is an English travel blogger. He has 7 years working at Vietnam News Agency, currently working in the diplomatic service. With an interest in experiential travel, especially to places few people go to, especially mountainous areas, and cultural tourism. As a former British student, he wrote the book Four seasons, a thousand miles of England (2018) was well received by the study abroad community. Although she has been to many regions in Vietnam, she was impressed with Hoang Su Phi so Hoai Sa stopped here and delved deeper to write the book. Love story of the mountain – Horizontal and vertical Hoang Su Phi Ph . The author shares more about the journey and the process of writing the book. Written from admiration to Hoang Su Phi – Since when did Hoai Sa come to Hoang Su Phi? What brought you to that land? – Originally a travel blogger in English (address captainessy ), writing for foreigners who come to Vietnam for the first time in the style of experiential tourism, nature, I often go to mountainous areas in all three regions of the country. For a long time, I have known the beautiful Hoang Su Phi terraced fields and is a heritage recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The terraced fields in Sa Pa, Lao Cai, and Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai, I have all gone through, but the most beautiful terraced fields in Vietnam, as many photographers call it, I have not been. It was not until 2018, when I visited two terraced fields in Ban Phung and Ban Luoc in Hoang Su Phi, that I decided to write about this place out of admiration for their beauty. 
Book Love Story of the Mountain – Horizontal and Vertical Hoang Su Phi. Photo: HS – What things about Hoang Su Phi left a special impression on you? – Like most people from afar, my first impression must be the majestic beauty of Hoang Su Phi terraced fields. Tourism potential in Hoang Su Phi is huge. But the longer I stay, the more I realize this is a land rich in cultural identities of ethnic minorities. More than 10 ethnic groups here, most are Nung, Dao, Tay, H’Mong, then less are Kinh, La Chi, Cao Lan, Hoa… all retain their identity. One of the reasons for that is that the roads are difficult, making the storm of urbanization and the storm of development slow to pass. Taking advantage of this, some localities here have done community-based tourism, in a sustainable direction, and resonated in Ha Giang. The commercialization, the erosion of national cultural traditions is not as great as in Sa Pa or Dong Van. – In your opinion, what is the difference that makes this land special? – Ha Giang is best known for two things: It is the headland of the country and has the Dong Van rock plateau (a part of which is still remembered as Ha Giang as a major battlefield during the Border War). The strangeness of a name like Hoang Su Phi itself makes people feel different. In Ha Giang, only Hoang Su Phi is a district with a 3-letter name, originally in Chinese, Hoang Thu Bi, meaning “golden bark”. This place belongs to the Bac Ha Plateau, separate from the rocky plateau to the east of Ha Giang. When talking about the road in Ha Giang, in the past, people have a saying: “Nhat Su Phi, second Bac Me”, to talk about the difficult road to Hoang Su Phi, contributing to the “little-known” character of the district. As mentioned, terraced fields are what outsiders hear about Hoang Su Phi. But it is also a product of labor, agricultural culture here, besides a lot of labor and other cultural beauty associated with forests and mountains. Rice, for example, plays an important role for the people of Hoang Su Phi, participating in all kinds of festivals, because it is “spiritual” in the spiritual life of the people. This is reflected in the article about the New Rice festival of the Nung people and the story of making banh day on Tet of the Dao people. 
Author Hoai Sa in Thong Nguyen terraced fields. Photo: NVCC. The poetic stories of the mountains – The title of the book “Love Story of the Mountain” evokes beauty and poetry. Is that land just a dream? That land has many poetic stories. The love of the couple built on the fields, in the hills of Shan Tuyet tea… are well known in Hoang Su Phi. Although it is not a rich district, it is in that “not rich” that many interesting cultural and labor rays are reflected. For example, there is a story about a mountain artist who can play 5 musical instruments in the poor commune of Tan Tien, often representing the commune to take exams in the district. Or like the Ceremony of Gratitude for the youth of the Dao Ao Dai is a joyful occasion for the whole village. But of course not only that. In Hoang Su Phi, I realized many concerns about my hometown and development. This is recorded in the writing about Nom script of the Dao people, when the younger generation is no longer interested in learning this script, and it is increasingly disappearing. Or it is also a story about thinking between developing hot tourism and preserving traditional values. Saying that is not to disparage or “show the way for deer to run”, but to emphasize that this beautiful land always has many ways to build and develop life, based on its advantages. . 
Dao women in Ao Dai in Ban Luoc festival. Photo: HS – Through the book, what did the author do to help readers understand more about this land? Why did you choose the form of expression as “the fairy tale” and not the travel diary? – The book consists of 17 separate but not discrete articles because it is always throughout the beauty and wonder of Hoang Su Phi’s people, culture, profession, customs, festivals, and experiences in the visits. destroy the two peaks of the northeast at Hoang Su Phi. They are arranged alternately so that the reader experiences one sensation after another continuously. Moreover, the book is written from the point of view of people from far away coming to Hoang Su Phi, so it is aimed at people from far away who have little understanding of this western Ha Giang. – To have the material to write this book, how many trips did the author have to visit and explore the land and people? – The author encapsulates the content of the book in 10 trips to Hoang Su Phi over 2 years. Most of that time, the author stayed at homestays of indigenous people scattered in the communes. These homestays have a family atmosphere, close friends with strangers. Thanks to that, the stories about Hoang Su Phi seemed to flow naturally. The character who teaches Nom Dao in the book is also such a landlord. Almost everywhere I went to learn about topics, I was also enthusiastically welcomed and instructed by the natives, especially the Red Dao brothers and sisters. In Ban Luoc commune of the Dao Ao Dai, I stayed with the leader of the commune, so that I could immerse myself more deeply in the commune tourism festival during the golden season. The times to go to the terrace to collect rice, go up to the tea hill with the gardener to pick shan Tuyet leaves, give a true sense of the typical local profession.
You must log in to post a comment.