I told you the other day about a palace belonging to a local Hmong “king” in Bac Ha . I was surprised to see that there was also another local “king” (or at least a powerful and influential family) in the mountains of Dong Van.
I'll take you on a morning trip through these incredible landscapes, still on our trusty 2-wheeled steed, to the heart of an improbable kingdom.
Dong Van, a must for any motorcycle tour
Besides the uniquely shaped mountains, you can also encounter Hmong and other ethnic minorities going about their daily lives. That's why Dong Van is a great destination for anyone like me who craves freedom on a motorbike and is looking for places off the beaten track.
Having arrived at night the day before, I felt frustrated at missing all these landscapes which even in the dark seemed so fascinating to me.
So I hesitated to come back and take a look. Quite a strong hesitation, because, once again, the distances in the mountains can be tiring with the kilometers that pass slowly.
The Dong Van Loop
The idea of doing the loop before Dong Van (if you come from Ha Giang) was therefore running through my head, but that required doing some 35 km more than the almost 100 needed to reach Bao Lac, so quite a long day.
The trigger came while eating at a restaurant the night before, next to our hotel. I was looking at the photos hanging on the walls, including one showing an old building with rather Chinese and interesting architecture, the Dinh Mua Veo.
Intrigued, I searched the net without hesitation (I made the most of my local SIM card!). I saw that it was right at the junction where the loop splits, 2 roads going around the mountains at this point.
To better understand what this loop represents, here is what it looks like on a map:
Although the first few kilometers were in a light, not very pleasant rain, I don't regret my choice , because the landscapes are just as fabulous as they looked in the dark.
By the way, I would actually understand that day that, thinking I had taken the southern part of the loop the day before to arrive at Dong Van (because it is slightly shorter), I had in fact gone through the north…
Dinh Vua Meo: Palace of a wealthy Hmong family
It's the kind of place that could easily go unnoticed, as proven by the fact that we passed by it the day before... But it's especially because while preparing this roadtrip, I never heard of or saw any information about this place...
The small road leading to the village surrounding the palace is accessible from both ends of the loop with a discreet sign indicating it.
If we read the sign at the entrance to the site, here is what we learn:
This house is the work of a certain Vuong Chinh Duc (1865-1947) was born in a Hmong family in the village of Sa Phin. His career left a deep mark on the history of Dong Van. He was a man described as intelligent and talented. At the age of 30, he was proclaimed the leader of the Hmong in the area around Dong Van.
He made his fortune through the cultivation and trade of opium in the Dong Van region. As his finances grew, he built up a veritable small personal army to protect himself from his rivals and enemies, including the Qing dynasty in China, the Japanese, and even the French, with whom he would eventually ally himself (the French who called the Hmong Meo, hence the Meo in Dinh Vua Meo, which would translate as " Castle of the King of the Hmong ").
He became a wealthy and powerful leader, who controlled the entire Dong Van region. After the French-Hmong peace treaty of 1913, the Vuong family's political and financial power was at its peak.
It was at this time that Vuong Chinh Duc began to build the “castle”. It took 8 years of work from the end of 1919 to 1928 to complete his work. The Vuong family palace is the delicate combination of traditional Chinese and Hmong architecture, using materials from Yunnan (a province in southern China) and local, such as limestone, ironwood and double coatings.
Moreover, it was built by the most excellent builders of Yunnan and Dong Van, so that it becomes "a masterpiece of eternal architecture" (literal translation).
It is a small complex built on the model of the Yamen Manchu (the Yamen was the official residence of a mandarin, a high-ranking official of the Qing dynasty in China). It consists of three inner courtyards and has no fewer than 64 rooms!
The name "castle" comes from the addition of two stone keeps at the back of the building. Up to 100 people lived there at the time, including his three wives and countless children, a village in itself!
The site was evacuated in 1945 and the descendants now live in France and Quebec.
That’s it for the “follow the guide” type explanations 😉
And quite honestly, I enjoyed this visit. Well, first of all, it wasn't expensive (20,000 Dong per person, which is barely $1), but it's especially the feeling of walking around in a movie set and the location of the place, at the bottom of a valley surrounded by pyramid-shaped mountains, fantastic!
When we arrived, a group of Vietnamese tourists were starting a tour. Since I obviously didn't understand anything, I went ahead of them so I could admire the place in peace. I visited each room , most of them empty, but they gave me an idea of what life must have been like in this house.
I climbed all the floors and ladders I came across, giving myself a view of the roofs and the small personal forest, set up there to hide the house from view (well, that's my little personal conclusion).
Even though the palace is not that big, we will still stay there for almost an hour!
In front of the palace, in what appears to be the village square of Sa Phin , there was only a small group of Hmong people choosing fruits displayed there on a tarpaulin.
For those who want, there are still souvenir shops.
The return journey offered us some beautiful panoramas ; the sun still didn't appear, but at least it wasn't raining anymore.
A little tour in Dong Van
Before getting back on the road to continue this time towards our next stop, we took the time to have lunch in the small town.
Before that, we had to check out and load the motorcycle . A routine that has become familiar, and the bags are now securely in place once fastened.
A quick motorbike ride to a street perpendicular to the main avenue and we found our happiness.
Next to the market square (which also takes place on Sundays if you are interested), we came across this little boy with his mischievous look starting to throw us smiles and hellos, soon also encouraged by one of the parents or a local, owner of the restaurant. This one looks very rustic and local, let's go for it. (I just learned that opposite, it is an old cafeteria that can be visited)
As for the food itself, nothing amazing. I've already mentioned this before, but the dishes in northern Vietnam lacked flavor everywhere (except for the restaurant in Vinh Quang), we didn't eat very well…
Once my stomach was full, I wanted to take a look along the street leading to the restaurant, as it runs alongside the rice paddies surrounding the small town. The atmosphere there was more village-like , and our reward was a grandmother who gave us her warmest smile when she spotted us.
However, the view of the rice fields was not what I had hoped for, so I turned around after a few minutes and finally headed towards our destination, Bao Lac.
After all, it was time to leave since it was already 14:30 p.m.…
If you have visited Dong Van area, have you heard or seen this palace? If so, what did you think of it? If not, don't miss it! I think it's worth a look!
