Travelling along National Highway 4C from Ha Giang town, you will eventually see Vuong Palace lying in isolation in the hidden Sa Phin A village, Sa Phin commune, Dong Van district. From the rocky slopes, I was rewarded with a literally breath-taking view of the giant palace's many long roofs nestled together in the valleys below.
Under French colonial rule, Vuong Chinh Duc was under the civilian population of hereditary chief Hoang Tu Binh. At the turn of the century, he was the most powerful ethnic minority chieftain in the Viet Bac (north-east), known as Vua Meo. Legend has it that more than 100 years ago, Vua Meo invited a Chinese geomancer to Ha Giang to find a suitable location for his palace. A tortoiseshell-shaped mound behind two mountains was chosen as the site of the king’s home with the belief that it would bring luck, wealth and happiness for him and his family forever. The palace took eight years to build using skilled construction workers from Yunnan, China and from the local H’Mong community. Built from stone, pine and terracotta tiles, Vuong Palace resembles the structures found in China during the Qing Dynasty three or four centuries ago, with its curving tiled roofs. Both the outer and cross-sectional walls of the building are made of brick, but within that basic framework is the principal wooden construction material. The palace is also decorated with poppies, reflecting the Vuong family’s interest in the opium trade. Vua Chinh Duc was believed to have been an opium addict. The structure has areas for the storage of food, opium and weapons, as well as a European-style fireplace and a stone bathtub where the family bathed in goat milk. The Vuong residence comprises four two-storey sections linked by three courtyards. The building is surrounded by a moat and an outer wall with a thickness of up to 1m and a height of up to 3m with cherry trees and bamboo between the two protective walls. Both the surrounding moats are facilitated with many loopholes. The Palace has 10 houses with the main hoopposite the gate. All of these houses are made of precious wood with yin yang tiled roofs, and the entrance to the palace features a red lacquer and gold panel gifted by Emperor Khai Dinh, one of Vietnam’s Nguyen Dynasty rulers at the beginning of the 18th century. Inside, a picture of Vua Meo in feudal mandarin attire is on display.
The building was constructed principally out of jade stone, fir or po-mu wood. Vuong Palace has 64 rooms, all decorated with carvings of dragons, phoenixes and bats which are symbols of royalty and prosperity. In the grounds of the palace are the ornately-carved tombstones of members of the Vương family including the king’s first wife and one of his sons, Vuong Chi Sinh. Sinh, who was renamed Vuong Chi Thanh by President Ho Chi Minh and who devoted years of his life to the country’s resistance wars.
Vuong Palace echoes with the history of times past and deserves to be the pride of the H’mong ethnic people. The ancient Vuong royal hoconcealing its unique architecture and special beauty is the product of the sweat and tears of many hard working lives in this rocky plateau.
Further information:
- Vuong Palace is located in Sa Phin A valley in Sa Phin Commune, Dong Van District of Ha Giang, which is about 500 km from Hanoi.
- Built in 1920, Vuong Palace is 46m long, 22m wide and 10m high with 64 rooms.
- As part of its experience of historical ups and downs, Vuong Palace was left deserted during the war, and then became a place for temporary communal head offices and even for buffalo to sleep in
- The government granted Vuong Palace national cultural heritage status in 1993
- Descendants of Vuong’s family are now caretakers and tour guides at the palace.
Useful information:
- In addition to Vua Meo Palace, Dong Van highland is also famous for Nui Doi in Quan Ba, Tham Ma paradise gate, Lung Cy Flag Tower, Khau Vai love market which is held on Lunar March 27 every year.
- Spring is the perfect time to visit Ha Giang becait’s the season of peach blossoms and white-dotted flowers.
- Ha Giang is inhabited by many ethnic minorities such as Mong, Dao, Lo Lo, Pa Then, Pu Peo, Ha Nhi…
- The Ha Giang region grows many precious medicinal herbs such as cinnamon, anise and ginseng, and famous fruits such as peach, pear and plum at the end of spring
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