Mu Cang Chai - Gold rice field

Mu Cang Chai is a rural district of Yen Bai province, in the northeastern region of Vietnam, which is 300 kilometres from Hanoi. Over the past few years, Mu Cang Chai has become a popular destination for tourists, researchers and photographers.

Mu Cang Chai owns 700 hectares of terraced rice fields, with 70 percent at three communes: La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha, De Su Phinh. This traditional cultural heritage of an ethnic minority was recognised as a national landscape by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism for Vietnam travel.

Located in a temperate zone, the average temperature all-year round is 18.5 Celsius degrees so when the sunset comes, the district is blanked in mist and makes tourists feel they are in late winter of the lowland.

Best time to visit here from September to October

The center of Mu Cang Chai District lies in a valley expanding over seven kilometers. September and October is suggested as the most ideal time to visit Mu Cang Chai as everywhere, from magnificent mountains or beautiful terraced rice fields are bathed in glistening rays.

In addition to terraced fields, Mu Cang Chai was blessed with naturally beautiful flora and fauna and outstanding geographic features, including vast mountain ranges with high peaks which have protected the people for an age.

Historical Monuments in Hue

 

Hue is a representation of the vanished Vietnamese feudal empire in the early 19th century. The place’s monuments recognized by UNESCO only show an intact and well defended capital city in a form of its architecture, urban planning and construction.

With a deep history popular around the world, Vietnam has become one of the main tourist destinations for its historic monuments. The country’s monuments acclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are particularly located in Hue city, which is as equally famous as other cities for its breathtaking travel destinations.

Hue is located in central Vietnam,  between two huge and well known cities, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and Hanoi. It is approximately 1100 km north from Hồ Chí Minh City, the largest city of Vietnam and 700 km from the south of Hanoi.

Today, Hue is a representation of the vanished Vietnamese feudal empire in the early 19th century. The place’s monuments recognized by UNESCO only show an intact and well defended capital city in a form of its architecture, urban planning and construction. For these historical monuments, it is also recognized as one of the best travel destinations in Vietnam.

Part of the complex of historic monuments, Hue’s prime attractions, is the Imperial Citadel. The citadel is the courtyard of Ngo Mon, the entrance of the city from the south. One of the more peaceful area in Vietnam due to its size, the citadel is a mixed of different historical buildings educating tourist about art and costumes from different Vietnam historical periods.

Not very far from the courtyard is the Ngọ Môn. As mentioned earlier, it is the southern entrance of Hue. It is believed to be reserved only for the emperor’s use and was the main entrance to the Imperial Enclosure. While other officials were then not allowed inside the citadel, the Emperor addressed them at the top of the Ngọ Môn gate.

Another palace included inside the complex of monuments is Thái Hòa Palace. It was the emperor's coronation hall and also the space where the emperor received foreign guest particularly dignitaries.

Famous in movies, the Forbidden Purple City can also be seen in Hue. It is located at the rear area of the Thai Hoa Palace. Little is left of the Forbidden Purple City because it was destroyed in 1968. Nevertheless, more tourist still visit the place because of its history as articulated in the remains of the Mandarin Palaces located on both sides of the area.

Tourists who are fond of historical insights such as these may get a hand full while visiting the historic monuments of Hue.

Japanese Bridge - Chua Cau in Hoi An

Japanese bridge was probably built in the early 17th century. It is also known as the Pagoda Bridge (Chua Cau), was built by Japanese craftsmen who were part of a huger community of Japanese merchants, operated in Hoi An.

Japanese bridges have had a reputation for their pure beauty of being graceful curves and the inspiration from Zen spirit for a long time. It’s no doubt that the most well-known bridge of this kind in Vietnam culture travel is the one in Hoi An – the historic riverside town in the Central Part.

Travelling to Vietnam knows further that Japanese settled in this town in large numbers following a treaty with local Nguyen lords signed in the early 1600s. Hoi An at that time was underdeveloped, but the Japanese envisioned transforming the town into a great trading center. The Nguyen Lords allowed the Japanese to build  streets, pagodas, and other infrastructure, along with housing for the merchants. The bridge is one of a handful of architectural treasures still extant from that era.

The bridge doubles the same as a temple, with shrines to lots of deities situated inside. One theory of the bridge's religious purpose is that it was constructed to subdue a world-spanning 'mamazu' dragon monster, whose head was situated in India and its tail in Japan. The movement of the tail was believed to cause earthquakes in Japan. As Vietnam was located in the area of