The Vuong Family Mansion

The house was built for Vuong Chinh Duc, who controlled this corner of the plateau in the early twentieth century, by craftsmen brought in from Yunnan and the border districts. It stands in a small valley ringed by rock, behind a stone wall and a screen of tall sa moc firs, and follows a Chinese courtyard plan: two storeys of timber around narrow open wells, dark rooms off wooden galleries, and a green tiled roof. The details reward slowing down, especially the column bases carved as poppy pods and the bat and coin motifs on the balustrades. The rooms hold beds, chests, grinding stones and a few old family photographs.

What you actually see

• The courtyard plan - three linked courtyards with timber galleries running around them.
• Carved stone bases - column feet shaped as poppy pods, worn smooth by generations of handling.
• The fir screen - tall sa moc trees planted along the approach and around the wall.
• Furnished rooms - beds, chests, grinding stones and old photographs in the upper galleries.

When to go

September to November is dry and clear, and the drive matters here as much as the house. Go early or late in the day, since tour minibuses from Ha Giang cluster in the middle of the morning and the courtyards are narrow. An hour is enough for the house itself. Tickets are sold at a booth by the road above the valley.

Honest expectations

It is a small building and easily oversold by tour itineraries: forty-five minutes covers it. Interpretation is in Vietnamese and guides may not speak English, while several rooms are empty or roped off. Restoration has replaced some of the timber and the paint looks new in places. Stalls at the entrance are pushy about souvenirs.

Nearby

Dong Van old quarter and the Ma Pi Leng pass road are close by.