Mu Cang Chai is a rural district (of Yen Bai province), in the northeastern Vietnam. The district is bounded to the north by Van Ban District (Lao Cai Province), to the south by Muong La District (Son La Province), to the west by Than Uyen District (Lai Chau Province) and to the east by Van Chan District (Yen Bai Province). The place is home to the Hmong and Thai community. It is one of the most attractive places and well-known for its beautiful terraces.
The steep feature, fertile soil and mountain cliffs make it almost impossible to grow rice fields like those in the delta. Thus local residences grow their own rice on the terraced fields, for the purpose of preventing water from flowing downhill. Generations to generations of these people have made terraced fields as today. From the distance, the terraced rice fields look like a picture of nature whose color changes seasonally. The curving terraces, although man-made, appear to be in complete harmony with the landscape, creating a hypnotic patterning across the hills and valleys. We recommend that tourists should visit this charming place in September and October, when autumn ends, rice in all terraced fields is ripe, giving the gold colour.
500ha – terraced fields in 3 communes of La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha and De Xu Phinh (Mu Cang Chai) was recognized as a national landscape by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on 18 October 2007. Not only the majestic and beautiful terraces, but you can also learn the unique and rustic life of H’mong ethnic group, a poor life but warm-hearted, a rare thing in the modern world. This explains why many tourists, both domestic and foreign, are increasingly flocking to Mu Cang Chai to admire these “terraced rice field masterpieces”.
