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One of thef favourite places in Ha Giang is the
mansion of Vuong family. Often
dubbed Vua Meo (king of H’mong), the palace’s official name is Vuong Chi Sinh.
The Hmong king ruled over a vast territory from
Dong Van Plateau to Meo Vac
Town.
During his reign, the charismatic king attracted a lot of attention when he and
other Meo residents joined forces with Ho Chi Minh to gain national freedom.
The palace is in Sa Phin valley in Lung Phin Commune, Dong Van District at the
base of a mountain, backed by cliffs and topped by a mass of clouds.
Tall sa moc trees surround the palace that is built from stone, fir wood and
terra-cotta tiles in the Chinese architectural style of the Man Qing era.
Our first impression was of a small market called Sa Phin market at the palace
gates and a parking lot run by H’Mong people, many of whom are descendents of
Vua Meo.
Covering a total area of 1,120 square meters, the palace was used as a residence
and fortress during the Vuong Dynasty.
The two storey, 50 meter long palace that took eight years to build has four
long houses and six wide houses with 64 rooms for the king’s wives, children and
soldiers.
All the walls are 50-60 centimeters thick. Surrounding it is stone barrier which
is 2 meters high and 80 centimeters thick.
The palace is divided into many areas such as dining room, bed room, kitchen,
marijuana store, rooms of his wives, a prayer altar and an area for criminal
executions.
After entering the main gate, we passed about four smaller gates to explore the
site. There are two fortresses.
No one lives at the palace anymore but it has been well maintained by the
provincial government. It contains wardrobes, fireplace, beds, flour-mill,
crossbow and pan-pipe.
Still largely un-restored the palace is a great place to learn about the
province’s interesting history. |
