Located in Lào Cai Province in northwest Vietnam, close to the border with China, at 380 km north-west of Hanoi, Sa Pa is a quiet mountain town and home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. Besides the Kinh (Viet) people (15%) there are mainly 5 ethnic groups in Sapa: Hmong 52%, Dao 25%, Tay 5%, Giay 2% and a small number of Xa Pho. Approximately 7,000 live in Sapa, the other 36,000 being scattered in small communes throughout the district with the same name. The Kinh never originally colonised this highest of Việt Nam’s valleys, which lies in the shadow of Phan-Xi-Pǎng (Fansipan - 3143m), the highest peak in the country. Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces, and the unique climate in Sapa, with sub-tropical summers, temperate winters and 160 days of mist annually, has a major influence on their lives.
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