Dong Van Old Quarter

The name Đồng Văn has a small story behind it.

Local sources in the old Hà Giang and in Tuyên Quang explain it. They say the name comes from the Quan hỏa words "Tổng Puôn", which mean "field of trade". That fits what the place has been. Đồng Văn was long an important trading center of the stony highlands. Many ethnic communities met here to swap goods and news, and across many generations they kept their ties alive.

The Old Quarter lies in Đồng Văn commune, in what is now Tuyên Quang province. Before 2025 this was Hà Giang. On July 1 of that year, the two provinces merged into one, which took the name Tuyên Quang. Older documents still say "Đồng Văn town, Hà Giang province". That is a historical place name, and many sources have kept it.

The Old Quarter lies in highlands that rise about 1,000 to 1,600 meters above sea level. It sits among the limestone mountains of the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark. A UNESCO Global Geopark is an area with landscapes of international geological importance, managed for protection, education and sustainable development. UNESCO says the geology here goes back more than 550 million years. The land is home to 17 ethnic groups, among them the Hmong, the Dao and the Tày. The Lô Lô and the Bố Y live here too. So do the Cờ Lao. The Old Quarter itself stands where geology, history and many cultures meet.

The quarter itself took shape from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. French colonial authorities chose Đồng Văn for their military posts, administrative seat and markets, to govern the border region. One date stands out. At Tết in 1923, a fire burned down almost every old shop and house roofed with thatch, bamboo and leaves. Tết is the Lunar New Year festival in Vietnam. Afterward the quarter was planned again and rebuilt with sturdier materials. Most of the buildings seen today date from the early 20th century or later.

The street is about 1 kilometer long. About 40 old houses along it still have yin-yang tile roofs, rammed-earth walls and wooden porches. The architecture blends the local style of the highlands with the style of southern China. The walls of packed earth are thick. The doorways are arched or square and faced with stone, and the column bases are carved from stone. Bluestone appears in countless details, from foundations to walls, from porches to doorsteps. On a plateau of rock, the builders did not have to look far for material.

The market is a highlight of the Old Quarter. The old market has 15 bays in three rows that form a U. It is a social space as much as a market building, with a history reaching back to the last century. Every Sunday morning, the Đồng Văn market is held right here. Hmong, Lô Lô, Dao and Tày families come down from the surrounding villages. They bring vegetables, meat, cloth, handicrafts and stories as well. It is a time to meet, and not only to buy and sell.

On weekend evenings, the sound of the khèn and of drums rises in the central square of the Old Quarter. People of the different ethnic groups gather and visit one another. They do it as they have for a long time, not to put on a show but simply to live.

Walking slowly past the rows of houses, you can see how many layers of time the stone and aged wood have gathered. The thick earthen walls still hold their warmth through the bitter cold nights of the plateau. The yin-yang tiles still lie in layers, just as the ancestors set them down more than a hundred years ago. And on Sunday morning, when the market opens and voices pour in from distant villages, the story of the "field of trade" goes on, as alive as on the day the place was first named.