Van Hoi Lake

At Vân Hội, local people have planted lotus across the surface of a lake and floated bridges out over it. The place is simple, and its worth lies in that simplicity.

Vân Hội is a former commune in the Trấn Yên area. It belonged to Yên Bái Province until July 1, 2025, when that province and Lào Cai were merged into a new Lào Cai Province. So some local people still call the place Vân Hội Yên Bái. That is no mistake, only the habit of a region whose province changed its name not long ago.

The heart of Vân Hội is the lake. A planning document from 2024 describes it as an irrigation reservoir with a water surface of about 410 hectares. It was built from 1966 to 1969. After nearly 60 years, it has become part of the landscape and part of the community's memory.

A Lào Cai newspaper report from 2019 describes the lake as about 400 hectares. Across the water, it says, the lake meets Hiền Lương, in Phú Thọ Province. The people of Vân Hội have planted lotus on the water. They have built huts roofed with leaves, floating bridges and boats for visitors who come to enjoy the view, take photographs, fish and eat. It is how they make a living from the lake they have always known.

The lotus usually blooms in full around May and June, by the solar calendar, according to the Lào Cai and former Yên Bái newspapers. When it opens, the whole surface turns pink and white, and the scent drifts on the wind. This is when the lake is at its best.

A Yên Bái newspaper reported in 2024 on a spot called Sen quê Vân Hội. It is a community tourism site in Lao Động hamlet. It had been operating for more than four years, with a stilt house, rest huts and a system of floating bridges over the water. The area also has the Vân Hội Floating House. The local press points to natural sights nearby, among them Ao Xanh and Ngòi Lĩnh. Vòi Rồng Falls is another.

From a floating bridge, the far shore is Hiền Lương land in Phú Thọ, a hazy green in the early morning. There is the splash of a paddle, the smell of warm mud, and the scent of lotus lingering in the wind. The sky over Vân Hội is as calm as if it had never been in a hurry. That is all this place promises.