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| TRAVEL NEWS |
| Awakening Princess Sapa |
Sapa Love Market was flooded with colour and sound, lit up by a firework display, reflecting the colourful, traditional costumes of the ethnic minorities and the bright attire of tourists. The sound of bamboo flutes reverberated along with the crooning of passionate love songs.
There wasn’t much sleep that night, the crowd staying awake all night in celebration.
The multicultural Sapa
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| Preserving the traditional values while promoting tourism is the major challenge for Sapa people. |
The Board could not imagine such a level of attendance. There were no barriers between English, French, Vietnamese and ethnic languages, as cheerful smiles and laughter spoke louder.
“We’ve heard so much about the beauty of Sapa, but it really is far beyond our imagination,” said two bedazzled Australians, Annette Turner and Lorraine Delprado. They have travelled around the world, from Europe to Asia, Latin America to Africa, but they couldn’t help being captivated by Sapa.
“People who visit Sapa return for its natural charm and temperate climate, which is more akin to Europe than Asia. They are seduced by the hospitality, friendship and cultural identities of Sapa’s people,” Tran Binh, a Sapa hotel's owner, proudly stated.
Since 1884, when French settlers first founded the hill station, they planned to develop Sapa as a health and tourist resort. Over three hundred villas were built, replete with distinctive architecture. The name of each villa, carved onto the façade of each house, is the name of a flower in Sapa. In the 1930’s, when there was one piano for every two families in the town, Sapa was imaginatively dubbed, “The Town of Pianos.”
A supermarket, milk factory and direct telephone line to France also appeared in Sapa at that time. From 1926 to 1935, the French had two detailed projects, giving names and place marked benches to every home, in the forests and along the roads in town.
However, the march of progress and the needs of people’s livelihoods are eroding away the elegance of this 100 year-old town. Collaboration between local authorities and residents is essential to prevent the tide of block buildings from wiping out the classic beauty of Sapa.
The President of Lao Cai People’s Committee, Bui Quang Vinh, revealed that the Committee are co-operating with the Council of Aquitaine and experts from Bordeaux University for future planning of Sapa.
Tourism planning goes beyond city planning
On the way down to the town: Red Dao women.
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| On the way down to the town: Red Dao women. |
Tourism makes all the difference in the planning of Sapa. “It is not urbanisation but tourism that is the focus of the project,” said Mr Vinh. Tall buildings in the town centre will be lowered, block architecture will be banned, and the Sapa of the future will be a town of gorgeous and peaceful garden houses.
Tourism makes all the difference in the
Mount Fansipan will be the icing on the cake, to be admired from the balcony of every house. The shape, colour and decor of villas and hotels must be in harmony with the natural surroundings.
Preserving and promoting Sapa’s tourism potential is a major challenge for its administration, its people, and even for its guests. Twenty-five percent of the population struggle with poverty, which means that they have no time and money for the conservation of traditional values.
Thus, local people expect that tourism will offer them opportunities to find new jobs, to sell their handicrafts, and to upgrade their living standards.
In Lao Cai, electricity is still not available in some villages. New roads haven’t reached remote areas yet. Infrastructure, especially transport around Sapa, needs a deep rethink for long-term sustainability. Availability of basic services is the first condition for the eradication of hunger and poverty reduction in Sapa.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan has called Sapa "the wonder of Lao Cai and Vietnam" and emphasised that the 100th Anniversary of Sapa is not only a cultural festival, but also a good time to make a future pledge to conserve nature and promote culture.
“Progress requires mutual commitment, and Lao Cai welcomes any support to build up Sapa as an attractive cultural resort of Vietnam,” added Mr Vinh, at the end of the Sapa Festival.
Story and photos by Hong Sam
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