Located at the northernmost tip of the nation, where the Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark is situated, Ha Giang is renowned for its year-round “singing mountains” shrouded in mist. Visiting Ha Giang, beyond its magnificent natural scenery, is the rich cultural heritage with unique characteristics that beckon tourists to explore and experience. Ha Giang boasts numerous majestic mountains, including the two highest peaks, Tay Con Linh (2,419 meters) and Chieu Lau Thi (2,402 meters), as well as characteristic cat ear limestone plateaus with towering cliffs. In terms of flora, Ha Giang is home to many virgin forests, precious woods, and over 1,000 species of medicinal plants. Its fauna includes peacocks, pheasants, pangolins, and many other species.

Ha Giang, originally named Ha Duong, is a province in the northeastern region of Vietnam. In 2018, Ha Giang ranked 48th in Vietnam in terms of population, 58th in Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), and was one of the six poorest provinces in the country. It includes Xin Man district, one of the six poorest districts nationwide, ranking 63rd in per capita GRDP and 58th in GRDP growth rate. With a population of 846,500, the GRDP reached 20.772 billion VND (equivalent to 0.7610 billion USD), with a per capita GRDP of 20.7 million VND (equivalent to 899 USD), and a GRDP growth rate of 6.76%.

Ha Giang Province is located at the northernmost tip of Vietnam, with the following geographical positions:

• East: borders Cao Bang Province
• West: borders Lao Cai Province
• South: borders Tuyen Quang and Yen Bai Provinces
• North: borders Yunnan Province and Guangxi Autonomous Region of China.

The extreme points of Ha Giang Province are:

• Northernmost point: Luong Cu Commune, Dong Van District.
• Easternmost point: Lungen Chin Hamlet, Son Vi Commune, Meo Vac District.
• Westernmost point: Ma Li San Hamlet, Pa Vay Su Commune, Xin Man District.
• Southernmost point: Dong Yen Commune, Bac Quang District.
  The administrative center of the province is Ha Giang City, approximately 320 km from the center of Hanoi. The topography of Ha Giang Province is quite complex, with many high rocky mountains and rivers, divided into three regions. The northern rocky mountain region is close to the northern tropic, with a steep slope, many valleys and rivers are cut off. Located in the subtropical humid climate zone, but due to the high terrain, Ha Giang’s climate has many temperate characteristics. The western soil mountain region belongs to the upper source of the Cha River, with steep mountain slopes, high passes, narrow valleys, and riverbeds. The lowland region in the province includes hilly areas, the Lo River valley, and Ha Giang City.

Topography Characteristics

Due to the complex geological structure, nature has endowed Ha Giang with a huge potential in climate, land, resources, and minerals. Based on the climatic, soil, and topographical characteristics, Ha Giang is divided into three regions with different natural, economic, and social conditions, each with its own potential and strengths:

• Region I: The northern rocky mountain region includes four districts: Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh, and Quan Ba. The total area is 2,352.7 km², with a population of over 200,000, accounting for approximately 34.3% of the province’s population. Due to the cold winter and cool summer climate, it is very suitable for developing temperate trees such as medicinal herbs, soybeans; fruit trees such as plums, peaches, pears, apples… The main food crop in this region is corn. Livestock mainly includes cattle, goats, horses, and beekeeping. These livestock breeds are specific to the temperate region, larger and can withstand cold to negative temperatures. Bee colonies here mainly develop in the summer-autumn season with two main flowers: corn and mint. Mint honey is a special type of honey with high medicinal and health value.
• Region II: The western soil mountain region includes the districts of Hoang Su Phi and Xin Man. The natural area is 1,211.3 km², with a population accounting for 15.9%. The natural conditions of this region are suitable for developing acacia and resin trees. The main food crops in this region are rice and corn. Livestock mainly includes buffalo, horses, goats, and poultry. This region is the land of Shan snow tea, and its long-time owner is the Dao ethnic group – an ethnic group with long-standing experience in growing and caring for mountain tea trees.
• Region III: The lowland region includes the districts of Bac Quang, Vi Xuyen, Bac Me, Quang Binh, and Ha Giang City, the economic center of Ha Giang. The natural area is 4,320.3 km², with a population accounting for 49.8%. The natural conditions are suitable for tropical trees, facilitating the development of the forest industry, planting paper raw materials such as bamboo, greasewood, pine, and this is also the largest bamboo, rattan, bamboo shoots, and reeds region in the province… In addition, this is also the region for growing citrus fruits such as oranges, tangerines, lemons…

Natural Resources

A. Soil
Ha Giang’s soil is very rich with 9 main soil groups, among which the gray soil group has the largest area with 585,418 ha, accounting for 74.28% of the natural area. This is a group of soils very suitable for growing and developing fruit trees (oranges, tangerines, pears, plums….), industrial trees (tea, coffee….), medicinal plants (soybeans, herbs, ginseng….). Scientists have identified and divided the main soil areas of Ha Giang as follows:

• The Cha River uplift area, the soil layer formed on the basis of two main rock groups: acid magma and metamorphic rocks. The topography here is classified as blocky mountain type on the primary base, strongly dissected. This area has a fairly large average annual rainfall (3,000 mm). With such conditions, it has created a diverse soil cover here, mostly yellow-red humus soil, suitable for developing subtropical forests.
• The Quan Ba – Bac Me area, the soil layer formed on the basis of three main rock groups: metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rocks, greenish rocks or weak greenish rocks, followed by limestone or clay limestone and greenish rocks of medium and fine grains. The topography here is classified as blocky mountain type on the primary base, very strongly dissected. This is also an area with a fairly large average annual rainfall (3,000 mm). Therefore, the soil cover here is mostly yellow-red humus and dark gray humus, creating a very rich vegetation cover with evergreen subtropical forests.
  The Dong Van – Meo Vac area, the soil layer formed on the basis of strongly differentiated limestone, karst topography. Most of the soil cover here is red-gray or dark yellow soil, with mainly low, sparse vegetation. The forest in this area usually has timber trees belonging to the four-wing group such as trai, nghien…

The northwestern Vinh Tuy area, the soil layer formed on the geological structure of the Cha River uplift. The topography here is characterized by low hills, mountains, and mounds, with gentle slopes. This area has the largest rainfall in the country, so the soil cover here is mainly dark grayish-black soil, suitable for growing fruit trees, especially oranges.

B. Mineral Resources

Based on geological structure data, scientists have predicted that Ha Giang is a land with great potential and prospects for minerals such as iron, manganese, lead, tin, antimony, gold, gemstones…
Iron in the form of magnetite – hematite – sulfide has been found in Tung Ba – Bac Me. Also in this area, there are lead-zinc mines. In the southeastern part of the Cha River uplift, manganese mines and ore points have been discovered. In Bac Quang, copper (Cu – Ni) ore points with magmatic origin have been encountered. In the area from Cao Bo to Viet Lam, there are many polymetallic – gold ore veins. At the same time, along the alluvial plains, especially from the confluence of the Lo River and the Gam River upstream, there are many placer gold deposits. In addition, Ha Giang also has a fairly large reserve of non-metallic minerals such as kaolin, pottery clay, limestone, sand, gravel, sandstone, slate, laterite, granite, gabbro, rhyolite… and there is also coal, of which the most important is the Phó Bảng coal seam.

C. Forest Resources

As a mountainous province, mountains and hills account for more than 3/4 of the area, creating favorable conditions for natural and planted forests to develop. Forests are the main economic strength of Ha Giang and also have great significance in science and environmental protection. Due to the characteristics of topography, soil, and climate, Ha Giang’s forests are quite rich and are considered one of the typical areas of subtropical forests, with many species. The forest land area of Ha Giang is among the largest in the country. The forest area as of December 31, 2005, was 345,860 ha, and the planned forest land area was 262,918 ha.
In recent years, with the state’s policies and the local government’s active measures in implementing land and forest allocation, greening barren land and hills, the province has annually planted an additional 3,000 – 5,000 ha of concentrated forests, thus bringing the forest coverage rate to 42.9% by the end of 2005. This not only helps prevent surface erosion but also controls flooding to some extent, protecting the ecological environment. The forest also provides important raw materials for the paper industry, construction materials…
People have discovered many rare animal species in Ha Giang’s forests, such as tigers, leopards, white-cheeked gibbons, horses, wild boars, monkeys, gibbons,… Specifically, the Tay Con Linh area has recorded 47 mammal species, 140 bird species belonging to 25 families, 75 genera. The Phong Quang (Vi Xuyen) forest is included in the system of typical natural conservation areas of the northeastern Vietnam mountain forest region, with a rich and valuable forest ecosystem.

D. Aquatic Resources

Although Ha Giang is a mountainous province without strong aquatic advantages, in the Ha Giang area, there are rare and valuable aquatic species. In the Gam River basin, shrimp, crab, and fish species can be found in the river sources with many rocky rapids. Notably, there are green trout and Anh Vu fish, which are famous and have been special offerings to the royal court. On the Lo River, there are also some fish and shrimp species that have followed the Red River upstream and are considered specialties of the Lo River, such as carp, catfish, mitten crab, and ba ba…
In recent years, taking advantage of aquatic resources, people have known how to make use of water surfaces, ponds, and lakes to raise shrimp and fish with short growth periods and high productivity. In some places, farmers have combined growing rice and releasing fish in waterlogged fields. Many farms have developed according to the VACR model (garden, pond, pen, forest), bringing clear economic efficiency.

Climate
Located in the tropical monsoon zone and being a highland, Ha Giang’s climate basically has the characteristics of the northern mountainous region – Hoang Lien Son, but also has its own characteristics, cooler and colder than the northeastern provinces, but warmer than the northwestern provinces.
The climate of Ha Giang Province has the characteristics of a tropical monsoon climate combined with a subtropical highland climate, with a long cold winter, the coldest from December to January of the following year. The summer is hot, with a lot of rain, the hottest in July and August. – Temperature The average annual temperature in the implementation area is from 21.8°C to 23.6°C. The temperature in Ha Giang City and Bac Quang District is usually 1°C to 2°C higher than in Bac Me and Hoang Su Phi Districts. The average monthly temperature is lowest in January from 14.5°C to 19.5°C, and the highest in June, July, and August from 25.9°C to 35.6°C. According to long-term observation data, there are times in winter when the temperature drops very low, especially in the rocky mountain areas where there are areas with frost and snow, and the lowest temperature recorded was -0.1°C at Hoang Su Phi Station on December 27, 1982. The lowest temperature at stations in winter is usually less than 10°C. The highest temperature recorded was 41°C on May 3, 1994, and the highest daily temperature recorded at stations was about 35.2°C to 41°C. – Humidity Ha Giang is one of the regions with high humidity in most seasons of the year, with an average annual humidity of 77-88%, the lowest average monthly humidity is 71% in March 1986 and April 2012 recorded at Hoang Su Phi Station. The highest humidity is 99% in October 1997. High humidity occurs in the last months of summer (July and August). – Sunshine The average annual sunshine hours for the period 1981-2019 in the province are about 1,586 hours, the year with the most sunshine is 1981 with 2,241 hours recorded at Ha Giang Station, and the year with the least sunshine is 2011 with 1,104 hours recorded at Bac Quang Station. In the year, the months with the most sunshine are July and August with up to 348.6 hours in September 2010. The months with the least sunshine are January and February with only 10.6 hours in January 2013. – Wind The main wind direction in Ha Giang depends on the topography of the valleys, the wind in the valleys is usually weak with an average speed of about 1-1.3 m/s, in which July and August are the months with the highest wind speed: from 20 m/s (Hoang Su Phi Station) to 35 m/s (Bac Me Station). – Rain The rainy season lasts from May to the end of September, and the dry season starts from October to April of the following year. The annual rainfall fluctuates very strongly compared to other meteorological factors, the minimum and maximum values of rainfall can differ by two to three times. In terms of space, the annual rainfall for the period 1990-2019 in the area fluctuates within 1,200-4,600mm, in which the largest rainfall center is Bac Quang area, according to the observation results of rainfall at Bac Quang Station, the average annual rainfall for the period 1961-2019 is about 4,551mm, is one of the large rainfall centers in the area, in 1971 the largest annual rainfall reached 6,366mm. The most rainfall occurs in June and July. The locality with the largest rainfall is Bac Quang District with up to 1,429mm in a month, and the least rainfall is Hoang Su Phi District with only 24.2mm in a month. In addition, Ha Giang Province also has drizzle phenomenon (32 days/year) but is less directly affected by typhoons. However, in the rainy season, it is easy to cause flash floods, tube floods, and hail, which significantly affect the life and activities of the local people.