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Sa Pa pronunciation (help·info) or Sapa (Westernized spelling) is a frontier town and district in the Lào Cai province in northwest Vietnam. It is one of the main market towns in the area, where there lived many local trades such as H'mong, Dao and Tay.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Economy 4 Places of Interest 5 Local Culture highlights 6 References

The town of Sa Pa lies at about 1600 meters of altitude. The climate is moderate and rainy in summer (May—August), and foggy and cold with occasional snowfalls in winter.

It is most likely that Sa Pa was first inhabited by highland minorities of the Hmong and Yao groups, as well as by smaller numbers of Tày and Giay, these being the four main minority groups still present in Sa Pa district today. The Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) never originally colonised this highest of Việt Nam’s valleys, which lies in the shadow of Phan-Xi-Pǎng (Fansipan, 3143 meters), the highest peak in the country.

It was only when the French debarked in highland Tonkin in the late 1880s that Sa Pa, or Chapa as the French called it, began to appear on the national map. In the following decade, the future site of Sa Pa town started to see military parties as well as missionaries from the Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (MEP) visit. The French military marched from the Red River Delta into the northern mountainous regions as part of Tonkin’s ‘pacification’. In 1894-96 the border between China and Tonkin was formally agreed upon and the Sa Pa area, just to the south of this frontier, was placed under French authority. From 1891 the entire Lào Cai region, including Sa Pa, came under direct colonial military administration so as to curtail banditry and political resistance on the sensitive northern frontier.

The first permanent French civilian resident arrived in Sa Pa in 1909. With its attractive continental climate, health authorities believed the site had potential. By 1912 a military sanatorium for ailing officers had been erected along with a fully fledged military garrison. Then, from the 1920s onwards, several wealthy professionals with enough financial capital also had a number of private villas built in the vicinity.

At the end of the Second World War a long period of hostilities began in Tonkin that was to last until 1954. In the process, nearly all of the 200 or so colonial buildings in or around Sa Pa were destroyed, either by Việt Minh sympathisers in the late 1940s, or, in the early 1950s by French air raids. The vast majority of the Viet population fled for their lives, and the former town entered a prolonged sleep.

In the early 1960s, thanks to the New Economic Zones migration scheme set up by the new Socialist regime, new inhabitants from the lowlands started to migrate to the region.

The short 1979 occupation of the northern border region by Chinese troops had little impact on Sa Pa town, but did force the Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) population out for a month.

In 1993 the last obstacle to Sa Pa's full rebirth as a prominent holiday destination was lifted as the decision was made to open the door fully to international tourism. Sa Pa was back on the tourist trail again, this time for a newly emerging local elite tourist crowd, as well as international tourists.

In 2006, the Chairman of The People's Committee of Sapa Province was elected to The Communist Party Central Committee as the youngest ever member (born in 1973).

Before the 1990s, the town's economy was mainly based on small size agriculture.

Tourist arrival between 1995 and 2003 grew from a total of 4860 to 138,622. On average, this cohort is made of 79% Vietnamese and 21% foreigners.

• Sapa photo gallery
• Sapa church
• Cat cat waterfall
• Ham Rong peak with prehistoric sites

In times past, it was local culture that it was allowed to "cheat" on saturday night, at the "love market", where the pairing up for the night would be known by all, and anyone with an objection could speak out ...

The market is the actual market place which turned into an area for socialising during the evening.

While the "love market" has disappeared, there is still a market operating during the day. The locals will still attend to buy and sell goods.

There may be some re-enactment (up to a point) of the old traditions some times, perhaps as part of the stall operators own celebrations (wedding ,birthday,etc).

• Michaud, J. and S. Turner, 2006: Contending Visions of Sa Pa, A Hill-Station in Viet Nam. Annals of Tourism Research. Vol 33, no 3, 785-808.
• Michaud, J. and S. Turner, 2003: Tribulations d’un marché de montagne. Sapa, province de Lao Cai, Vietnam. Études rurales. n° 165-166, janvier-juin. 53-80.

Coordinates: 22°21′N, 103°52′E