Impressive bends on Happiness Road

The 4C highway from Ha Giang town through Quan Ba, Yen Minh to Dong Van rock plateau is especially attractive to tourists with its bends. 

Highway 4C with 185 km in length through the rocky plateau of Dong Van, Ha Giang is named Hanh Phuc (Happiness). This is the road which was formed by the effort and even the blood and bones of thousands of young volunteers from the 50s – 60s of the 20th century.

Impressive Happiness Road

For adventurous travellers and those who love exploring the highlands, Hanh Phuc Road is a special journey. The towering passes like Bac Sum, Cong Troi (Heaven Gate), Can Ty, Mau Due will bring them to cloudy Lung Cu, and especially the famous wall Ma Pi Leng, which will be always worthy for their effort.

Leaving peaceful Ha Giang city with the Km 0 landmark of Highway 2 to conquer the Hanh Phuc road on the rocky plateau, after 20 miles of relatively flat road is the Heaven Gate Pass. Standing on the peak of Heaven Gate, tourists will see Tam Son town in the heart of the valley, with villas and beautiful houses stretching to the foothills. The Quan Ba mount, which is in the shape of a young girl’s breast, looks striking amid the Tam Son vast field.

Impressive Happiness Road

Riding a motorbike through passes and hills, tourists will see peaceful scenes in the valleys. The villages of the highland ethnic groups in Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, Meo Vac have changed. People have no longer grown poppies but corn on the arid rock.

Dong Van Plateau is not only a geological park of the world, but also a land containing the typically historical evidence of upland people of Ha Giang province. Before the Hanh Phuc Road was built, Quan Ba was separated to the plains by the Heaven Gate pass.

Impressive Happiness Road

Located adjacent to Hanh Phuc road and 14 km from Dong Van town today is evidence of the Wang clan. The King of H’Mong people Vuong Duc Chinh was the first who ruled the ethnic minorities here.

Commercial exchange between the H’mong King with the North is clearly shown in the architecture of the residences of Vuong family. The whole building is surrounded by stone walls of over 1m thick, with the height of 2.5 to 3 m. A huge volume of rare wood and blue stones was used to build this massive work.

When the Nho Que River is completely hidden under the canyon, Meo Vac town appears. The lives of the people in the North-most region of the country are still very poor but the bud of "happiness" is blossoming on the stones.

ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA would like to recommend Motorcycling West to East Northern Vietnam tour.This motorcycling trip reveals a different route to get from Son La to Thac Ba. It offers adventurous riders stunning scenery and great tribal culture exploration. The route is not yet popular thus you do not share the roads with other tourist but mainly share the roads with the locals who are on their Honda to the farm. The perfect itinerary and the support crew ensure you get the most out of the trip in terms of comfort, enjoyment and adventure.

Highlights: 

• Stunning scenery
• Challenging roads
• Thac Ba Reservoir
• Colorful ethnic minorities