Sa Pa welcomes nearly 50,000 visitors during National Day holiday
Sa Pa district in the northwestern province of Lao Cai welcomed 47,000 visitors from August 30 to September 2 during the National Day holiday, 15,000 more than the same period last year.
Lao Cai (VNA) – Sa Pa district in the northwestern provinceof Lao Cai welcomed 47,000 visitors from August 30 to September 2 during theNational Day holiday, 15,000 more than the same period last year.
According to Do Trong Nguyen, head of the Office of Culture andInformation of Sa Pa district, of the total, 3,100 were foreigners and 43,900were Vietnamese.
Nguyen attributed the rise to the ongoing Sa Pa Autumn Festival that runsfrom September 1 until October 30 with various activities, including a photoexhibition, a street festival and activities to explore the culture of Mong,Tay and Xa Pho ethnic minority groups.
Located 350kmnorthwest of Hanoi, Sa Pa is 1,600m above sea level, with average temperaturesof 15-18°C. The town is dominated by the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, whichis home to Indochina’s highest mountain of Fansipan at a height of 3,142m abovesea level.
Sa Pa has manynatural scenic sites such as Ham Rong Mountain, Thac Bac (Silver Waterfall),Cau May (Rattan Bridge), Bamboo Forest and Ta Phin Cave. The hill town is hometo six main ethnic minority groups, including Kinh, Hmong, Dao, Tay, Day and XaPho with various traditional festivals and unique cultural practices.
Currently, Sa Pa hasnearly 500 accommodation facilities with some 6,000 rooms for about 13,000tourists. Homestays in villages have also become attractive to visitors.-VNA
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By source market, China continued to lead with 3.1 million visitors, equivalent to 25.5% of all foreign arrivals. The Republic of Korea followed with 2.5 million, or 20.7%. Other major markets included Taiwan (China) with 737,000, the US with 522,000, and Japan with 380,000.
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A view of Sa Pa town (Photo: VNA) 
