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- The Kingdom of Orchirds: The first thing you notice when approaching the resort town are some detached wooden mansions and villas perched on a hill top or hillside, behind thick pine forests and almost invisible on this foggy morning. Sapa was first discovered by the French in late 19th century. It soon became famous in Indochina for its ideal climate. In colonial times French officials from Hanoi the port city of Haiphong and Hai Duong used to flock to Sapa in summer to escape the unbearable tropical heat in the low-lying land. At that time some 200 detached cottages and villas were built for French colonialists. The most imposing villas were that of the Sixth Bureau, the Governor General and the Metropole hotel, a subsidiary of the Metropole in Hanoi. Time passed with the ups and downs of the nation's history, and now there remain only dozen or so villas. Yet even the existence of this small number of villas can attract keen interest from architecturally minded visitors for their gothic style of architecture with the gracefully curved entrance gates resembling the myth-filled ancient castles of European countries. Situated at an altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level, Sapa is as cool in summer as the low-lying land below in autumn, Even on sunny days, you have to wear warm clothes in the morning and cover up with thick blankets in bed at night. With no advance warning of a thunderstorm short and heavy rains may come at noon on any summer day. Subsequently a rainbow, transforming Sapa into a magic land, which for years has been a constant source of poetic inspiration, lights up the whole region. Sapa is home to various families of flowers of captivating colors, which can be found nowhere else in the country. When Tet, the Lunar New Year Festival, comes, the whole township of Sapa is filled with the pink color of peach blossom brought from the vast forests of peach just outside the town. Sapa is regarded as the kingdom of orchids. Here, orchid lovers are even amazed by the choice, when trekking in the forest filled with several hundred kinds of orchids of brilliant colors and fantastic shapes, such as Orchid Princess, Orchid of My Fair Lady's Shoe. Some orchids are named after lovely singing birds such as the canary. Salangane's Nest, and more. Not only flowers, but also fruit gardens make Sapa so ideal as a mountain resort town in northern Vietnam second only to Dalat mountain resort town in the Central Highlands. Visitors to Sapa in summer cannot fail to sample some yellow peach, whose origins go back to Yuannan in China. The sweet taste of Tan Van plum and pearl is found only in the Sapa forests. From time immemorial Sapa has been known near and far for its valuable medicinal herbs the vast preserve of which almost remained untapped. - Fansipan Mountain L ocated 7 km from Lao Cai along the Hoang Lien Son Mountains, Fansipan Mountain is southwest of Sapa. It takes six or seven days to reach the peak of Fansipan, the highest peak of the Indochina Peninsula, at 3,143 m.The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950 - 1,000 m), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain. Approximately 1,680 plant species divided into 679 families are found on the mountain.
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