| Photo Information |
Copyright: Andrew Ooi (andrewooi)
![Silver Note Writer [C: 4 W: 0 N: 37]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/n-n-s.gif) (202) |
| Genre: Places |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2008-03-05 |
| Categories: Daily Life |
| Exposure: f/8, 1/250 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2008-04-07 0:33 |
| Viewed: 772 |
| Points: 2 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
A photo of Cat Cat Village, 3km south of Sapa, Vietnam. Cat Cat village is the home of H’mong Ethic, the biggest ethnic group in Nothern Vietnam. Due to its proximity to Sapa town and the relatively easier treks, Cat Cat village is the most popular ethnic village to be visited by tourists visiting this region of Vietnam.
Sa Pa District is located in Lao Cai Province, north-west Vietnam, and 350km's north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China. The Hoang Lien Son range of mountains dominates the district, which is at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas. This range includes Vietnams' highest mountain, Fan si pan, at a height of 3142m above sea level. 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 (as seen in this photo) with occasional snowfalls in winter (last snowfall recorded in year 2000).
This quiet mountain town is home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. The total population of 36,000 consists mostly of minority groups. Besides the Kinh (Viet) people (15%) there are mainly 5 ethnic groups in Sapa: Hmong 52%, Dao 25%, Tay 5%, Giay 2% and a small number of Xa Pho. Approximately 7,000 live in Sapa, the other 36,000 being scattered in small communes throughout the district.
Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. Their staple foods are rice and corn. Rice, by its very nature of being a labour intensive crop, makes the daily fight for survival paramount. The unique climate in Sapa has a major influence on the ethnic minorities who live in the area. With sub-tropical summers, temperate winters and 160 days of mist annually, the influence on agricultural yields and health related issues are significant.Geology, climate and human activity have combined to produce a range of very distinct habitats around Sa Pa.
The 3 lines running towards the village as seen in this photo could be electrical power lines / telephone lines to the school, not to the homes, as Hmong live their life without the luxury of electricity at home, as told to me by my tour guide. |
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