On the afternoon of 3/1, Van Cang, a tour guide with Du Lich Viet, concluded a Ha Giang tour, bringing guests back to the city. He stated that the trip's itinerary had to be significantly altered due to the overwhelming number of tourists at various attractions.
Upon arriving at Lung Cu Flagpole at 11h on 2/1, he explained that the entire group had to skip the site because they could not purchase electric car tickets to ascend the flagpole. The walking path consists of 1,000 steps, which many visitors found physically demanding, while hiring local motorbike taxis was difficult to manage for a group of over 30 guests.
"Fortunately, we decided to turn back early, otherwise we would not have had lunch until 14h-15h, and might have even had to skip the Nho Que River attraction entirely," he said.
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Lung Cu Flagpole on 2/1. *Photo: Hoang Dieu De*
Hoang Dieu De, another tour guide who also brought a group to Lung Cu Flagpole on 2/1, described the site as "beyond imagination in terms of crowd size, almost at full capacity." Many tour groups opted to turn back. De's group of 12 visitors walked the 1,000 steps to the summit, taking over 30 minutes.
On the morning of 3/1, the Nho Que River boat dock faced a similar "overwhelmed" situation to Lung Cu Flagpole. Do Thinh, a Ha Giang tour guide, reported hundreds of people surrounding the ticket booth for Nho Que River boat trips. Visitors had to wait almost an hour to purchase tickets, then queued for a similar duration to board a boat. "Many people, tired from waiting so long, simply turned back," Thinh stated.
On the morning of 3/1, the road leading to Nho Que River from Dong Van – Meo Vac, via Ma Pi Leng Pass (National Highway 4C) to Ta Lang boat dock in Ta Lang village, Pai Lung commune, experienced severe congestion. Travel was challenging, with long traffic jams stretching for about one km, as vehicles queued bumper-to-bumper. Motorbike taxi services operated continuously but could not meet the demand.
On 2/1 alone, over 6,000 tickets for Nho Que River boat tours were sold, with an even higher number sold on 3/1.
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Nho Que River boat dock on the morning of 3/1. *Photo: Hoang Dieu De*
Lo Lo Chai tourism village also welcomed a large number of visitors from the evening of 1/1. In Dong Van, a representative from the commune People's Committee reported that approximately 17,000 guests visited the old quarter during the three-day holiday. There were few issues regarding the tourist experience, except for one group from Ha Noi who accused a local restaurant of overcharging 1,200,000 VND for a hotpot meal.
Several accommodation owners also noted that many guests who had not booked rooms in advance were still calling late at night seeking lodging. Earlier, some social media accounts gained attention for sharing advice: "do not book rooms in advance for holidays in Ha Giang to avoid price gouging." In reality, accommodations at popular destinations like Lo Lo Chai were fully booked early, especially during the first two days of the New Year holiday.
Hoai Anh - Tuan Anh
