The Đồng Văn Palace, surrounded by trees, sits on a slight rise within its valley
A closer shot at a different time of year
In the neighbouring valley a gherkin shaped
karst
This page shows a little of the immediate neighbourhood of the
Đồng Văn Palace
hidden in the folds of the hills in the north of Hà Giang Province. First some shots to show the countryside and dramatic hill shapes, then pictures of local people including the bee keepers who are camped nearby. To start the page, on the right, a photograph of more modern workers - tending to the power lines.
Power line workers
Those workers through the inescapable ubiquitous cables
Neighbouring valley and its school
Along the roads of Hà Giang bundles, such as the ones
in the pictures below, taken near to the Palace, often
appear as wayside stooks, which on approach move off
Bundles on the road...
...begin to move...
...and emerge as people with loads
And here is the woman, seen in the pictures above, when we passed her
This bee-camp is situated directly under a triangular karst
A bee-keeper removing a frame from the hive. The bees are so docile he does not need gloves to brush them off the frame
Inside a (partially!) bee-proof tent where the frames are centrifuged
Camped beside the road the bee-keepers can trade directly from their base. When local flowers are over, the camp is moved to a new location
The frames are cleared of surplus wax, then slotted into the centrifuge which is spun by hand. The honey is collected...
These honey bees in Vietnam are smaller and redder than the
Apis mellifera
of Western Europe
Back by the Palace locals wait watching other visitors arriving; the more affluent man in a suit is less patient in his waiting
...and fed to watching visitors, who then naturally cannot resist buying some at about £15 for a litre
The Palace sits on a slight rise with steps leading up to it from the village square. This area is now packed with stall holders eager to sell to visitors. But it is still small scale and relaxed and many are happy to just watch and exchange a 'hello'.
Under the Palace wall clothes dry and other children also watch
Steps lead up to the gate in the outer wall of the Palace. The buildings in beyond the courtyard can be seen - they are introduced
on another page
The grave
of the last king who was buried here in 1962. Graves in Vietnam often have photographs of their occupants
The simple steps which lead into the Palace
The next page
goes on a second visit into the Palace, this time introducing the great grand-daughter of the last king; she now assists visitors in understanding something of the local history.
The last page was about the river and estuary beside Kirkcudbright
The first page on the Đồng Văn Palace
A page on the market in Đồng Văn Town
