In the late 19th century, the French colonial authorities in Vietnam made practical trips to some regions of minority ethnicities in the North. The first reconnaissance convoys were brought to Lao Cai province in 1898.
By 1903, the land title Sa Pa began to appear on the map of Vietnam. The name Sa Pa comes from "Sa Pa in H'Mong, pronounced in French to "Chapa" From there, "Chapa" became the name used by the French colonists for the town this plateau during the defense period.





In 1920, the Hanoi - Lao Cai railway entered operation, enabling hundreds of holiday villas to grow all over the market.
From the moment they first set foot, the French were impressed by the beauty of Sa Pa. At that time, there were many studies about Sa Pa, especially the "Resort" of Hautefeuille in the 1910 Eastern magazine with the writing: “I was completely enchanted from the very first trip to Sa Pa. The road to Sa Pa runs through the scenic area. Two-thirds of the way through the forest with rare beauty... The valley between Fansipan and Sa Pa plateau (aka Lo Sui Tung plateau) is as beautiful as the valley of the Pyrenees in Spain... ".



Sapa is located at the button point, the center of the village directions. It is a triangle of roads from the villages in the northern valley such as Ta Giang Phinh, Ban Khoang that passes to the southern villages such as Ban Ho, Sui Thu, Ta Van, Lao Chai and upwards, so Sa Pa is usually the place of meeting, meeting pity of the people here.





Let's admire the black and white pictures taken by the French people nearly a century ago, when this place is still as true as what the writer Nguyen Thanh Long used to describe, "quiet Sa Pa".