Ha Tien - a remote region at the edge of the world.

Ha Tien, the southwesternmost land of Vietnam, was pioneered and developed by Mac Cuu (1655-1735) in the mid-17th century and further expanded by his son, Mac Thien Tich (1718-1780), into a vast region. At the end of the 17th century, Ha Tien city was a small but bustling and beautiful port town.

By the early 20th century, Ha Tien, in the writings of the cultural figure and poet Dong Ho, was a remote land, though situated at the edge of the world, that encompassed everything: the limestone mountains of Ninh Binh, the deep caves and treacherous grottoes of Lang Son, a touch of the stone chambers and mountain gates of Huong Tich, a bit of West Lake of Hanoi , a bit of the Perfume River of Hue, a bit of the temples of Bac Ninh, a bit of the sea and islands of Ha Long or Nha Trang… He wrote: “Here there is no grand or complete scene; here there are only small and charming scenes, yet every scene is present.”

Article by: Nam Hoa

Photos: Nguyen Quang Ngoc, Nam Hoa