Move over White Christmas, welcome White Tet in Sa Pa

By Giang Chinh, Hoang Tung, Minh Tuan February 10, 2021 | 02:06 am PT

Just three days before Tet, the Fansipan, Vietnam's highest mountain in Sa Pa, was blanketed with snow for the first time this winter.

Needless to say, the tourists visiting the highest mountain in Vietnam, also known as the Roof of Indochina, were overjoyed. It began snowing at around 8:00 on the morning of Feb, 8 and it accumulated throughout the day. At the peak, temperatures dipped to minus 1 to 3 degrees Celcius. The cold temperatures combined along with moist air with 91 percent humidity to create this very rare occurrence in sub-tropical northern Vietnam. The above photograpsh shows the major spiritual and cultural complex on Hoang Lien Son mountain and the road to Fansipan covered in a thick layer of snow.

It began snowing at around 8 a.m. Monday. At the peak, temperatures dipped to minus 1 to 3 degrees Celcius. The cold temperatures combined with 91 percent humidity to create this rare occurrence in sub-tropical northern Vietnam.
The above photograph shows the major spiritual and cultural complex on Hoang Lien Son mountain and the road to Fansipan, known as the "Roof of Indochina", covered in a 30 cm layer of snow on Tuesday.

Since October 2020, Fansipan peak has experienced three frost periods, but this is the first time that it has snowed here this winter. Around a month earlier, there was some snowfall in other areas of the northernmost region in Vietnam, like the O Quy Ho peak in Lai Chau Province and in Y Ty Ward, Lao Cai Province. Visitors from Hanoi and other areas in the country have flock to Fansipan’s Heaven’s Gate to experience this level of snow, never seen in any other part of the country or region.

Since October 2020, Fansipan peak in Sa Pa Town of Lao Cai Province has experienced three frost periods, but this was the first time it snowed here this winter. Around a month earlier, there was some snowfall in other areas of the northernmost region in Vietnam, like the O Quy Ho peak in Lai Chau Province and Y Ty Commune in Lao Cai Province. Tourists flocked to Fansipan’s "Heaven’s Gate" to enjoy the snow.

The stair of a pagoda is now a smooth white blanket with a thickness of 30 centimeters.

The stair of a pagoda is a smooth white blanket with a thickness of 30 centimeters.

A stone dragon lining a set of stairs peers out from a snowy blanket.

The snow scenes on the mountain peak have captivated locals and visitors, especially near the recently built padoga complex.

The 32.8-meter Dai Hong Chung watchtower rises from an ocean of white.

The largest bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam, 20.5m tall at an altitude of over 3,000 meters above sea level, presents a mysterious, spiritual picture.

The largest bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam, 21.5 m tall at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, presents a mysterious, spiritual picture.

Hoang Tung (left) of Hanoi said: "It is not easy to move around because thick snow has covered the steps. Visitors should move very carefully to avoid accidents," he said.
While the snowcapped mountains and white valleys thrill visitors, some locals are ambivalent because their livestock and crops don’t take kindly to such unusually extreme weather.