Yen Bai - Mystique of the Tea Forest

Yen Bai (Yên Bái) is a mountainous province in North Vietnam, often considered as the gateway to the Northwest region of Viet Nam. The province consists of large rivers and three grand mountain ranges that start low in the Southeast area and ascend as it approaches the Northwest.

The mountain range Hoang Lien Son (Hoàng Liên Sơn) and Pu Luong (Pú Luông) lies in the west between the Da river (Sông Đà) and red river (Sông Hồng), and on the other side the Elephant mountain which is sandwiched between the red river and Chay river (Sông Chảy) Since the landscape consist mainly of mountain ranges next to rivers, this makes the geology of the land somewhat hard to analyze.

Similarly to the majority of the mountainous area in the North, Yên Bái is a collective of many different tribes. Among them the densest populace belongs to the Tay, Dao and H’mong... the diversity of it all creates this colorful mix of cultures that somehow coexist in harmony, attracting the curious eyes of researchers and visiting tourists.

Over 60% of the province is at elevations 600m above sea level, with a high amount of rainfall, high humidity level, sharp shifts in the weather and abundance of water from the rivers.

With its own unique features, Yên Bái can be split into two climate regions, with the dividing line being the red river.

Tea forest in Yen Bai also exists in seclusion as it spends hundreds of years hiding behind the almost mystical mist of the region. It has also been cultivated and cared for on a daily basis by the H’Mong to create their signature yellow tea with a dew-like smell and a comforting light taste like a sunny forest walk.

These days, Shan tea takes up 2003ha of land, cultivating upward to 5197 tonne at its peak. The majority of these lands are focused in the province of Van Chan (Văn Chấn), Tram Tau (Trạm Tấu) and Mu Cang Chai (Mù Cang Chải).

The west region of Yen Bai has an elevation of 700m, lying between a clear divide between the mountains and valleys are the elderly tea forests. The region here receives a lot of sunlight and limited amounts of rainfall. But as elevation increases, the rare tem- perature drop can happen to areas above the 1000m elevation mark as they experience freezing.

Tea forests at Tram Tau for the most part lie next to the Nhi Village (Làng Nhì) and extend to the Ta Chu Village (Tà Chữ) at Phing Ho (Phình Hồ), spreading out randomly among the white mists at a height of 1000-1300m above sea levels.

Olden tea forests at Sung Do experiences particularly harsh weathers due to the dispar- ity in weather between the dry and rainy season, resulting in some bold flavours.

And among the notable ancient tea forest of Yen Bai, the most notable is the forest at Giang Pang at an elevation of 1400-1500m above sea level. These tree groupings with ancient trees have been around for 200-600 years.

This forest is actually considered to be the origin for the tea patches located around and below it in elevation, like the tea forests surrounding Chinh Gia hill (Chinh Gia) at Na Noi commune, situated at elevations 1000-1200m. This forest from the top will spread its seed down while weathering all sorts of climates as it continues to give birth to new generations.

“And among the notable ancient tea forest of Yen Bai, the most notable is the forest at Giang Pang at an eleva- tion of 1400-1500m above sea level. These tree groupings with ancient trees have been around for 200-600 years.”