Situated in Yen Bai, the northeastern province about 300km from Hanoi, Mu Cang Chai lies at the foot of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. There, in deep valleys surrounding the mighty Red River, you’ll see layer upon layer of stunning vertical rice terraces on the steep sides of imposing mountains. These agricultural works of art, the result of centuries of hard work, were ingeniously designed by ancient tribes to control the downward flow of water. In Mu Cang Chai, there are about 2,200 hectares of these rice terraces, 500 of which were named as national heritage sites by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2007.