Tall mountains are a distin-guishing feature of Lang Son and the tallest, Mau Son (Mother Mountain), is pretty well the symbol of the northern border province.
Located 30 kilometers east of Lang Son Municipality, the 1,081-meter Mau Son was given official recognition as one of the country’s most magnificent mountains by King Tu Duc in 1850.
Standing on the summit, with the wind whistling up and the cloud floating down, the sky seems within hands’ reach and the panoramic and spectacular view is like a Chinese ink drawing.
Several large towns can be made out: Ninh Ming in China to the north, Na Duong to the east and Dong Dang to the west.
The narrow path up the mountain winds like a snake between two steep ridges. Some 70 years ago, people could reach the top by walking or horse riding. At that time, the French liked to go to Mau Son to enjoy the cool weather all year round.
A hundred years ago they began building a military base to guard the border, and the Dao people and the other locals were forced to leave their homes to make way. Only authorized personnel were permitted to enter the French base.
In January 1936, O. Pilot, a doctor and also a student of the famous bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin, went to Mau Son for the first time to collect medicinal herbs.
It seems the picturesque landscape cast a spell on the doctor, who gained permission from the French governor of the north to build a villa there.
Construction of Pilot’s holiday residence began that very first year and sparked a building frenzy among the French, who erected ever more villas on the mountainside using the local stone.
Nowadays the villas are covered in moss and half tumbling down, if not completely, but many people can still recall how the houses looked in their prime.
In recent years, many houses have been constructed on the old foundations and beside the mossy walls of the old villas, and the contrast between the old and modern architecture lends a complexity to the scenery.
Visitors now can stay at newly restored or new French-style villas, relax and enjoy regional dishes like roast duck, roast pig, khau nhuc (a pork dish), sour noodles and com lam (rice cooked in bamboo pipes) while indulging in the fresh breeze.
Don’t forget to try Mau Son wine, which is made by the local people using herbs unique to the area. Because it is distilled with the pure water from the mountain, Mau Son wine has a special, delicious taste.
In addition, Mau Son has long been known for its fragrant tea, made from buds plucked from the mountain’s vast tea fields.
Mau Son also boasts archaeological value. An excavation that began last year has unearthed thousands of artifacts and valuable relics, among them a temple and the Cu Thach catacombs and their rectangular graves topped by large stones piled together.
These graves are surrounded by solid stone walls, some of them natural and some man-made. Archeologists are still trying to date them.
Now, as winter is approaching, perhaps many people are planning a trip to Mau Son to catch a glimpse of snowfall. It doesn’t snow every year but it did in 2003.
Source: Saigon times
