1. Introduction of Sapa ancient stone church

Sapa ancient stone
church is located in the center of Sapa town, on a high ground at the foot of
Ham Rong mountain and has an area of ​​about 6,000m2. In front of the church is
a very large square, entertaining place for local people, it is also the place
where many meaningful and unique cultural activities, ethnic festivals are held.

The Man Coi Church, so
called stone church or ancient stone church are the names that tourists and
people often use to call this architectural work.

According to
historical records, Sapa ancient stone church was designed and built by the
French in 1935. This is a building built of stone and considered the only
imprint intact of the French on the land of Sapa.

It, together with the
land and people of Sapa, experienced the ups and downs of history and witnessed
the change of the city. Despite undergoing restoration, the church still
retains its inherent beauty.

Stone church viewed from the square

2. How to reach Sapa ancient stone church

From Hanoi, you can go
to Sapa ancient stone church in many ways. Firstly, take a train from Hanoi to
Lao Cai, it takes about 8 hours equivalent to a night's sleep. You should
choose a trip at 8-10pm, get on a train and sleep, and around 5-6am the next
morning you will be in Lao Cai. Then you catch a bus from Lao Cai station to Sapa
(40km).

You can also travel by sleeper buses with
ticket price of about 200,000 VND, usually depart at 7am and 9pm, it takes
about 6 hours. You will arrive at the center of Sapa without transshipment and
also enjoy the view along the way.

Also if you want to experience
and discover you can go by motorbike or private car.

3. Beauty of Sapa ancient stone church

Hidden in the fog of
Sapa is a gorgeous and mysterious stone church, bearing the Roman Gothic
architecture - the design prevailed in France in the early twentieth century.
The church is made entirely of gray stone, bound together by a mixture of sand,
lime and molasses but extremely strong and firm. It is divided in to many areas:
church, angel house, priest's house, parish house, breeding house ... In which, the parish house is
parallel to the church, also has very outstanding beauty because it was built based
on French villa architecture.

Ancient beauty is imbued with Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is
shown through the roof arch, door arch, bell tower ... which are all pyramids,
giving the church a high-faluting and flowing beauty. The wall of the cross’s
wing is designed to create roughness that makes you feel like there is an
emulsion stone flowing down which adds to the natural beauty. The roof was
previously covered with lime and straw, now roofed with tiles.

Inside the ancient stone church of Sapa

Inside the church,
there are 7 rooms, about 200m2 per room, which are the places where activities
and rituals of Catholicism take place. The interior is decorated, arranged
according to the prototype of a Catholic cathedral.

The most outstanding
point in the church is 32 stained-glass panels installed throughout the
windows. Each stained glass is a beautiful picture such as image of Duc Me Man Coi, saints, Jesus ...

Stained glass windows with unique paintings are the highlight

Not only help to light
up the cathedral with fanciful light, it also has a unique and strange beauty. In
the ancient and quiet space, the windows with colored paintings make the scene
more lively and enchanting.

Thanks to the stained glass panels, the space of the church is very
fanciful and attractive

The church bell tower
is 20m high, inside the tower is a bell with the height of 1.5m and weight of 500kg
casted since 1932. The sound of the bell can cover a radius of 1km , each time
the bell rings, the wide sky of the highland also sings together.

Around  the church, there are also ancient villas in
French architectural styles such as the Master Bridge (Hoang Lien Hotel) and
the old committee district (headquarter of Lao Cai Tourism Information Center).
Each building has a unique beauty.

Ethnic minorities are
busy with their own business in front of the church

Guests can visit the church on all weekdays to feel the
ancient but equally splendid space. The wide yard in front of the church often
has ethnic people coming for trading. In particular, every Saturday and Sunday,
the quiet beauty here will be replaced by the bustling atmosphere of the love
market held in the square in front of the church. This is a prominent activity,
cultural space and a place to exchange and interact with ethnic people here and
is also something that tourists cannot ignore when visiting the Sapa ancient
stone church.