Pho Tro Village in Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam looks like a watercolor painting with its ethnic houses set around a clear emerald lake. 

Pho Tro is a small village on the outskirts of Pho Bang town in Dong Van District. Set amid the granite mountains of Sung La Valley, it is blessed with majestic beauty. Located in its center is the one-hectare Dragon Lake, which is cherished by locals because it has a constant, never-ending flow of water that is rare in highland areas.

Traditional ‘trinh tuong’ houses with yin-yang tiled roofs surround the lake. Created by the Tay and Nung ethnic people, these houses are built using a mixture of clay and mud. As spring approaches and peach and plum flowers begin to bloom, Pho Tro becomes even more beautiful.

Pear flowers blossom as spring arrives in Pho Tro Village.

Fences made of stone, representative of the Dong Van karst plateau, border Dragon Lake.

As part of a rural renovation program, Dong Van District chose Pho Tro for transformation into a village for tourism and cultural experience. The village now has a spacious headquarters and elementary school. Cemented pathways provide easy access to every house. Households got subsidies under the program to build bathrooms and toilets indoors.

A 'trinh tuong' house in Pho Tro.

The building materials and structure of this architectural style create a space that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Visitors can also find these houses in ethnic communities in other northern provinces like Lang Son and Lao Cai.

During this season rows of rapeseed flowers bloom against the stone fences in Pho Tro. The ideal time to visit the village and the Dong Van plateau in general is between February and mid-March.

Peach flowers stand out against moss-covered yin-yang roofs.

To reach Pho Tro Village, head down the small cement road near Pho Bang Market. The picture above shows the road leading to ancient town Pho Bang.