Hang Phuong Hoang

Useful Information

Location:	Hang Phuong Hoang, Thai Nguyen. 40 km from Thái Nguyên city. National highway 1B km 42. (21.779442, 106.117839)
Open:	no restrictions. [2022]
Fee:	free. [2022]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Hang Phuong Hoang, Phú Thượng, Võ Nhai, Thái Nguyên, Vietnam. Mo Ga Stream, Phú Thượng, Võ Nhai, Thái Nguyên, Vietnam, Tel: +84-91-604-03-88.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1994	listed as National Heritage Site.

Description

photography — **Hang Phuong Hoang** (Phoenix Cave), Vietnam. Public Domain.

Hang Phuong Hoang (Phoenix Cave) is one of the largest caves in Vietnam. It has four chambers with stalactites and stalagmites, two of them have some light from outside through holes in the ceiling. About 150 m from the entrance the water filled part of the cave starts. The cave river vanishes in a swallow hole and reappears at the foot of the hill. This is the most popular cave in the province and has staircases with railing but no electric light.

From some distance the mountain shape resembles two laying phoenixes and is thus called Phoenix mountain. The name of the cave is based on a legend how they were formed.

A couple of phoenix used to inhabit the mountain, the male bird was hunting while the female took care of the eggs. But the male met another female and they flew off together. When he regretted his betrayal he returned to the mountain but the female had turned into stone. He waited on the opposite mountain for her to turn back but after some time he also turned into stone.

A couple phoenixes flew days and nights but were unable to find a place for their nest. Hungry and thirty they finally found a stone trough full of water at the entrance of a cave. They stayed in the cave for a long time and finally got old. One day the male bird dragged into the cave and died. When his wife returned she could not find her husband, so she flew to the top of the mountain and waited until she finally died and turned into stone.

Not a legend, but history is the story about the uprising of Bac Son-Vo Nhai against the French colonialists. On 27-NOV-1944, militias and 373 local families brought a battalion of French soldiers to their knees. Using rather primitive weapons such as flintlocks, scimitars, stone traps and grenades, they inflicted heavy damage.

Another highlight nearby is the Suối Mỏ Gà (Mo Ga Stream). It is the resurgence of the cave river at the foot of the mountain, and also a popular bathing spot with a parking lot. From here a zigzag path leads up to the cave, while it is only about half a kilometer long it ascends some 300 m. You should allow an hour for the ascent.