Sung Village

About the community

Hoa Binh Province is one of the cradles of ancient Vietnamese culture. With sweeping mountainous landscapes and rich culture, this province is sits at the entrance to the Northwest region of Vietnam and is home to Sung village.

The Dao Tiền community in this 300-year-old village get their name ‘Tiền’ from the coins attached to their traditional clothing. Outfits feature careful embroidery, deep indigo fabric and intricate patterns printed with hot beeswax. They believe that wearing an outfit embroided with stylized dogs, eight-petal flowers and decorating with coins brings luck and helps avoid ghosts when going to the forest.

Dao Tiền are a sub-group of the Dao ethnic group who mainly live in mountainous Northern provinces.

AoCBT’s involvement

Community-based tourism was introduced to Sung Village in 2017, with the support of Action on Poverty. The village began welcoming guests in April 2017 and now more than 50 households benefit from tourism. The village has three homestays, guided tours, performing arts, textile workshops and transports. All these activities have created jobs and increased income for the locals.

What to do

Sung Village is good location to unwind and relax. Enjoy the local cuisine such as pork, steamed sticky rice, vegetables, and grilled fish, always prepared with fresh ingredients and thoughtfully presented.

Explore Dao textiles & culture through Dao traditional costumes. Textiles are still handmade in Sung Village using traditional dyeing and embroidery techniques. Visit Mrs. Tien’s house where the embroidery group sells garments, bags and wall hangings, or come during the indigo season (between August and December) to watch the local women dye the cloth in huge vats of natural indigo.

Relax with Dao herbal bath, a natural health remedy used by the Dao ethnic group to promote circulation and general well-being. The warm bath is ‘brewed’ from a mixture of herbs and medicinal plants. Delightful little round wooden tubs set in a private room will give guests a restorative moment after outdoor activities.

Join a workshop to see the stages of making Do paper, a type of paper from the bark of the Do tree, made by a hand following a process passed down through generations in Sung Village. In the past, the Dao Tien people often used Do paper to take notes and to burn when worshiping.

There are also several stunning trekking routes around Sung Village. Travellers can trek to neighbouring Da Bia village weaving through rice fields while soaking up magnificent views of Hoa Binh Lake, or venture to nearby Sung Cave.

Where to stay

1. Shared accomodation

Sung Village currently has three homestays, each owned and maintained by a family from the community. These homestays were built and renovated based on the traditional house of the Dao people, with palm leaf roofs, wooden beds, and reading lights arranged at each bed. Visitors can sleep in single wooden beds with clean, comfortable linens and fresh towels, mattresses, and pillows. Every bed has a mosquito net and curtains that can be closed for extra privacy. Each homestay has about 12 beds.

Homestays in Sung village have water heaters and Wi-Fi. The bathrooms are separated from the main accommodation and from the hand washing area. There are no bathtubs, only showers available.

2. Private rooms

Sung Village offers thoughtfully upgraded private guest rooms that maintain local charm while enhancing comfort:

• Ms. Tiên’s house offers a warm family atmosphere, private space, and sweeping valley views—perfect for those seeking both connection and quiet.

• Hằng Quỳnh homestay features two bed-rooms, lush garden, natural light, and wood-finished interiors, ideal for couples, group of friends or nature lovers/workcation guests.

• Tài Lan homestay offers newly built stone-and-earth rooms with family-friendly layouts, bunk-style beds, and forest views—ideal for groups or parents with children.

Each home reflects the owner’s personality and dedication to authentic, community-based hospitality.
👉 Explore Tiên’s house
👉 Discover Hằng Quỳnh Homestay

When to go

Dry & cold season lasts from November to April. During the cooler months temperatures can drop to 12 °C.

Hot & humid season lasts from May to October. Temperatures during the hottest periods can reach up to 38-39 °C, however the average temperature for the district is 23.5°C.

Indigo season: between August and December is the best time to come if you would like to see local women dye cloth in natural indigo.

The district is situated in a subtropical monsoon climate and has two distinct seasons. During the rainy season flash floods often occur.

How to get there

1. Private Transfer
Door-to-door service from Hanoi to Sung Village.
Please contact us for a quote (price depends on group size and vehicle type). This is the most convenient and time-saving option, especially for families or small groups.

2. By Carpooling:
Carpool from Hanoi to Sung Village for around 650,000 VND/person (by 4–7 seater cars, operated by locals without any application). Advance booking required—we can assist.

Please note: As Sung is a remote area, transport demand is very limited and may cost more than to mainstream destinations.

3. By Public Bus (not recommended)
Take a bus from My Dinh Station (Hanoi) to Hoa Binh City (~2 hours, every 15 mins, ~60,000 VND/person, look for “Xe Bình An – Hòa Bình”). Then transfer to a bus from Hoa Binh City to Cao Son Commune (~1 hour, every 30 mins, ~35,000 VND/person, look for “Xe 07 Thung Nai – Cao Sơn”). From Cao Son, take a motorbike taxi (~12 km, around 250,000 VND/person).

While this is the cheapest option, it requires multiple transfers and can be time-consuming and tiring.

Let us know your preference—we’re happy to help arrange the most suitable transport for your journey.

Indigenous groups

The Dao people originated from China, and their migration to Vietnam started in the 12th and 13th centuries and lasted until the first half of the 20th century. The Dao ethnic group mainly resides in mountainous Northern provinces such as Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, and Lang Son. The Dao includes many sub-groups known by various names, such as Kiem Mien, Kim Mun, Kim Man, Bieo Mun, Liao Man, Du Mien, Diu Mien, and Yiu Mien. Sung village is inhabited with a majority of Dao Tiền sub-group. Tiền means money, or coin, and originates from the coins attached to their costumes.

The Dao Tien is the only Dao group that wears skirts embroidered with the images of coins. They also use coins to decorate their traditional clothing. The clothing of the Dao Tien is carefully embroidered working from the back side of the cloth. Traditional Dao Tien clothing comprises indigo fabric, with patterns created using beeswax. Dao Tien women use heated beeswax to print patterns, then embroider images of plants, animals and human figures onto their clothing. They believe that wearing an outfit embroidering stylized dogs and eight-petal flowers and decorating with coins when going to the forest would help avoid ghosts and have much luck.

Dao language belongs to the Mong-Dao group. Dao people have long used Chinese writings (but pronounced in the Dao way) called Nom Dao. In Sung Village, elderly people have been organizing Dao language classes to teach the children the Dao language from very old books and teach the young women to sing traditional Dao songs.

The Dao follows the polytheistic belief influenced by Confucius and orthodox Taoism. Confucius influence is clearly revealed in the hierarchal family structure. At the same time, the influence of Taoism covers most of the customs and practices of ancestor worship. Sorcerers are important people in the Dao group, and sorcerers must be able to read and write the Dao language.

General information

Population: 383 people, 78 households

Area: 7,280,000 sqm

Climate: Da Bac District is situated in a subtropical monsoon climate and has two distinct seasons. The dry and cold season lasts from November of the previous year to April of the following year, the hot and humid season lasts from May to October. The district’s average temperature is 23.5°C, the highest temperature is about 38-39 °C, the lowest temperature is 12 °C. The average rainfall is 1,570 mm/year, most of which arrives from May to September. 

Most of the communes in Da Bac District are affected by the hot, dry westerly wind, which arrives from June to September, for a period of two or three days for an average of 5-10 days a year. During the rainy season flash floods often occur, destroying roads, crops, and wet rice fields.