Yên Bái City: River Landscape, Culture and History

Yên Bái City lies on the left bank of the Red River. If you are looking for hotels in Yên Bái City, its historical and spiritual-cultural sites can help you decide what to focus on during your stay. The city brings together memorial sites from different periods of its history, along with pagodas, temples, the riverside landscape and a market with a diverse range of goods.

Riverside landscape along the Red River

Yên Bái’s riverside landscape includes riverbanks and alluvial plains, low hills, valleys, and streams running among the hills. Fields stretching along the river are also part of this landscape. Thus, the riverbanks and river areas sit alongside hills and valleys, while the fields follow the course of the river. The river also provides a geographical reference point for several historical sites in the city, including the Bến Âu Lâu Monument.

Memorial sites and history

An important memorial site commemorates Nguyễn Thái Học and those who fell in the 1930 Yên Bái uprising. It is located in the 30-hectare Yên Hòa Park in Nguyễn Thái Học Ward and commemorates Nguyễn Thái Học and the soldiers of the uprising. It was recognized as a national historical monument under Decision 177/QĐ-VHTT of March 5, 1990. The memorial site can be reached by road, rail or waterway.

Two other historical sites are located in Hồng Hà Ward. The Lễ đài Sân vận động Monument commemorates Hồ Chí Minh’s speech on September 25, 1958, to the workers and ethnic groups of Yên Bái. Nhà Kèn Flower Garden, also known as Yên Bái Provincial Capital Flower Garden, is associated with an earlier event: the provisional revolutionary committee of Yên Bái Province was established there on August 22, 1945. The two sites thus represent different points in time and events in local history.

The Bến Âu Lâu historical monument is located on the Red River. Its left bank is in Nguyễn Phúc Ward, and its right bank is in Âu Lâu Commune in Yên Bái City. On August 7, 2012, Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the monument as a national historical monument. Its connection to the river and its recognition as a national monument give this site a different historical and geographical focus from the memorial sites in the city wards.

Pagodas, temples and cultural traditions

The Bách Lẫm Pagoda and Temple complex preserves historical artifacts from the Sơn Vi culture. Worshippers, residents and travelers visit this spiritual-cultural site to explore it and learn about culture, history and faith. Bách Lẫm Pagoda also houses a stone stele titled “Thần Phật bi hậu ký.” It dates from 1908, the second year of the Duy Tân era. The artifacts and stele also make the site interesting to travelers who would like to learn about the city’s cultural heritage.

Ngọc Am Pagoda is a provincial monument and part of Yên Bái City’s religious and spiritual monument complex. It is located in Hồng Hà Ward. Reconstruction on the historic foundation was approved on April 22, 1996. This approval is part of the pagoda’s history; in itself, it does not indicate when the work was completed.

Tuần Quán Temple in Yên Ninh Ward is a provincial historical and cultural monument. Its festival takes place every year on the third day of the third lunar month. Residents and visitors from the province and beyond come to worship. Since the festival date is determined by the lunar calendar, you can check the specific date for your travel year before making plans.

Planning your stay

An international railway connection links Hải Phòng, Hanoi, Yên Bái, Lào Cai and Yunnan in China. The Red River flows downstream from Yên Bái to Hanoi and onward to the port of Hải Phòng. Upstream, the river reaches the Lào Cai international border crossing.

For a glimpse of the city’s range of goods, you can visit Yên Bái Market, also called Chợ Ga. Together with the riverside area and the historical and spiritual-cultural sites, it offers another perspective on the city. When looking for hotels for your trip, you can first consider whether you are most interested in local history, religious sites or everyday city life.

Discover more destinations: Yên Bình, Vũ Linh.

Return to the main travel overview: Yen Bai.