Sa Pa 15th century and represent local cadastres. Then came the highland minorities of the Hmong and Yao. The township is one of the main market ones in the area, where several ethnic minority groups such as Hmong, Dao (Yao), Giáy, Pho Lu, and Tày live. These are the four main minority groups still present in Sa Pa district today. The Kinh (lowland Vietnamese) never originally colonised this highest of Việt Nam’s valleys, which lies in the shadow of Phan-Xi-Pǎng (Fansipan, 3143 m), the highest peak in the country. It was only when the French debarked in highland Tonkin in the late
Phan Khôi "Tràng An" (1934). In 1956, Phan Khôi led the "Nhân Văn" - "Giai Phẩm" movement in Hanoi, and he served as editor in chief as well as the publisher of the "Nhân Văn" (1956). He also contributed to the "Giai Phẩm" periodical and "Văn", a weekly publication. Some leading Vietnamese intellectuals in the north of the country, like Nguyễn Hữu Đang and Trần Đức Thảo (1917–1993), joined Phan Khoi to express their ideals in the "Nhân Văn - Giai Phẩm" Movement, demanding freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and democracy. They accused the Vietnamese Communist Party of violating the