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
Pang Xi and Guo Si, the warlords controlling the Han central government and the figurehead Emperor Xian. However, Ma Teng lost the battle and both Liu Fan and Liu Dan were killed. At the time, as Pang Xi was a family friend of Liu Yan, he turned to his network of friends for help in helping Liu Fan and Liu Dan's families escape from Chang'an (the imperial capital under Li Jue and Guo Si's control) and bringing them safely to Yi Province, thus preserving Liu Yan's posterity. Following Liu Yan's death later in 194, his youngest son Liu Zhang succeeded him as