Regional construction planning of Mu Cang Chai District, Yen Bai Province to 2030 and vision to 2050

Mu Cang Chai is a mountainous district in the extreme west of Yen Bai province. At an average altitude of 1000 meters above sea level, Mu Cang Chai is endowed with an enjoyable climate, a lot of mineral potential and untapped natural landscape. In contrast, the strongly divided terrain and limited infrastructure make Mu Cang Chai a "low-lying area". This leads to a paradox: Mu Cang Chai – a worldwide destination for its heritages of terraced fields and ancient rocky beaches - is also one of the 56 poorest districts in the country (according to Decision No. 275 / QD-TTg) with large development gap compared to neighboring districts and provinces. Therefore, local economic development is always considered as the top target in regional development strategies.

However, there are still many challenges that need to be addressed in order for Mu Cang Chai to achieve this goal. The complexity of geographic location and accessibility leads to difficulties in local operation and management, especially in the field of construction and urban development. The need for high-speed economic development in the context of industrialization and modernization threatens to lead to environmental trade-offs and ethnic community identities - which are irreversible values. The consequences that are increasingly evident after the rapid development of the tourist cities with similar characteristics such as Da Lat, Sa Pa, ... will most likely be the Mu Cang Chai problem that needs to be solved in the future. In addition, the almost irreversible progress of climate change and global warming, and unpredictable man-made impacts (such as upstream operations, external environmental incidents) territorial area) has been changing rapidly the natural conditions and regulations - which are the foundation of all territorial development activities.

Therefore, from the view of “sustainable poverty overcome” and “not developing at all costs”, it is vital for the ​​Mu Cang Chai District to develop a spatial master plan with a clear strategic vision attached to the target system and possible action plan. A long-term tourism-based development orientation will help the Mu Cang Chai District to promote at the same time the following components:

• A green economic ecosystem: organic agriculture associated with local specialties, green industry at small and medium scales, tourism services targeting niche markets;

• Identity and territorial marketing;

• Improve people's awareness and human resource quality, shorten development gaps;

• Conservation of landscape values, proactively responding to climate change.

With the above orientations, regional planning for Mu Cang Chai District to 2030 and vision to 2050 requires a specific development model, aiming to gradually approach the successful tourism development models in the world. This will be the basis for the implementation of socio-economic development programs, the management of urban-rural construction and development activities, as well as for attracting investment in the near future.