Short answer: since 1 July 2025, the old Ha Giang province is part of a larger Tuyen Quang province, and the district level of government has been removed. The places, roads and the Loop itself are unchanged, and travellers still call the region “Ha Giang”. What changes is mostly the wording of addresses.
What happened
In June 2025 Vietnam’s National Assembly reorganised the country’s provinces. Under Resolution 202/2025/QH15, Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang were merged into one province named Tuyen Quang, effective 1 July 2025. At the same time, local government moved to two levels — province and commune/ward — so the old districts (Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Hoang Su Phi and others) no longer exist as administrative units.
Ha Giang city itself was split into three wards: Ha Giang 1, Ha Giang 2 and Ngoc Duong. Many former district towns became communes that keep the old name, so you will see “Dong Van commune” or “Meo Vac commune” where you used to see a town and a district.
What this means on the road
- Names on the map. Google Maps, booking sites and signboards are still catching up. You may see the old form (“Dong Van district, Ha Giang”) or the new one (“Dong Van commune, Tuyen Quang”) for the same place. Both lead you to the same spot; when in doubt, search by the name of the place, not the address.
- Buses and tickets. Bus companies still sell tickets to “Ha Giang”, meaning the town at the start of the Loop. That is where you want to go — not the city of Tuyen Quang, a different city more than 150 km further south.
- The Loop. Nothing on the ground moved. The route, the passes and the villages are the same; only the provincial name above them changed.
- Papers. Documents issued before the merger stay valid until they expire, and older vehicle plates remain in use. If you need a border-area permit or have questions about paperwork, see our page on licence, insurance & permits.
- Emergencies. The national numbers are the same everywhere: 113 police, 114 fire and rescue, 115 ambulance.
How we write names on this site
We use the region’s travel names — Ha Giang town, Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Hoang Su Phi — because that is what travellers, drivers and signboards use. Where an official name matters (for example for permits), we give the current one.