Apples in French Indochina: Chapa (Sa Pa) – The Phantom Hill Station in Vietnam
In looking at pictures of the former French colonial hill station of Sa Pa/Sapa (formerly called Chapa by French colonizers), Shangri-La comes to mind. But James Hilton’s 1933 novel of that name likely took place in the Nepalian Himalayas, not in the highlands of northern Vietnam. A little taste of paradise, that’s what Sa Pa might have represented to French colonizers longing for the cool breezes of Normandy or the crisp fall days in Burgundy. Sa Pa also meant, though, […]
Categories: Apples, Asia, France, French Cooking, Local foods, Vietnam • Tags: Apples, Cat Apples, Culinary History, David Burton, Erica Peters, Food History, French Armed Forces, French colonial empire, Hmong people, Luke Nguyen, Sa Pa, Vietnam
