New Boarding School Blends Hmong and Dao Textile Colors Ahead of Opening

From above, Mường Khương Primary and Lower Secondary Boarding School looks like an open notebook, with the distinctive textile colors of Hmong and Dao communities integrated into its architecture.

The school in Mường Khương Commune, Lào Cai Province, is scheduled to serve as the central location for Vietnam’s nationwide ceremony marking its inauguration and the start of the 2026-2027 school year on September 5. Lào Cai will also open boarding schools in the border communes of Pha Long, Y Tý and A Mú Sung.

The campus covers nearly five hectares and includes nine coordinated buildings for classes, daily life and boarding accommodation. It can serve 980 students and received an initial investment of 215 billion Vietnamese dong. Principal Mông Thị Duyên said preparations for the ceremony and the new school year were largely complete, and nearly all students arrived on August 28.

The school’s design draws on the cultural identity of the region’s Hmong and Dao communities. Textile motifs and the colors of traditional clothing appear throughout the modern buildings. The sports grounds imitate a highland market, adding another local feature to the campus.

The school has prepared accommodation, meals and daily routines so students can settle into boarding life. It is also organizing performances and clubs focused on Hmong, Bố Y, Nùng and Pa Dí folk singing, along with Dao embroidery. Duyên said students had adapted easily to the new environment and that parents felt pleased and reassured when bringing them to the school.

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Parents feel pleased and reassured when they bring their children to school. Although the students are studying and living in a completely new environment, with unfamiliar teachers and classmates, they adapt very easily and are friendly. Many do not feel homesick because they are studying and living in a beautiful, new and spacious school.