Hekou

Hekou (河口) is a town in Yunnan, China and the administrative center of Hekou Yao Autonomous County. It is on the border with Vietnam, adjacent to Lao Cai.

There are two border crossings in Hekou, both of which appear to have the same name on the Chinese side (the signs says 中国河口 Zhongguo Hekou, i.e. "Hekou, China"):

• The 22.507592103.9636781 old border crossing is used primarily by pedestrians, although bicycles and motorcycles can cross the border here as well. Connecting the old downtown Hekou with downtown Lao Cai with a short bridge over the Nanxi River, it is the one more popular with foreign travelers. This is also where Vietnamese market vendors cross the border with their giant cargo bicycles. The border is open 8AM-11PM (7AM-10PM Vietnamese time).

• The 22.528043103.9412632 new border crossing, a few miles upstream from downtown, is more convenient for motor vehicles. It is heavily used by trucks and buses. The check point on the Vietnamese side is called Kim Thành (Cửa Khẩu Kim Thành).

The century-old narrow gauge railway from Kunming stopped passenger service in the early 2000s, and a new standard-gauge railway from Kunming opened in December 2014.

As of 2016, there are 5 pairs of trains (one of them, overnight) every day between Kunming and 22.532257103.9738573 Hekou North Station (河口北站).  (updated Jul 2017). One train continues beyond Kunming to Dali. (Current schedule, in Chinese). A train trip to Kunming takes 6-7 hours; the hard-seat fare is around ¥70.

As of 2016, the local authorities are literally moving mountains in order to construct a grand boulevard connecting the new Hekou North Station with the city. Until this project is completed, getting to the station involves driving on a winding back road across residential neighborhoods. Bus service from the station to downtown Hekou is available.

The old narrow-gauge 22.509024103.9641664 Hekou Station (河口站).  (updated Jul 2017) still stands near the railway bridge across the border river, even though there has been no passenger service there for many years. A train ticket office (selling tickets for all trains on China's national network) operates in a building across the street from that station.

If you want to come to Hekou by train from Vietnam, you can take a train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, and walk a few blocks from the 22.492262103.9783275 Lao Cai Railway Station (Ga Lào Cai).   to the border crossing. There is no cross-border passenger train service. (Narrow-gauge freight trains, however, still use the old railroad bridge; according to a warning sign, they mostly move at night).

22.535215103.9341636 Hekou Bus Station (河口客运站) (On China National Hwy 326, about 1.5 km NW from the new border crossing.). The new bus station is located in a new neighborhood on the NW side of town  (updated Jul 2017)

Buses run from various destinations within Yunnan, including a wild overnight sleeper from Kunming (¥109). Some connections, including Jinghong require you to change buses in Mengzi. The bus station is within walking distance of the border post, and Lao Cai is just across the bridge.

• 22.50857103.963641 Hekou Uprising Memorial Hall (同盟会河口起义纪念馆), No. 5 Renmin Road (inside the former Hekou Customs compound), ☏ +86 873 3426750. Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00; closed Mon. A small museum in the former Hekou Customs building, focusing on the 1908 Hekou Uprising and the town's role in China's early revolutionary movement. Exhibits include historical photographs, documents and objects connected with the uprising. Free.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 22.50887103.963452 Former Site of Hekou Customs (河口海关旧址), No. 2 Renmin Road (beside the China-Vietnam Railway Bridge). Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00; closed Mon. A late-19th-century former customs building constructed in a French-influenced style. Built during Hekou's development as a border trading port, it is now preserved as a provincial-level historic site and houses the Hekou Uprising Memorial Hall. Free.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 22.51235103.9593 Hekou County Museum (河口瑶族自治县博物馆), No. 94 Renmin Road, Hekou Town (inside the former Hekou Border Affairs Office compound). A local museum housed in the former Hekou Border Affairs Office, a French-style building dating from the late 19th century. Its permanent exhibitions cover Hekou's border history, the Yunnan–Vietnam Railway, ethnic cultures, farming settlements and historic boundary markers. Free.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 22.518029103.9538484 Chengguang Pagoda (承光塔), No. 34 Ruifeng Road (inside Hekou Port Forest Park). A pagoda inside Hekou Port Forest Park, set on a wooded hillside above the town. The surrounding park offers walking paths and elevated views over Hekou and the border area.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 22.5126103.96545 Nanxi River Scenic Area (南溪河风景名胜区), Nanxi Town (about 17 km north of central Hekou). 08:00-18:00. A tropical river-valley scenic area along the Nanxi River, with limestone gorges, rainforest vegetation, springs and historic sites. The area is also known for rafting and views of the border landscape.  (updated Oct 2026)
• 22.6691103.93976 Huayudong National Forest Park (花鱼洞国家森林公园), Nanxi Town (west of Provincial Highway 209). A tropical forest park in the Nanxi River area, known for dense vegetation, streams, springs and waterfalls. It is a quieter nature destination outside central Hekou and is suitable for short walks and forest sightseeing.  (updated Oct 2026)

Watch people crossing the border over the bridge at the old border crossing. Vietnamese traders use it to move produce and consumer goods on remarkable "cargo bicycles", likes of which you most likely won't see elsewhere (either in China or in Vietnam).

A large shopping district exists near the old border crossing. Signs in Vietnamese abound, as people from Vietnam come here to buy consumer goods that are cheaper in Hekou than in Vietnam.

There are also "Vietnamese specialties" shops near the new border crossing and the new bus station.

• 22.5097103.95761 Honghegu 1897 (红河谷1897), Beishan East-West Trunk Road, beside the fire station, ☏ +86 873 3426111. 07:30-24:00. A hotel with a restaurant, meeting facilities, parking and luggage storage.  (updated Oct 2026)

• 22.5204103.95541 Diannan Hotel (河口滇南大酒店), Beishan East-West Trunk Road, Hekou County (near Vietnam City and about 3.5 km from Hekou North Railway Station), ☏ +86 873 8870888. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. A mid-range hotel in the Beishan area with spacious rooms, an on-site restaurant, meeting facilities and a large parking area. It is convenient for travellers arriving by road or rail and is within a short drive of Hekou Port.  (updated Oct 2026)

When you leave the border office, ask the Chinese officials for a small guide with basic map of Hekou map and a glossary, if it is available.

Beware of helpful guys speaking English at the bus station, offer to sell bus/train tickets in Vietnam for triple their real price or exchange currency several times more expensive than in respectable places. Check prices and exchange rates in advance. Tickets can be bought easily at Vietnam side of border.

When crossing the border from Hekou to Vietnam, beware of Vietnamese border officers asking you to pay a bribe. If a bribe is not paid, the officers may give you a hard time.

• Vietnam - Night bus to Hanoi from Lao Cai. Costs about 350000 dongs. Very uncomfortable with loud music and no leg space. Train is much better option, but often need to be booked in advance.
• Kunming: Several trains a day. There are also buses. First bus is at 8h45, next 10h50 and 1pm, cost about ¥140. It takes about 7-8h to arrive to Kunming Eastern bus station. Take bus 60 (¥2) to reach town center / railway station. The Hekou bus station is about 3 km from the border to Vietnam.
• Yuanyang rice terraces: first bus at 9h, ¥65.