About Detian Waterfall (德天瀑布 [Détiān Pùbù]) / Ban Gioc Waterfall (Thác Bản Giốc)
The Detian Waterfall (德天瀑布 [Détiān Pùbù]; Virtuous Heaven Waterfall) as it’s known in China or the Ban Gioc Waterfall (Thác Bản Giốc; “Stone Chessboard Waterfall”) as it’s known in Vietnam is Asia’s largest transnational waterfall.
It’s reportedly 30m tall and up to 300m wide with the main falls being about 120m wide (though I’ve also seen reports that it’s 60m in cumulative height and 200m in overall width so take these numbers with a grain of salt).
You can argue that this is Vietnam’s most famous (and popular) waterfall as you’ll inevitably see numerous posters of this falls in all the tourist spots like Hanoi’s Old Quarter, Ninh Binh, Halong Bay, Hoi An, and even Da Nang.
Conversely, this waterfall also gets a lot of notoriety in China (the crowds on that side of the river attests to this) even though that country features other giants like the Huangguoshu Waterfall.
But numbers aside, what really stood out to me regarding the Detian/Ban Gioc Waterfall was its scenery as it was nestled among karst peaks (famously present in places like Guilin in China or Halong Bay and Ninh Binh in Vietnam).
That differentiated this waterfall versus the mammoth big three transnational waterfalls that surpassed it in size like Niagara Falls, Victoria Falls, and Iguazu Falls.
By the way, it used to be falsely proclaimed to be the 2nd largest transnational waterfall in the world when we first visited this place from the China side in April 2009 (I’ve noticed the literature has since been cleaned up).
Strangely enough, the river on which the Detian Waterfall or Ban Gioc Waterfall flows (known as the Guichun River [归春河] in China or the Quay Son River [Sông Quây Sơn] in Vietnam) only defines the international border in the immediate area.
Further upstream, there’s a stretch where the river exclusively flows in Vietnam though for the rest of the river’s path both further upstream as well as further downstream of the falls, it exclusively flows in China.
But it’s that bit concerning the river’s trajectory in Vietnam that is important for its flow, because there’s a hydroelectric plant that actually does control the river’s flow rate depending on the season and time of day.
Anyways, having experienced this waterfall from both sides, here’s a breakdown of my impressions of each side.
Experiencing the Detian Waterfall on the China Side
In terms of experiencing the Detian Waterfall on the China side, it was pretty easy to do because there were developed walking paths that went right up to the main waterfall with lookouts along the way.
That path ultimately climbed alongside part of the falls until we got up to the bottom of the uppermost tier.
Then, the path stopped as we had to be content with taking partial profile views of the falls as well as enjoying the downstream views above the lower tiers of the Detian Waterfall.
However, the closer to the waterfall that we got, the less of its overall parts that we were able to see.
But at least we were able to feel a little bit of the spray from the falls to help alleviate some of the discomforting stickiness brought about by the stifling heat and humidity of the area.
And regardless of where it was cooler and mistier around the waterfall, there was no relief from mosquitoes.
A separate path branched off the aforementioned dead-end path, which then passed by a small shrine and eventually led us to the 53rd border marker right on the China-Vietnam border.
During our April 2009 visit, we noticed that there was a little tented market consisting of vendors selling souvenirs as well as some local produce.
It was quite interesting to hear both Vietnamese and Mandarin Chinese spoken simultaneously there.
In addition to the path leading alongside the Guichun River to the 53rd border crossing with Vietnam, Julie and I also branched off the walkway and went up a series of steps.
These steps were quite slippery when wet (thanks to the combination of humidity and sporadic showers), but they ultimately led us to a pavilion with an overlook that provided us with a wide open panoramic view.
This view peered towards the Vietnamese side of the river encompassing the entire Detian Waterfall plus the ghostly karst mountains in the background further upstream of the falls.
It appeared the path kept going up but we didn’t explore further so we can’t say for sure what else was further up.
Ever since our first visit to the Detian Waterfall on the China side in April 2009, when we came back in April 2025 (on the Vietnam side), we noticed that there has been a lot more development there.
This manifested itself in terms of more buildings and walkways clinging to the high cliffs that define the China side topographically.
In fact, the China side seemed to be both steeper and narrower as there wasn’t much flat real estate between the river and the cliffs.
So there could be more than the quiet climb up the steps to get to the elevated lookout with the nice view of the Detian Waterfall backed by karst peaks that you see in the first photo on this page.
There also seemed to be more lower lookouts and developed walkways to better handle the increased tourist numbers on the China side.
But the views of the Detian Waterfall were pretty much limited to seeing it at an angle as both segments of the waterfall tended to face away from the narrow China side.
That said, one way to get a frontal look of the main falls would be to take a bamboo raft boat, which can be done regardless of which country you’re launching from (just like the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls).
Now you can’t do an international border crossing via boat as these boats are only for touring and getting frontal looks at the falls while dwelling in the waterfall’s spray zone for a bit.
There’s a separate border station to handle international crossings further upstream, but that assumes you have already secured Visas for both countries beforehand (something not a lot of people can say on a single trip).
Experiencing the Ban Gioc Waterfall on the Vietnam Side
Contrasting the steep topology and narrow visitation area on the China side, the Vietnam side to the west/south of the Quay Son River was flatter and more spaced out or wider.
This allowed us to get more frontal views of both the main waterfall as well as the separate segment that’s exclusively on the Vietnam side.
There also seemed to be a lot more bamboo raft boats available on this side (at least as of our April 2025 visit; which I think costed us 50k VND or about $2 USD per person).
There was a path that went closer to the left side of the smaller segment of the falls and beyond (though I don’t know how far that path goes) as well as a bridge that went in between the main falls and the smaller falls.
During our visit, the bridge had been washed out and some unfinished construction was going on to restore the bridge, but that didn’t stop numerous people from crossing on it anyways.
Due to the extra real estate to explore, I personally found the Vietnamese side to be more varied and interactive though the views tended to be flatter compared to the China side.
Thus, unless we did the separate excursion to leave the park and go up to the Truc Lam Pagoda (or Ban Gioc Temple), we wouldn’t be getting the satisfying views of both the Ban Gioc Waterfall backed by karst peaks.
In fact, the view from that pagoda had the waterfall more off to the bottom right of the panorama given the severe angle of the falls relative to the lookout from the temple.
Nevertheless, we ultimately wound up spending nearly 2 hours on this side (though some of that involved waiting out a downpour during a thunderstorm).
Conversely, we didn’t spend nearly as much time on the China side given the relative lack of options to experience the falls in other ways as well as the crowds of people in such limited space.
That should give you an idea of how much time you can spend lingering around the Vietnam side and the varied experiences on offer with its admission to the park area.
Waterflow and Crowd Conditions for the Ban Gioc Waterfall or Detian Waterfall
Earlier on, I did mention that there was some regulation going on concerning the control of the river due to a hydroelectric dam on the Vietnam side.
We were told by our local guide in Cao Bang that they tend to release the water at 11am every morning, which can have a profound impact on the appearance of the falls, especially during the Dry Season (October to May).
For example, during our April 2025 visit, the waterfall initially took on a rather bare look consisting of only a few strands of water on its main tier while the smaller segment to its left was completely dry.
However, after some heavy downpours combined with the release of water in the late morning, the waterfall took on a more satisfying look, which was conducive to taking those silky long exposure photos.
When Julie and I first showed up to the Detian Waterfall on the China side in April 2009, there was also a seemingly low water flow, but it was certainly more than what we initially saw on our April 2025 visit.
I can’t explain why there seemed to be more volume on that first visit, but perhaps it had to do with more erratic Wet Season monsoons due to Global Warming, or perhaps they changed the way they regulate the river over the years.
Nevertheless, we never really got to see the Detian/Ban Gioc Waterfall in the satisfying swollen manner that you tend to see on the posters or on the internet literature.
That’s because the area’s Wet Season is during the Summer Monsoons, and therefore, I’d imagine that late Summer through Autumn would be the optimal times to see this waterfall in its maginificent, earth shattering state.
Anyways, even though this waterfall is reported to be year-round, as you can see from the before and after pictures above, water volume does make a huge difference in the impressions you get of this waterfall.
I can only imagine just how disappointed the visitors were during our April 2025 visit, who left prematurely (perhaps not knowing that the authorities would release water later that morning).
As far as the crowd situation, I think it’s fair to say that this waterfall is popular on both sides – Vietnam or China.
There seemed to be many more international visitors in addition to Vietnamese visitors on the Vietnam side, but the crowds tended to be more spread out thanks to the flatter and wider footpaths and viewing areas.
However, the China side seemed to be more concentrated (thanks to its narrower and steeper topology on that side of the river), which made the crowds and congestion seemingly on another level.
Perhaps due to the visa situation at the time, China’s visitors seemed to be mostly domestic (this was definitely the case on our first visit in April 2009).
That said, by China’s standards where every tourist attraction tends to be crowded (after all, you are talking about a country with a population of over a billion people), it still felt like a pleasant getaway from its hectic cities.
Lingering at the Detian or Ban Gioc Waterfall
It really seems like tourism has been developing at the Detian or Ban Gioc Waterfall over the years.
However, during our first visit to the Detian Waterfall on the China side, Julie and I actually stayed overnight at the lone hotel within the national park boundary there at the time.
This allowed us to experience the falls in both the afternoon as well as the steamy early morning.
It also afforded us the ability to enjoy the scenery without being in a rush.
The only bad thing about our accommodation was that there were no mosquito nets around the bed.
So it definitely crossed our minds that mosquitoes were known to carry dengue, yellow fever, or malaria in this area and the sleep was far from restful (though this might have improved since then).
On the Vietnam side, we noticed that there were also more tourism developments going on, including a busy restaurant, a temple with a panoramic view, local shops and stands, and some accommodations and homestays in the immediate area.
Although we stayed in Cao Bang and did the Ban Gioc Waterfall as a day trip from there (you’re looking at a two-hour or so drive each way), it could be appealing to stay at the falls to spend more time here and less time on the road.
That said, you’re still subject to the regulation of the Quay Son River so it may or may not be advantageous to linger here knowing that you could be dealing with low waterflow, especially in the early morning during Dry Season.
Authorities
The Detian Waterfall resides in the Daxin County near Nanning of the Guangxi Province, China. The Ban Gioc Waterfall resides in the Dam Thuy Commune within the Trung Khanh District of the Cao Bang Province, Vietnam. Again, two names, same waterfalls depending on which country you’re in. The Vietnam side is administered by the Trung Khanh District Government. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, you can try visiting the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism website as far as the Vietnam side is concerned. To my knowledge, I have not found a reliable official government authority administering this area on the China side (that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist). Therefore, I can’t recommend a particular website belonging to said authority for the latest conditions or other inquiries for the China side.
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