Map - Yen Bai province (Tỉnh Yên Bái)

Yên Bái is a province located in Tây Bắc, the northern part of northern-central Vietnam. It shares borders with six provinces which are Hà Giang province, Lào Cai province, Lai Châu province, Sơn La province, Phú Thọ province, and Tuyên Quang province. The province covers an area of 6887.46 square kilometres and as of 2019 it had a population of 821,030 people.

Yên Bái's history is important under the French colony, particularly the subsequent "Yên Bái mutiny", an uprising of Vietnamese soldiers in the French colonial army on 10 February 1930 in collaboration with civilian supporters who were members of the Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng (VNQDD, the Vietnamese Nationalist Party).

Forestry and farming are the main economic stays of the province. Thác Bà Lake is a natural asset of the country along with its Thác Bà Hydroelectric Plant. Dong Cuong Festival is an important festival of the province.

According to the General Statistics Office of the Government of Vietnam, the population of Yên Bái province as on 2019 was 821,030 with a density of 119 persons per km2 over a total land area of 6887.46 km2 of the province. The male population during this period was 412,977 while the female population was 408,053.

There are many ethnic groups in Yên Bái province. The Kinh people, who form the majority population of the country, settled here a long time ago and in union with the local minority tribes established themselves in the region and developed cultivation practices. The Kinh people's ancestry is traced to the Hải Dương Pham Ba Luc for nine generations till date and a monument erected in 1937 in Doc village in Hong Commune is highly revered as an ancestral home.

There are 4 ethnic Yao (Dao) branches in Yên Bái province (Nguyễn 2013:12).

* Dao Đỏ [Red Yao] (Dao Đại Bản, Dao Sừng)

* Dao Quần Chẹt [Tight-trouser Yao] (Dao Nga Hoàng, Dao Sơn Đầu)

* Dao Quần Trắng [White-trouser Yao]

* Dao Làn Tuyển [Indigo Yao] (Dao Tuyển)