Red Dao ethnic minority children help their mothers in the rice paddy fields at Hoang Su Phi in Ha Giang province

Mong ethnic minority children paddle a raft on Noong Lake at Phu Linh village in the Vi Xuyen district of Ha Giang province

Mong ethnic minority boy walks to school in freezing weather at Trung Hai hamlet of the Y Ty village in Bat Xat district of Lao Cai province

H’Mong boy warms up with his family at Bat Xat district of Lao Cai province

Pupils at Y Ty primary school dress in warm clothes donated by charities

Dao ethnic minority children wearing home-made nylon shirts to fend off cold weather

Dao girl in front of winter wood stack in the Khoang Hamlet in Sapa in Lao Cai province

Despite difficulties, children still regularly attend school

A boarding school in the Xin Man district of Ha Giang province

Ethnic minority pupils play games

Phu La ethnic minority newborn in the poorest village of Nam Sai in Sapa district in Lao Cai province

Phu La ethnic minority boy on his mother’s back

Phu La ethnic minority children play traditional game at Sa Pa in Lao Cai province