Ha giang Khau Vai market market sessions

Markets in Ha Giang always attract tourists because they are not just places for buying and selling, they are also meeting places for local ethnic minority people. 
Wearing colorful costumes, all the different ethnic minority groups of the region come to the market to meet their friends, or their ex-lovers. 

 Early in the morning, Meo Vac district of Ha Giang province is blanketed with fog. All the roads to the markets are noisy with people calling one another as they make their way to the market, which meets only on Sunday.  Local people in Meo Vac district are of the Nung, Dao, Mong, and Giay ethnicities. The market is both a trading center and a socializing center for local people. Many different goods are on sale in the market.
 People come to the market to sell their farm produce and home-made products and buy clothing, plastic slippers, sandals, sport shoes and mobile phones. 

Here they also meet their friends and eat their favorite food. Phan Thi Mui from the Red Dao group said, “I don’t have much money so I can only buy a few items. I brought rice to the market and can sell it for 1 million dong. I also go to the market to meet my friends”. 
 Visitors to Meo Vac market are impressed by the wine section, where local women stand in a long line selling corn wine. There’s an aluminum soup ladle by each can of wine which customers can use to taste the wine. Italian tourist Malcro Cusani shared, “We have bought some dishes which can’t be found in Italy. 
We love to see the costumes of the local ethnic minority people. We have found some souvenirs for our parents”. People go to Khau Vai market just to meet their ex-lovers. 

For more than 100 years, Khau Vai market has been known as a Love Market. Legends tell that an ethnic Giay girl from Ha Giang fell in love with a Nung boy from Cao Bang but their love was forbidden by both families. They separated from each other and made an appointment to meet again on the 27th day of the third lunar month.  
The mountain where they dated has become a market place. The market meets once a year serving as a festival where people come to meet their ex-lovers. Tho Mi Tha of Can Chu Phin commune, Meo Vac district said he waited for the Khau Vai Market festival all year to meet his ex-lover. “I never miss a market festival. My marriage was arranged by my parents. But I have an ex-girlfriend. She is 5 years younger than me. It’s difficult to explain but I always wait for that day and will not return without meeting her. 
The festival is held on March 27 but the night of the 26th is a memorable day in my life,” he added. When they meet, the former lovers recalls their love stories although they might be married and have children now. They don’t return home until midnight. Tha noted, “I live 10 km from the market. I come here by motorbike at 6 PM. We meet each other in the market. She is married already. We discuss the sad and happy events in our life during the past year. I wish I could have married her”. 
The Khau Vai love market is also a place for boys and girls to seek partners. Many couples have been married after meeting at a love market session.

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Dong Van plateau Ha giang Khau Vai market quan Ba

Dong Van Karst Plateau in Ha Giang Province was recognized in 2010 by UNESCO as a world geological park. The plateau is a true masterpiece of nature where man is small against the vastness of the sky, mountains and clouds.
 Your journey begins in Ha Giang. After driving for about 40 km along steep roads, you will reach Dong Van Karst Plateau. At an altitude of 1,600m above sea level, the Plateau covers more than 2,350 square kilometers encompassing Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, and Meo Vac districts. 
This natural curiosity of limestone peaks and black granite resulted from a very long geological history and provides evidence of the evolution of the Earth's crust. 
 Along the 100km road from Quan Ba to Dong Van, you pass Quan Ba heaven gate, Co Tien mountain, the Vuong residence - a national relic site, the Lung Cu flag tower, and Ma Pi Leng Pass which was called a "geological monument" by the French. The access road is quite rough but the scenery compensates your efforts.

 Below, the Nho Que River meanders like a silk ribbon around the base of the high cliffs. Ngoc Anh is a tourist from Ha Noi. “It is incredibly amazing! I never imagined that our country had such a wonder", she said. "It was a blast discovering this UNESCO World Geopark, to wander in the flower meadows and rice terraces and climb Ma Pi Leng Pass and admire the Nho Que River. This is unforgettable! 

Even though the access road is not yet improved, I was not discouraged”, Anh added. On this barren land live several ethnic minorities: Mong, Dao, Tay, Nung, Lolo and Pu Peo who fiercely guard their cultural identities to the delight of tourists. 
Ma Ngoc Giang, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Dong Van Geological Park, said, “Tourists, especially foreigners, are attracted by the rich and authentic ethnic culture. The traditions and cultures of these ethnic groups are under preservation. Our project aims to preserve stone walls, tiled roofs, clay houses and ethnic costumes”. If you want to meet ethnic groups in their traditional colorful costumes, it is essential to visit the Dong Van market. It is the meeting place of minorities, where women take the opportunity to do a little "shopping", while men prefer to drink and toast. If your trip coincides with the third lunar month, don’t miss the annual Khau Vai market. It is here that the ex-lovers meet again after many years of separation, sometimes accompanied by their husbands or wives. There is no jealousy. 

On the contrary, the ex-soul mate is quite respected. French tourist Angier Marcel shared, “The landscape is wonderful. There are beautiful rice fields and not many tourists. It is very beautiful. The setting is authentic with interesting ethnic groups and superb villages. We will come back for sure and advise our friends to visit these places”. 
 Breathtaking scenery, authentic heritage, untouched beauty, exotic markets and friendly people – they are what Dong Van Karst Plateau can offer.

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da lat Ha giang sapa where to go October

If you’ve ever visited Viet Nam, you probably know that October is the best time to take tours to the highlands of the country.
 Da Lat, Sa Pa and Ha Giang are known to be the best among the suggested tourist sites. 
Enjoying Tam Giac Mach (Triangle Oast) flowers in Ha Giang 

 Ha Giang province is famous for the luring fields of Tam Giac Mach flowers, often in full blossom over a period of 3 months, from October to December. 
 Apart from the flowers, visiting Ha Giang, tourists also have the chance to admire the grandeur of the landscapes, especially the mountains in Quan Ba district, the terraced fields in Hoang Su Phi, the Hmong king’s palace in Sa Phin valley, and the flag pole in Lung Cu, the land in the far north of the country. 
 Discovering golden terrace fields in Sa Pa 
Sa Pa, a district of the northwestern province of Lao Cai, is famous for terraced rice paddy fields in the harvest season. Sa Pa is beautiful all year round but most visitors seek to reach Sa Pa in October, for this is the time the rice in the terraced fields is ripe and ready for harvest. Sa Pa townlet, the capital of Sa Pa district, is well known for a number of attractive destinations, such as the Silver Waterfall, the foggy Heaven Gate, and the Love Market held each Saturday. 

 Getting lost in the wild sunflowers in Da Lat 
Well known for various kinds of flowers, Da Lat city is, however, often remembered with the image of the golden wild sunflower, often in full bloom in October. The wild sunflower is most attractive on the morning when the dawn has just broken the darkness. It is the time when the dew is still lingering on the yellow petals of the flowers and the whole city seems to be covered in yellow. Such a brilliant and splendid flower fades very quickly, in just 2 or 3 weeks. Therefore, if you really wish to admire the “yellow season” in Da Lat, you must be prepared to be there as soon as the flower starts blooming.

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activities buckwheat crop. bloom ethnic festival flower h'mong Ha giang Northern

The northern most province of Ha Giang will hold the first ever Tam giac mach (buckwheat) flower festival in early October, when the plant fully blooms. 

Buckwheat (scientifically known as Fagopyrum Esculentum) is a plant with clusters of small pinkish white flowers and edible triangular seeds.

H’Mong ethnic residents grow two crops of Tam giac mach every year, as it also blooms between April and May. The flowers are sensitive to sunlight, turning from white in the early morning to pink in the afternoon.

Buckwheat creates striking sights when blossoming, making it a tourist draw in Ha Giang, as well as neighbouring mountainous areas such as Lao Cai Province.

The provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will organise the festival in Dong Van district, as instructed by the Ha Giang People’s Committee.

Various activities will be held as part of the event such as a H’Mong panpipe festival, a tourism fair and a photo exhibition about the Dong Van Karst Plateau, which was recently recognised as a member of the Global Network of National Geoparks for the 2015-2018 period.

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