Sapa - Lao Chai, Ta Van villages - BacHa market

Sapa is a small market town that has been a gathering spot for many local hilltribes for nearly 200 years. Hmong and Dao people, among others, still come here to conduct trade, socialize, and attend an ephemeral "love market," where young men and women choose one another for marriage (these days, it's unlikely you'll see anything more than a staged re-creation of it)

 ׀ Bac Ha Market ׀ Sapa Informations ׀

• Length of the trip             : 4 days 5 nights

• Trip Starts from                : Hanoi city

• Trip Ends in                       : Hanoi city

• Required booking time: Before 15 hours  in advance for individuals and 5 days in advance for group.

• Rates are net per person : 325 USD

• Rates are valid from 15 December 2010

Full intinerary:

Day 1: Overnight train to Sapa

8h30pm: Welcome to you at TranQuyCap Railway Station for the night train at at 9:30 PM to get to Lao Cai Station. Sleep on the train. (If your hotel is near Railway station, we will pick up you come to there! )

Day 2: Sapa                                          Meals: B/D

The train arrives at the Lao Cai train station at approximately 06:00. There will be a vehicle waiting to transfer us to Sapa. The drive to Sapa is only 33 km but it takes around 1.5 hours. Once at Sapa, we will check into Victoria Sapa hotel , we have a freshen up followed by a sumptuous breakfast at the hotel. At 10am from the hotel there will be a walking tour to the hill tribe villages of Cat Cat, home to the H'mong hill tribes minority peoples. As we walk to the villages nestled in the valley below Sapa, we will meet some of the local minority people on their way to and from Sapa. Here we have the opportunity to share cultural experiences with the families that live in the area. Overnight at hotel.

Day 3: Sapa                                          Meals: B/L

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. At 10:00am we will embark on a lovely walk to Laochai & Tavan villages - home to Black H'mong people. This is one of the most enjoyable walk involving descending into a nearby valley inhabited by a variety of ethnic hill tribes. Once on the valley floor you can really appreciate the wonderful scenery that surrounds you. The walls of the valley are covered with multi-layered rice terraces and scattered villages. Picnic lunch by the river. The walk lasts approximately 3-4 hours through the spectacular villages and mountains. Overnight at hotel.

Day 4: Sapa                                          Meals: B

Buffet breakfast at the hotel.

At leisure to enjoy Sapa - own exploration of the area such as Hamrong mountain - where you can find a great collection of orchids or a visit to Mr. Dang Trung , a lovely man with his wonderful orchid gardens or visit to BanHo (Tay minority people..). Overnight at hotel.

Day 5: BackHa market - Hanoi        Meals: B/L

Enjoy the breakfast and transfer to Bacha market where you can meet the different minority groups of people: Fula, Flower H'mong, Tay, Nung , Dzao, Giay. This is a great opportunity to take good photos. Lunch in Bacha. Afternoon walk to Banpho village, home to flower H'mong people before our drive back to Laocai station Laocai station for the evening LaoCai train back to Hanoi.

The train departs at 21:15am and arrives to Hanoi at 06:00am the following morning. The trip concludes in Hanoi. Overnight aboard LaoCai train. The end of tour.

Tour price

Note:

• Itinerary and schedule subject to change upon weather and operations conditions.

• Advance registration is required with full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number for all passengers.

• Surcharge of 30% will be added for itinerary on December 24 & 31 and Lunar New Year Eve.

• No additional charge for one child under 3 sharing the same bed, limited to one child per booking only.

• US$ 245.00 net for one child from 4 to 10 sharing cabin with parents on extra mattress, limited to one child per booking.

• Child above 10 years old must occupy a sole cabin and pay adult rate.

• A valid passport is required upon check-in on board. Children whose travelling documents are attached to parent's passport must travel with the parent.

• All major Credit cards are accepted on board: Amex, Visa and MasterCard.

Price Inclusions:

• Hotel or Home stay accommodation based on twin or triple share with daily breakfast

• Meals as specified in the itinerary

• Transportation

• English- speaking guide (other languages are available upon request).

• Sightseeing as specified including entrance fees

• Services charges, room taxes and baggage handling

Price Exclusions:

• Visa fee - visa to Vietnam (details...)

• Optional tours

• Tips for tour guide, driver

• Travel insurance

• International airfare to/ from Vietnam & International airport tax in Vietnam

• Expenditure of a personal nature, tips, such as drinks, souvenirs, laundry, emergency transfers & etc

• Others which are not mentioned in the inclusion

• Tour policy for children (Do not apply for air ticket):\

Remark:

• Private tour : The tour is not fixed, it is possible to be customized for your group. All service is reserved for your group only. You do not have to share the bus, boat, tour guide with other tourists. One exception, if you stay at the cabin on train orm Hanoi station to Lao Cai/ return Hanoi. You still have to share the cabin with other people.

• Group tour: To join with other people on available daily tours. These tours are fixed itinerary and departure time. It is possible to join in even your group of only 1 or 2 people. Customer do not to find other people to form the group. It is our company duty to gather the tourists for each tour. For these tours, you have to share the coach, boat and tour guide with other tourists who come from different nationalities. The number of people of this group is normally less than 20 persons.

• What to Bring: Passport, towels, swimsuits, toiletries, rain coat, walking boots, sandals or light footwear, change of clothes, sun block, sun cream with a high factor 10-20, sunglasses & hat with a shade, flash lights, insect repellent, first aid kit.

• As indicated: A/C= Air-conditioning, O/N= Overnight, B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner

• Accommodations offers in this trip (The Hotel may be changed up to its availability. It will be confirmed after getting your deposit/ payment

Group Discounts

• VietnamDailyTours encourages you travel with your friends or family. We want to reward you for inviting them on your trip, by making you the VietnamDailyTours Leader on any VietnamDailyTours trip. The more people you bring, the cheaper your trip becomes!

• Keep this discount to yourself, or share it with your group.

• Land costs only, excludes costs of airfare and other incidental costs.

• Cannot be combined with any other offers.

• Group Leader is responsible for placing reservations for entire team at VietnamDailyTours in order to track and award credits.

• Be sure to mention that you are the VietnamDailyTours leader, to apply for credit in VietnamDailyTour's Group Travel program.

General information & ethnic minorities in Sapa 

Sapa is located in Lao Cai province ( formerly Hoang Lien Son province) in north-west Vietnam. Sapa means "town of sand" (Sa (sand), Pa (town) in Chinese characters).  The town is situated at 1500 meters above sea level. Northern Vietnam was previously known as Tonkin, and the Sapa area was named “Tonkinese Alps” by French.

The area was discovered by Europeans when a Jesuit missionary visited Sa Pa in 1918. French colonists were attracted by the climate and scenery, and in 1932 began developing the town as a health resort. After moving minorities from the town, they built a church , some hotels, an aerodrome by Tram Ton Pass, tennis courts, the hydro-electric power station in Cat Cat village and over 200 villas in town and the surrounding area, which have since been abandoned or destroyed. They also established road links with Lao Cai and Lai Chau. The road was fixed in 1969 by the Chinese, many of whom were killed during the construction. The Silver Waterfall used to be host to a cemetery built in their honour. 

Since 1945, Sapa has been governed by the Vietnamese political system. In early 1979, there was an armed assault on Sapa which destroyed most of the buildings.  Due to Vietnamese resistance this conflict lasted less than two weeks.  Only a few of the original French buildings remain intact.  Major population centres such as Lao Cai were razed to the ground. The ruins of the French villas are prominent on the route from Sapa to Sin Chai village. 

Sapa is the natural starting point for a unique experience in the mountainous area, which includes the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, Vietnam's highest peak of Fan Si Pan (3143m) and 5 different hill-tribes, each one colourful, distinct, and with its own language and cultural values. Some of the villages, especially the more remote ones, are still largely untouched by modern ways of life, and staying overnight privately offers an unusual insight into an otherwise unknown aspect of life in Vietnam.

The climate:

The mean annual temperature in Sapa is 15.4C (59.7F) with a maximum of 29.4C (84.9F) in July and a maximum of -3.2C (26.2F) in December. The coolest months are December to February and snow falls most years for 1-3 days.  In December 1922, 12 cm's of snow fell in Sapa town so if visiting the area at this time of the year be prepared for cold weather!

Frosts are frequent during the winter and mist shrouds the Fan Si Pan ridge and Sapa town. Foggy days are common, with an average of 137 per year. The mean annual rainfall is 2763mm, with a high of 4723mm and a low of 2964mm . The rainy season is between May and September.  Humidity ranges from 75-91% with an average of 87%.

Vegetation

For over 200 years human activity in the area has influenced the natural vegetation, which has  greatly fragmented the original forest cover. Today less than 12km2 of natural forest remains within the reserve, and this still used by the local people to varying degrees.

Almost all the valley areas and lower slopes have been cleared of forest and are used for cultivation.  Where water availability limits cultivation, scrub consisting of grass, bushes and small trees has grown on cleared land. These areas provide grazing for buffaloes.  In some areas small patches of forest remain, but some have been heavily damaged by timber and fuel wood collection and removal of the forest under-storey for ginger plantation.  This ginger is sold as a cash crop for use in Chinese medicine and cooking.

Above the 1500m mark, areas of forest remain and human disturbance diminishes as the altitude increases.  The vegetation is influenced by altitude, for example tree height decreases on moving up the mountain.  Between 2500m-2800m, there is a distinct zone of mist forest, nicknamed “elfin forest”, that clings to the steep mountain sides. This is characterised by gnarled trees (Tsuga yunanaris) less than 8m in height covered with moisture loving moss, lichen and flowering plants, particularly orchids. 

Above 2800m notable vegetation changes are caused by thin soils.  Plants are stunted and  even shorter than those on the exposed west side.  Near the top of the Fansipan ridge there are dwarf bamboo plants and small shrubs, including rhododendrons.

Mammals

The area was the first surveyed by the French biologist Delacour in 1929.  Delacour accompanied Theodore Roosevelt on a expedition through parts of South East Asia. The expedition collected 48 mammal species, most of which were shot, for the Chicago Natural History Museum.

56 species of mammal have been recorded in Hoang Lien National Park, and of these 17 are considered rare or endangered. However, it is likely that some species may have recently become locally extinct due to destruction of their habitat and hunting.  These include the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebuiosa), leopard (Panthera pardus), tiger (panthera tigis), binturong (Arctictus binturong) and black gibbon (Hylobates concolor).  The population densities of the remaining species are low and although monkeys such as the stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides) and large mammals including the Asiatic black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus ) inhabit the forest, generally only  small mammals such as squirrels and other rodents are commonly seen.

A stall in the market previously sold stuffed animals. These animals were illegally trapped or shot in the forest, which has resulted in the local extinction of many important animal species such as the tiger.  The stall was closed down after complaints by concerned Vietnamese biologists. Live or stuffed animals bought as souvenirs encourages further trapping and killing of an already vulnerable mammal population.

Birds

The conservation importance of the Sapa area is enhanced by its rich and varied bird life. 150 species of bird have been recorded in the reserve. Species of particular interest included the red-vented barbet (Megalaima lagrandieri), collared finchbill (Spizixo semitoroues), white - throated laughing thrush (Garrulax albogularis) and the chestnut bulbul (Hypsipetes castanotus). Within South East Asia, these birds are only found in the mountains of north-west Vietnam.

Minorities of the North in general

There are 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. The resultant diversity in culture and history of these minorities has created one of the most complex human environments in South East Asia. The main ethic group, the Kinh (Viet), accounts for approximately 87% of the population. The remaining 13%, some 8.5 million people, occupy a variety of midland, upland and highland areas, though are mainly concentrated in the western part of the country where they inhabit two-thirds of the border areas. The ethnic groups vary in size, ranging from over 1 million to less than 200 persons. The ten major groups account for about 85% of the ethnic population. Most minorities are found in equal or greater numbers in southern China, Laos, Cambodia, northern Thailand and Burma.

Facts regarding the origin, distribution, subdivisions and cultural character of the minorities remain uncertain. The classification of ethnic groups varies, in a number of cases Vietnamese, Chinese, French and British designate the same people by different names. The distinction between ethnic groups is made on the basis of linguistic criteria. The minorities are divided into three major language families: Austro-Asiatic, Austronesian and Sino-Tibetan. However, the 54 ethnic groups included many local groups of different denomination with a multitude of dialects. Also, minority groups who share the same language often have distinct thought and behaviour patterns. Thus, a system of classification based on language alone would be imprecise. Groups may be sub-divided by differences in dialect relationships geographical position, altitude of settlement, socio-political structure and traditional dress.

Political & administrative history

Before the French rule (1859-1954) many minorities had developed patterns of social organisation, either living as rural communes or under a feudal system where one minority often dominated another.

Under French rule most minorities were required to carry out unpaid labour and were subject to heavy taxes. As with many minorities, the ethnic groups in Sapa were actively opposed to the colonialists, and immigration into Vietnam, particularly of H'mong, continued between 1864 to 1892 to augment guerilla forces made up of mixed minority groups. During the 40 years preceding the 1945 August Revolution the French faced at least seven minority revolts.

Between 1945 and 1975 the government of Vietnam aimed to achieve the co-operation of ethnic groups in the war of reunification. This was attempted by granting them constitutional rights equal to those of the Kinh majority. In the mid 1960s relations between the government and northern minorities improved due to the introduction of an official policy based on the principle of self-government centred on Soviet communist practice for ethnic groups. The government established two Autonomous Regions in the north and north-west of the country led by a People's Council and its administrative body, on which the various minorities in the region were proportionally represented. These Autonomous Regions were abolished in the post-reunification period. Minority participation in the two Indo-China wars contributed to their integration in to the political, economic and life of the country. This is reflected in the delineation of their political and civil fights as written in the 1981 constitution.

The present government approach to the minorities is through a settlement programme aimed at further integration the minorities into national life. Ethnic groups are represented at a country level by the National Assembly.  In 1987, 14% of members were minority peoples, in-line with their proportion of the total population. Other political legislative and executive bodies exist for and with the participation of minorities, such as the State Committee for Ethnic Affairs and civil committees at provincial and district level.

Ethnic minorities in the Sapa district

Excluding the Kinh people or ethnic Vietnamese, eight different ethnic groups are found in Sapa; H'mong, Dao (pronounced Zao), Tay, Giay (pronounced Zai), Muong, Thai, Hoa (ethnic Chinese) and Xa Pho (a denomination of the Phu La minority group). However, the last four groups comprise less than 500 people in total. The population of the district is estimated at 31,652 (1993) of which 52% are H'mong, 25% are Dao, 15% are Kinh, 5% are Tay and 2% are Giay. Around 3,300 people live in Sapa town, the remainder are peasant farmers distributed unevenly throughout the district.

The minorities are governed under the same legal and administrative systems as the Kinh majority. Each province is sub-divided in to a number of districts which hold a degree of autonomy in local government. The district is further divided in to communes which have an elected president and small committee responsible for agricultural and legal issues, amongst other thing. There are 18 communes in the Sapa district, with populations of between 970 and 4,500. These communes are made up of between two and six villages, each with an elected leader.

Some typical ethnic minorities:

Giay Ethnic Minority

History : The Giay immigrated from China 200 years ago. They are strongly influenced by Chinese culture.

Language: The Giay people speak a language of Tay - Thai group. They don’t have their own writing.

Costume : Like the Tay minority, the Giay women dress in simple clothes. They wear a five panel blouse split at the sides and buttoned on the right with dark indigo trousers. The blouses are different colors depending on the age - old women usually wear the darker shades. Women wrap their hair around their head and fix it in place with red threads. Giay, like other minorities, have adopted elements of Viet and Western clothing.

Social organisation: Before the Revolution of August, 1945, the Giay society was divided into different classes. The upper class was composed of administration officials who owned the land. They paid soldiers and housekeepers to take care of weddings and funerals. Farmers working on their land had to pay taxes as well as doing the hard labour.

Birth: Pregnant women have to avoid many things - wood is not burned from the top to the bottom to avoid difficulties when giving birth, and they are not allowed to attend funerals or visit a place for worshiping for fear of losing their spirit.

When it is time to give birth the pregnant woman makes offerings to the Mother spirit. When the baby is one month old, they make offerings to the ancestors. At the same time they give the child a name and establish his or her horoscope, which will be used later when it is time to choose a partner for the marriage, and the right time to be put in a coffin when he or she dies.

Marriage: The procedure for marriage is based strongly on Chinese traditions. A go-between is very important as they help propose the marriage to a potential bride.  Once this has happened, the groom’s family gives the bride a necklace and a bracelet to show their intentions - a kind of engagement.  For the wedding, the groom’s family must offer the bride’s family food and money, and give close relatives a chicken, a duck and a silver coin.  Once married, the bride is carried to her new house on the groom’s back, as if she walks her spirit will find its way back to her parents.

Funeral: Giay people believe that if a funeral is well organised, the dead will go happily to heaven with their ancestors. If not, the dead will be forced to live in hell or become animals.  In a rich family, the funeral can last from five to seven days with extra rituals such as running along the river to lead the spirit on a procession. The children must mourn their parent’s death for one year.

Beliefs: The Giay altar is located in the middle of the house. There are three incense bowls set from the left to the right to worship the Kitchen God, Heaven and Earth, and the family ancestor. If the master of the house is a son-in-law who wants to worship his real parents, he must set up a fourth incense bowl to the far left. If a family has no altar for the Mother spirit, they set a fifth incense bowl to the right. Some families set up a small alter beside the big one to worship their parents-in-law.

Xa Pho Ethnic Minority

History : The Xa Pho came to Vietnam about 200 - 300 years ago. Some believe that their clothes indicate they immigrated from the southern islands of Asia, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

Language: Their language belongs to Tibeto - Burmese language group. Other minorities say that Xa Pho people can speak most of the other languages in the area, but it is "difficult to hear their language which sounds like birds singing".

Costume: The Xa Pho’s clothes are very different from other minorities.  Women wear a short shirt with a long skirt made from indigo-dyed hemp fabric. They use a bright red thread to embroider decorations all over their clothes. 

Social organasation:  The Xa Pho community is particularly strong and neighbours play an important role in their villages.  If a family has no food, they can visit their neighbours for every meal.  If both families have no food, they will go to another family together.  When no one in the village has any food, they all go to find fruit and vegetables in the forest.  When a family kills a chicken or a pig, everyone in the village can come to have some without an invitation.

They are semi-nomadic: they do grow dry rice, but most of the time they live on what nature has to offer. While other minorities may live together in villages, these timid people live in isolation. There is only one tribe who live in Sapa, and they have a very low living standard compared with other minorities in the same valley.

Birth: After a women gives birth, strangers are prevented from coming into the house. The family either hang a hat on a pillar in front of their house, or use a blackened pilllar with leafy branches attached called dum dum to warn people away. A name-giving ceremony is carried out 12 days later. Each person has two names - one is used in a normal situation, and other when worshiping the ancestors and being worshipped after death.

Marriage: Young Xa Pho have the right to have sexual relationships before marriage. The Xa Pho has a very low population, so the man wants to make sure his partner can have children. The marriage will be organised after the young couple know the woman is pregnant. The future bride starts making her wedding dress while her groom prepares pigs, chicken and other food for the wedding.

Funerals: The deceased is placed in the middle of the house, with the head in the direction of the household altar. Water used to wash the deceased’s face is left to evaporate.  There must be a bowl of rice with a pair of chopsticks and a barbecued or roasted chicken next to the alter.  The deceased’s children put straw around the wooden coffin, as they used to use straw as mattresses.  The coffin is buried in a grave or a tomb.  Lots of people must attend the funeral to ensure that the spirit of the dead doesn’t stay at the tomb or cemetery.

Housing: The Xa Pho live in houses built half on stilts and half on the ground. Furniture is very simple and made of bamboo or rattan.

Artistic activities: The Xa Pho dance for many occasions - marriage, funerals, births, even when they have run out of food.   Their dancing style is very different to other minorities.  Accompanied by a drum beat, they join hands and dance in a circle around a fire.

Place-name in progam:

Coc Ly Market

Leaving Sa Pa early Tuesday morning or picked up in Lao Cai arriving with the train from Hanoi, we drive with land cruiser to Coc Ly Market. The drive from SaPa will take us approx. 2 1/2 hour. We visit the market with all it's colourful ethnic people such as Flower Hmong, Phu La and Dao Tuyen who gathers to buy and sell. Before lunch we go on a short trek to the nearby village of Sa Koun Ho which is inhabited by the Flower Hmong and Black Dao minority.

We enjoy lunch in a local restaurant before we leave Coc Ly and drive to Trung Do village - inhabited by Tay minority. From the village we go by boat down the river, where we experience the magnificent sight of the beautiful caves and bustling life on the riverbank. The boat trip takes us about 2-2 1/2 hours before we are picked up by our jeep. The jeep takes us back to Sa Pa or to Lao Cai train station depending of your wishes.

Fansipan Mountain

Location : Fansipan Mountain is located 9km south-west of Sapa Townlet in the Hoang Lien Mountain Range.

Characteristics: Fansipan is branded "the Roof of Indochina" at the height of 3, 143m; Fansipan is to be approved as one of the very few eco-tourist spots of Vietnam, with about 2, 024 floral varieties and 327 faunal species.

The topography of Fansipan is varied. Muong Hoa Valley, at the lowest altitude (950-1, 000m), is created by a narrow strip of land at the base on the east side of the mountain. Geologists say the Hoang Lien Mountain Range, with Fansipan as its highest peak, did not emerge in the mountainous North West of Vietnam until the neozoic period (circ. 100 million years ago). Fansipan, a rough pronunciation of the local name “Hua Xi Pan” means “the tottery giant rock”. The French came to Vietnam and in 1905 planted a landmark telling Fansipan’s height of 3, 143m and branded it “the Roof of Indochina”. Very few people climbed to the top of Fansipan at the time. Then came the long years of war and Fansipan was left deserted for hunting and savaging. The trail blazed by the French was quickly overgrown by the underbrush.

It takes six or seven days to reach the 3, 143m summit, the highest peak of the Indochina Peninsula. In 1991, Nguyen Thien Hung, an army man returned to the district town and decided to conquer Fansipan. Only on the 13th attempt did Hung, with a H’Mong boy as his guide, conquer the high peak by following the foot steps of the mountain goats. Scaling the height was meant to satisfy his eager will and aspiration to conquer the mountain without expecting that his name would be put down in the travel guidebook. After that the Sapa Tourism Agency started a new package tour there. It seemed the Fansipan Tour was meant only for those who wished to test their muscular power.

The summit of Fansipan is accessible all year round, but the best time to make the ascent is from mid-October to mid-November, and again in March. Foreigners like best to book Fansipan tours between October and December, as this period is more often than not free from the heavy rains that obstruct the jaunt. But the Vietnamese prefer their tours to the peak of the mountain from February to April, as it is not so cold then. However, the best time for the trek to the mountain is from the end of February to the start of March, when the flowers all flourish and the climbers may behold.

Ta van Village

Ta Van is located in Vietnam in the northern province of Lao Cai, about 5 kilometres from Sapa, at an altitude of 1, 816 meters.  This province borders the province of Yunnan in south-west China, and the indigenous people here share many cultural features with their Chinese neighbours.

Also located in the valley of Muong Hoa, Ta van is a village of Giay people, who look more like the traditional Viet living the Red delta.  This village is normally a combination in the visit to Lao chai village on the trek to Muong Hoa valley. It is also a popular stop for those who would like to experience an overnight  home stay with a family of Giay people here, sharing dinner with them as a member of their family. Ta Van is a small village set within a picturesque valley not far from the northern Vietnamese mountain resort of Sa Pa. The area is renowned for its colourful ethnic minorities, and Ta Van is home to two such groups. A stay with one of the farmer families here will give you a close-up experience of the life-style and culture typical of the area. Trekking in the surrounding area is most satisfying

Lao Chai Village 

Lao Chai is a village of black H’Mong ethnic group. Located 7 Kms from Sapa, it is quite approachable from Sapa for a travllers who do not have much time. In this village which you will have a welcome feeling  at any house of the hospitable people there. You can interact them, learn about their culture and customs.

Cat Cat Village 

Location : Cat Cat Village is 2km from Sapa Townlet, Sapa District.

Characteristics: This is an age-old village of H'Mong ethnic group remaining unique customs and practices that are lots in other villages.

Visitors to Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire a lively and colorful picture. That is the image of young women sitting by looms with colorful pieces of brocade decorated with designs of flowers and birds. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs. A noteworthy is that H’Mong women use plants and leaves to dye these brocade fabrics. And then they roll a round and smooth section of wood covered with wax on fabrics to polish them, making their colors durable.

In addition to the brocade weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at manipulating gold and silver jewelry. Their products are fairly sophisticated, especially jewelry for women. 

Tourists to Cat Cat are most attracted by its unique customs, including the custom of “pulling wife”. A man can ask his friends to lure a girl he likes to his house and keeps her there in three days. During these days, if the girl agrees to become his wife, a wedding will be held. However, the girl can happily go home after three days if she does not like him.

Traditional houses of H’Mong people in Cat Cat have three rooms with three doors and covered with po mu wood roof. In the house there are three columns that stand in round or square stones. The walls are made from sawn timber. The main door is always closed and only opens when people in the house organize important events. Altar, inlaid floor containing food, places for sleeping, kitchen and receiving guests are indispensable parts of the houses. Visitors to Cat Cat Village can discover countless unique features of H’Mong.

Bac Ha Market

Location: Bac Ha Market is in Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province; about 80km from downtown Sapa.

Characteristics: It is a trading centre and meeting place for couples, friends, and relatives every Sunday.

Bac Ha market is well-known for its naturally sub-tropical scenery. Tam Hoa plums are really a local specialty: sweet and fresh. This seems to be created by its own land, people and nature. Average temperature here is 19°C and it's not so cold as in Sa Pa. Bac Ha is specifically identified by each mount, each house and naturally-made carpet of white plum-flowers in spring. There are 14 ethnic minorities and the Mong ethnics count for 47% then the Dao, Tay, Nung, Phu La... Mountaineers take care of their horses as their properties, means of transport and close friends.

Besides plums, Bac Ha is reputed for its alcohol (made of maize). Maize is grown on high mountains, its low in productivity but high in nutrition. To make alcohol, it's fermented with Hong My seed (the local only plant). Bac Ha alcohol is well-known due to its source of water. So it's surely believed never to have faulted one in Bac Ha market. Visitors can see the locals selling their own alcohol without feelings to be cheated. Brocades are for sales in the market or in shops or by street-vendors. There are hand-made or manufactured products. It takes a village-girl even half a month to make a brocade of 20cm long. Their skirts or costumes cost them long time to make. Their dresses express their patience, skills. Visitors can see the girls making brocades right in the market.

Traditional values and identities are well-maintained in the market. Such markets as Bac Ha, Coc Ly have really become rendezvous for visitors at home and abroad. There is almost no bargaining or competition here. Sales girls look quite naive, sincere. They go to the market mainly to meet people and exchange funs. Especially, there is a horse market in town-centre, each market-day there are almost 100 - 200 horses for sales or exchange.

Mong or Tay or Dao ethnics’ minority girls and boys, with their best dresses on, go to the market to relax and meet their friends. At sunset, they leave with a promise to see again. Visitors to Bac Ha are opportune to understand the local traditions and customs, taste local specialties, meet nice people and know a land code-named: white plateau.

Ham Rong Mountain

Location : In center of Sapa Townlet, Sapa District, Lao Cai District; 33km from Lao Cai City

Characteristics: Ham Rong Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sapa Townlet

Legend has it that in the distance past, all animals lived together in a chaotic environment. One day, Jade Emperor gave an order that every species of animal had to find for them an area to live. Having heard the order, they scrambled for a place to reside. The three brothers of dragon who were living in a large lake hurriedly ran to the east but could not find any place; they then ran to  the west. The two older brothers ran fast and came to the destination first. The youngest brother ran slowly and strayed into the crowds of lions, tigers and big cats. Fearing that these animals would attack it, the dragon opened its mouth to defense itself. At that time, the order of Jade Emperor was no longer available, so the three dragons petrified. The two older dragons, which were waiting for their brother, face Lao Cai City, and the youngest one raising its head and opening mouth faces the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. So the mountain is named Ham Rong (Jaw of Dragon).

Visitors to Ham Rong have chances to climb up the San May (Cloud Yard) to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Townlet, visit the orchid gardens with beautiful and colorful flowers.

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