Bac Ha is a rural district of Lao Cai province in the Northeastern region of Vietnam. It is the capital of the region of the Flower h’mong, one of the 54 minorities of Vietnam and of the 6 groups of h’mong people.
Bac Ha Vietnam is famous for its Sunday morning market, where thousands of locals gathered, the women dressed in their very intricate hand-made costumes (it takes 3 to 5 months to embroider one by hand), as well as for the Saturday morning smaller market of Can Cau, 18 km north of Bac Ha.
For most foreign tourist, the main aim of coming to Bac Ha is the hill tribe markets, of which Bac Ha Sunday market is the best. Every Sunday, people of Hmong, Red Dzao, Zay travel tens of km over the mountain to reach the market, one can find everything here from customer goods to food, wine, rice, clothes, souvenirs and especially there is a section for trading buffaloes, horses, dogs, cats…people come here not only for trading, the market is considered as a social activity for mountainous people.
Coming to Bac Ha market, one cannot miss a bowl of Thang Co, a local specialty cooked with horse, buffaloes, it is said that the pan that cooks Thang Co is never washed to keep the flavour. In winter days, people crowd around the Thang Co stall, drink Bac Ha wine made from rice or corn, Bac Ha wine is very very strong, after markets, young men can be seen sleeping right on the road, with their wives and horses waiting beside.
Ban Pho village is 2km from centre of Bac Ha, the village is inhabited by Flower Hmong people, this is where the famous Tam Hoa plum is grown, in Spring time, throngs of trucks coming to Bac Ha to buy plum and bring to Hanoi and other provinces, in the village, there is Hoang A Tuong palace, considered by Hmong people as their King in the French colonial time. over many decades, the palace still retains its original architecture of the old time.
The town is enjoying an economic boom thanks to tourism, centered around the markets and, more and more, excellent trekking in the mountains north of the town.
Bac Ha can be reached either by road from Hanoi, Ha Giang, Sapa or by the night trains from Hanoi.
Bac Ha Vietnam
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