Located in Van Ha commune, Viet Yen district, Thổ Hà village is approximately 45 kilometers away from the capital city of Hanoi. Thổ Hà preserves a typical Northern Vietnamese countryside atmosphere, still maintaining distinctive features such as the village gate, communal house, banyan trees, and wells. Despite being situated in the delta, the land of…
Category: Culture
Mèo Vạc Sunday market
Every Sunday morning, people from all over the Ha Giang rocky plateau wake up early, on winding roads snaking around the mountain slopes, heading to the central market of Meo Vac for the weekly market gathering. People from various ethnic groups like H’Mong, Dao, Lô Lô… all dressed vibrantly, carrying local products, from livestock, fabrics,…
“Reviving” discarded bamboo roots into works of art for 20 years
Over the past two decades, countless dry, rough bamboo stems have been resurrected into artistic sculptures under the skilled hands of the artist Huynh Phuong Do. Traveling along the coastline of Cua Dai (Hoi An, Quang Nam), I ventured into a small village in Thinh My ward, Cam An commune. The wind carried a salty…
The mysterious fire jumping ritual of Pa Then community
Barefoot men leap into a burning fire without getting burned or singeing their clothes. This perplexing fire jumping ritual is a unique cultural aspect of the Pà Thẻn people. Every year, from the 16th of the lunar October until the full moon of the first lunar month, the Pà Thẻn people in Hồng Quang commune,…
Visiting the H’Mong six-generation family crafting traditional silver jewelry
In Lao Xa, Hà Giang, there’s a lineage that spans six generations, meticulously crafting silver jewelry—a distinctive cultural trait of the H’Mong people. The winding paths on the mountain slopes leading to Lao Xa, Sủng Là commune, Đồng Văn district, Hà Giang province, weave their way back to this secluded village. Lao Xa, a quaint…
Tra Que – a 300-year-old fragrant herbs village
In Hoi An, there exists a village called Tra Que, which for centuries has infused the traditional cuisine of Hoi with fragrant aromas and vibrant greens, bestowing a unique character upon the city’s culinary delights. Green vegetables are an indispensable component of Hoi An’s traditional dishes in Quang Nam province. Lettuce, basil, fish mint, blending…
XUAN PHUONG 