The unique Dong Van market

We arrived at the Dong Van market in Dong Van commune, Tuyen Quang province, on the last day of our trip, our legs weary from the long journey. Our tour leader gave us an hour to shop before returning to Hanoi. In the biting cold of the rocky plateau, I thought we'd just walk around the market and leave, since we could easily find everything we needed in Hanoi. But I was wrong. The Dong Van market is not just a place for buying and selling, but also a unique cultural space of the highland people.

At the market, some vendors display a wide variety of goods, while others only bring baskets of vegetables, a sack of ginger, a few fresh turmeric roots, or a few bottles of mint honey. People can bring any agricultural products from their families to the market and exchange them for money or goods of equivalent value. This simple and flexible way of buying and selling reflects the sincere and humble lifestyle of the highland people.

The Dong Van market is quite large, but navigating it is not easy due to the dense crowds of shoppers. Despite the crowds, the market remains peaceful. Bargaining or loud arguments are rarely heard. People in the highlands rarely haggle or bargain excessively. All transactions proceed smoothly, based on mutual agreement and trust.

The Dong Van market is held every Sunday.

The exchange of goods at the market is very simple. Sellers bring their goods, neatly display them on tarpaulins, and patiently wait for customers. They don't loudly solicit customers, but simply offer gentle smiles. For items that can be sampled, sellers are happy to offer them to customers, whether they buy or not. This openness is what gives the highland market its unique charm.

In Dong Van, it's a common practice for entire families to go to the weekly market. Women buy food, drinks, and household items; men meet friends, drink corn wine, play the flute, or choose to buy breeding animals to take home. For young men and women, the market is also an opportunity to socialize, get to know each other, find love, and sow seeds of happiness amidst the mountains and forests.

It would be a shame to visit the market without enjoying the local cuisine . Typical dishes like thang co (a stew made with horse meat and offal), sausages, men men (corn porridge), five-colored sticky rice, Trang Kim pho (a type of noodle soup)... are available at almost every stall. Besides that, there's smoked buffalo meat, dried persimmons, various traditional medicines, and unique spices from the rocky plateau region.

At the far end of the market is a community space with activities such as bird fighting, stick pushing, and displays of brocade fabrics. Many textile products are entirely handmade, notably the traditional linen of the Hmong ethnic group. Some costumes are designed with subtle modern touches while still retaining their cultural identity, using silver as the main decorative element.

Foreign tourists also love immersing themselves in the atmosphere of the Dong Van market. Amidst modern life, the highland market offers them a different, intimate, and memorable experience.

After an hour at the market, I had nearly twenty items in my hands, including specialty tea from the rocky plateau, buckwheat triangular cakes, dried plums, thorn cakes, fresh vegetables, and black turmeric. As the convoy left Dong Van, the beautiful images of the market remained vividly imprinted in my mind as a rich cultural feature, full of human warmth, of the highlanders in the northernmost region of the country.

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/doc-dao-cho-phien-dong-van-1028551