When mentioning highland market festivals, many people immediately think of Khau Vai love market (Meo Vac, Tuyen Quang ) - a unique cultural feature with a history of hundreds of years.
The love market originated from the touching love story of a couple who could not be together but still met every year at Khau Vai to express their feelings. Gradually, that love appointment became a social custom, then a market, a love market, attracting a large number of people and tourists.
Entering the integration period, fair festivals are increasingly interested and organized on a large scale, becoming a highlight for tourism development, strengthening solidarity and friendship among nations.
Unique identity from Khau Vai love market
Every spring, in the mountains and forests, the cat ear rocks are still mixed with the colors of apricot and plum blossoms at the end of the season, the whole Dong Van stone plateau becomes more bustling. On the road winding around the mountainside, the sound of horse hooves, the gentle sound of H'Mong flutes, and the chirping laughter paint a picture of many levels of the great festival. People go to Khau Vai love market to meet, find some old memories, and maybe to share things they have not had the chance to say to each other.
In that space, many people remember the verses of poet Tran Hoa Binh : "If one day we cannot marry each other/ Will you go with me through the sharp rocks/ The Khau Vai with bruised footprints?"
For over a hundred years, Khau Vai has been a witness to the longing and longing that is difficult to put into words, so many people choose to dissolve it in the incense smoke of Ong and Ba temples, so that love can be kept and cherished.
In the middle of the market, one can see the brilliant colors of brocade like a rainbow across the mountainside. The melodious sound of the panpipe calling for a mate, the gentle sound of the flute makes everyone's footsteps slow down. There are couples holding hands going down the market, then turning to find their old lover, all taking place in the tolerance and sympathy of the community. In this place, love is worshiped, the past is cherished, the present is preserved with smiles and warm eyes.
Khau Vai is also a place where the unique cultural values of ethnic groups converge: H'Mong, Tay, Nung... From rice cake pounding competitions, bird competitions... to folk games such as: Tung con tossing, pao throwing, pole climbing... all create the vibrant vitality of the festival.
At night, the love market lights up in the shimmering atmosphere of the love-praying ceremony at Ong Temple - Ba Temple, where generations of couples have entrusted their lifelong aspirations.
Khau Vai today is a festival and has become a unique tourism product of Tuyen Quang, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year. People come to Khau Vai to have fun, explore, but more importantly, to regain faith in love and the loyalty of life. That is why Khau Vai Fair is different.
In 2021, the social customs and beliefs of Phong Luu Khau Vai market were recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is a worthy recognition of the special value of the festival, and at the same time opens up opportunities for Tuyen Quang to strongly develop tourism associated with heritage conservation.
If Tuyen Quang stands out with its unique Khau Vai love market, Cao Bang and Lang Son are marked with international tourism trade fairs that create a harmonious combination of cultural exchange and trade promotion. In recent years, in Cao Bang, the International Trade Fair has attracted more than 200 domestic and foreign enterprises, with about 400 booths, displaying a variety of agricultural products, household appliances, mechanical equipment, electronics, etc.
The fair creates opportunities to promote local specialties and also becomes a meeting place, connecting businesses on both sides of the border, contributing to promoting trade cooperation and expanding product consumption markets. In 2024, import-export turnover through border gates in the province is estimated to reach about 900 million USD, an increase of 21.9% compared to 2023.
According to tourism industry statistics, in recent years the number of tourists to the Northeastern and Northwestern highland provinces has been constantly increasing, in which festivals and markets play an important role in extending the length of stay and increasing tourists' spending.
This figure shows the strong momentum of border trade activities, in which fairs play an important role as catalysts. With a favorable geographical location and an upgraded border gate system, Cao Bang is gradually asserting its role as a gateway connecting ASEAN with China.
Similarly, in Lang Son province, the Vietnam-China International Trade and Tourism Fair in December every year attracts about 300 booths and thousands of visitors and shoppers. This is an activity within the national trade promotion program, held annually in rotation between Lang Son province (Vietnam) and Pingxiang town (Guangxi, China).
It can be seen that highland trade and tourism fairs have gone beyond the usual buying and selling function, becoming a bridge of friendship and international cooperation, while effectively promoting the cultural and tourism image of the locality.
According to tourism industry statistics, in recent years the number of tourists to the Northeastern and Northwestern highland provinces has been constantly increasing, in which festivals and markets play an important role in extending the length of stay and increasing tourists' spending.
Cultural and artistic activities, night markets, and community tourism experiences have become typical tourism products, creating competitive advantages for each locality. Bringing economic benefits, market festivals also play an important role in preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage. H'Mong flute melodies, Tay then melodies, colorful costumes... are vividly recreated through competitions and performances, thereby nurturing cultural pride and raising awareness of conservation in the community.
Towards sustainable tourism development
Mr. Phung Quang Thang, Chairman of the Vietnam Green Tourism Association, said: If the highland market festival is organized and exploited properly, it will open a direction for sustainable green tourism development. To develop tourism from this model, we should stick to three issues: Protecting culture, preserving nature, and promoting community benefits.
Besides the achievements, the development of tourism associated with highland fair festivals still faces many challenges. Some places are still formal and lack depth; tourism infrastructure is not yet synchronized; service quality is not commensurate with the potential. In many cases, tourism products are still monotonous, repetitive, and have not fully exploited the unique features of the locality.
In addition, in the process of commercialization, the risk of cultural identity fading also requires a harmonious solution between preservation and development. Tourists come to the highland market not only to buy goods, but more importantly to experience the pristine, rustic, and authentic cultural space. If we focus too much on commercial factors and ignore core cultural values, the festival will easily lose its unique appeal.
According to Mr. Duong Minh Binh - a community tourism expert, to overcome this, localities need to build a tourism development strategy associated with heritage conservation, focus on training human resources, improve service quality, and invest in synchronous and modern infrastructure. In addition, it is necessary to encourage the community to participate in the festival organization process, develop community tourism models, so that people are truly the subjects and beneficiaries of cultural heritage.
If properly organized and exploited, highland market festivals will open a direction for sustainable green tourism development. To develop tourism from this model, we should stick to three issues: Protecting culture, preserving nature, and promoting community benefits.
Mr. Phung Quang Thang, Chairman of Vietnam Green Tourism Association
Through practical activities, community tourism experts also warn against over-theatricalization at fair festivals. Instead, we should build a “storytelling corridor” in a rustic, natural way, connected to people and land, and actively build a team of local tour guides, applying technology to create multilingual QR codes.
Today's fair festivals, in addition to opening up a space for exchange and interaction among the mountain people, have also become a destination for friendship, cooperation and development, contributing to bringing the image of a country rich in identity, friendly and dynamic Vietnam to international friends. Each fair festival has its own identity, but they all aim for a common value: Bringing culture into soft power, bringing love for the land into a driving force to join the integration flow.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/doc-dao-le-hoi-cho-vung-cao-post909273.html
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