Hmong girls, dressed in their finest traditional clothing, check in at Pha Den.
This spring, Pha Den – a Hmong village at an absolute altitude of 1,500m in the border commune of Pu Nhi – seems to awaken. Before the sun even crosses the deep green border of the mountains, clouds fill the valley, spilling over the slopes and swirling around the wooden houses. From above, Pha Den village appears to emerge from an ocean of white clouds, with only the winding dirt roads along the mountainside visible. With the arrival of spring, the golden color of mustard flowers blankets the slopes. On the stone fences, a few wild peach and plum trees are bursting with their last buds, swaying gently in the breeze.
The village of Pha Đén has fewer than a hundred houses, with over four hundred inhabitants, all of whom are Hmong people. Their traditional way of life remains almost intact, with their houses, fireplaces, and stone fences... In the yard, a few barefoot children play. When spring arrives, and the fields are temporarily dormant, the Hmong people enter their festival season: playing the khene (a type of bamboo flute), throwing pao (a type of ball), singing love songs, and drinking corn wine amidst laughter. This year, Pha Đén has a different spring, more joyful, more vibrant, and more novel. This novelty comes from a Hmong young man – Hơ Pó Dinh.
Several years ago, Mr. Dinh began building the first bamboo huts. His family used to grow corn and cassava on that land; they worked in different seasons, but the income wasn't enough to make ends meet. The opportunity arose after Mr. Dinh went down to the lowlands with a friend. He saw people from the lowlands doing tourism , setting up tents and opening photo spots to admire the scenery. Returning home, he thought: why not give it a try? So the experiment began in 2023. Mr. Dinh himself cut bamboo, carried it up the mountain, erected posts, and built huts thatched with thatch. His wife, children, and relatives came to help. Small bamboo huts gradually appeared amidst the white clouds. Besides the huts, he planted buckwheat, yellow and pink chrysanthemums, and mustard flowers around the slopes. Visitors who came to take photos and admire the clouds could order dishes like free-range chicken, free-range pork, and wild vegetables; they could also borrow traditional flutes, clothing, and other items to experience the local culture. And so, the first community-based tourism destination in the Mong village of Pha Den was formed in such a simple way.
Initially, only a few groups of young people from the village came to visit, but thanks to social media platforms like Zalo, TikTok, and Facebook, word spread, and now everyone from other provinces knows about it. Each month, two or three hundred people come up the mountain to chase clouds, take photos, and stay overnight in thatched huts. Mr. Dinh's family income is more stable now, no longer entirely dependent on farming. According to Mr. Dinh: "The most important thing is that the people in the village know how to do tourism and can also make a living."
In the last days of the twelfth lunar month, Pha Đén suddenly became more lively as the local authorities chose it to host the volleyball tournament celebrating the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026. The tournament brought together 28 teams from the communes of Quang Chiểu, Pù Nhi, Nhi Sơn, Trung Lý, Sơn Thủy, Na Mèo, along with Mong students from Thanh Hóa and the Pù Nhi Border Guard Post. The loudspeakers called out the teams' names, cheers erupted, and the sound of the ball hitting the ground echoed through the clouds. Never before had the small village been so crowded. Visitors came to watch the volleyball tournament and then followed the trail to the mountaintop to chase the clouds. Early in the morning, they stood on Mr. Dinh's bamboo hut, watching the sun emerge from the sea of white clouds. In the afternoon, they returned to the village square to watch the volleyball final. In the evening, bonfires blazed, and a lively community cultural program unfolded. Mong boys and girls, dressed in their finest clothes, danced with the khene (a traditional Hmong wind instrument). For the people of Pha Đén, never in their lives had a spring been so joyful.
Mr. Lau Van Dua, Party Secretary and Head of Pha Den village, said: “After the commune issued a resolution on the development of tourism in Pha Den, the village Party branch assigned the youth union to select qualified young members to develop local businesses . Mr. Dinh was the first to do so.” This year, Pu Nhi commune organized the spring sports and performance festival in Pha Den village. Besides strengthening solidarity between villages and the commune, it was also an opportunity to promote the image of Pha Den to tourists. It was like a “debut” of Pha Den to visitors from near and far. There was no need for a large stage or dazzling lights; the scenery, people, and culture of the place created the attraction. Morning cloud hunting, lunch in the village, afternoon volleyball, and evening melodious sounds of the flute played by young men and women – it was a series of natural, authentic, and captivating experiences.
When I mentioned how tourism could help the people prosper, Secretary Dua smiled enthusiastically, then sighed wistfully: “That road is still very long! For Pha Den to become a tourist destination, the people must change. The people of Pha Den are used to farming, their education level is low, and welcoming guests, cooking, maintaining hygiene, and sharing cultural stories are all new and difficult tasks, harder than working in the fields or tending to buffaloes and cows. And not everyone knows how to provide services, maintain a good image, and interact with tourists. Besides, the infrastructure is still rudimentary, the roads to the villages are narrow, there are temporary parking lots, toilets are lacking, and accommodation is not up to standard... The recent sports and cultural events were successful, but to become an annual brand, it needs to be organized systematically, with a fixed schedule and travel agency partnerships.”
Mr. Dua said slowly, "Developing tourism requires a lot of learning. The people's education level must be raised, and the young people in the village must take the lead, knowing how to do it and how to preserve their identity. If we can't preserve the indigenous Mong culture, tourists won't want to come anymore." Despite these concerns, Pha Den still shows some positive signs. The village's youth union has discussed developing community tourism. The commune also plans to open training courses on tourism, hygiene, and food safety for the people. The idea of building an experiential route linking other border communes is also being considered as a new direction. As for Mr. Dinh, the pioneer in developing tourism here, he believes, "Next spring, it will surely be busier. We have to do a good job." Then he turned towards the sun shining its warm rays, his eyes full of hope.
I suddenly thought: perhaps tourism in Pha Den is like this morning. The clouds are still thick, the road is still obscured, but the warm sunlight is already peeking through the horizon. When the people in the village know how to preserve the unique characteristics of their ethnic culture and open their doors to visitors from afar, Pha Den will not only be a place for cloud hunting but will also be a place that I, and tourists from near and far, will seek out!
Text and photos: Dinh Giang
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/pha-den-mua-xuan-nay-279736.htm
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