Ta Van, Street in the Village

Ta Van village is located in Ta Van commune, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province, about 12km from Sa Pa city center. Located in the picturesque Muong Hoa valley, at the foot of Hoang Lien Son mountain range, Ta Van village attracts tourists right from the first natural scenes on the way to the village. It is not only the terraced fields stacked layer by layer, the high mountains overlapping each other, the thin road like a thread crossing the hillside covered with green rice seedlings and young rice. But now, Ta Van is bustling with rows of convenient "streets" located in the heart of the village.

Ta Van is bustling with rows of convenient "streets" located in the heart of the village. Photo: Internet

Ta Van village has more than 150 households, mainly Giay ethnic people, so it is often called Ta Van Giay. They live mainly by farming. In recent years, when Sa Pa tourism has developed strongly, Ta Van people have started doing tourism to escape poverty.

Arriving in Ta Van, you will see many stilt houses with many simple signs that say "Homestay". Small wooden houses, nestled behind bamboo bushes, next to small streams. The main materials are wood and traditional ethnic items that make visitors feel more excited and closer. Here, most of the homestay rental houses have long chairs and a small table, a few potted plants, or a cool green fence, where visitors can relax and sip hot tea, listen to birds chirping, read a few interesting stories or simply close their eyes to rest, to blend into the green, fresh space.

Mr. Hang A Pao, Secretary of the Ta Van Commune Youth Union, said: As the country becomes more and more modern, homestay services are mainly developed to help tourists stay overnight in the locality. This service is the most effective. The youth force has the role of propagating to the villagers to understand more about the issue of income and economic development, propagating to households with youth union members to participate in the activities of the commune youth union. The youth union members widely deploy to the people to build homestays so that people can improve their lives and develop the economy, expanding the macro scale.

Although it is a small village that has to go down the mountain pass, Ta Van village still has all the necessities for anyone who wants to stay overnight. In the center of Ta Van village, there is a neighborhood with many homestays, coffee shops, supermarkets and markets selling a variety of goods so that tourists and locals can buy most of the necessary items. The shops mainly sell clean vegetables, pork, and raise local chickens to serve customers. The necessities will be provided in the village, instead of having to go to Sapa to buy things to bring back.

Ms. Chao Co May, a local resident, sells goods at the market street, shared: "I have been selling goods like this for 5 years. I mainly sell goods that I grow myself and sell, such as clean vegetables and bananas. Mainly to serve the locals and tourists. Because there are many tourists, there is a market. I still have a large field, but because the market was established, the whole family grows vegetables to sell. There are so many customers that everyone likes to sell goods. Selling goods like this can also earn a few tens of thousands of dong a day to buy fat and MSG to eat, and have money to pay for school for the children."

When staying long term in Ta Van, tourists can also participate in sports activities at the artificial football field located right next to the Commune Committee. This artificial football field is also where many European delegations and many non-governmental charitable organizations have held exchanges, taught and participated in games for local children.

Small wooden houses are decorated with flower beds in front of the house. Photo: VOV5

Ly Thi Co, 27 years old, shared: "Foreigners have many classes to teach the children. They have helped ethnic people a lot such as helping them participate in games, preventing human trafficking. This game is an unlocking game to gain more knowledge and understanding about modern society. I have learned many times and participated in teaching the children."

The green of the terraced fields stretching along the majestic mountain slopes here has created a captivating scene. Along the way to the village, many groups of both Western and Vietnamese tourists stroll here. Mixed in with the cheerful laughter of tourists are the voices of local girls speaking English like the wind guiding visitors into the village, that is enough to feel the attraction of this place.

Golden rice season in Ta Van village. Photo: Trong Nguyen

Mrs. Giang Co Siu, 69 years old, Mong ethnic, shared: "In the past, when farming, growing rice and corn, many families only had buffaloes, cows, pigs and chickens, but now that I'm old, the work is hard. Now that society has developed, there are many shops in the village selling goods. I see many foreigners and I get to interact with them, so I like it. Because I'm old, I don't have the ability to learn the language to talk to them, so I feel sorry.

Winding through Ta Van village is a large stream, where visitors can wade and feel the cool water, or sip a cup of coffee at a nearby cafe to watch the sunset. It is one of the beautiful scenes of Ta Van village. Visitors can sit on the porch, look out at the golden terraced fields, the mountains hidden behind the clouds, listen to the birds chirping, and listen to the sound of the stream flowing. A peaceful scene that captivates visitors./.

Yanjiang