Bac Ha White Plateau Festival is ready to open

Traditional activities have become a brand

The “White Plateau” of Bac Ha is beautiful in every season. Coming to this beautiful land at any time of the year, visitors can easily experience activities imbued with the breath of the land and people of the plateau. Cultural and artistic activities, traditional culinary products have become brands, unique tourism products attracting visitors throughout the four seasons of fruit. This year, kicking off the summer, the Bac Ha White Plateau Summer Festival with the theme “Intoxicated by the horses of the plateau” will take place from June 1 to 9.

The jockeys are actively practicing to prepare for the race.

Like the previous summer festivals, the activity that attracts the most attention from tourists is the traditional horse racing. In order to best prepare the racing horses, these days, the jockeys temporarily put aside their farm work to focus on caring for and training the racing horses, because everyone hopes to win the highest prize.

Mr. Sung Seo Di, Coc Sam village, Coc Ly commune (Bac Ha district) and his racehorse.

Jockey Sung Seo Di, Coc Sam village, Coc Ly commune (Bac Ha district) shared: When there are no races, my horses still work normally, such as carrying goods, corn, and rice. Before each race, I focus on taking care of the horses in terms of diet, food rations, and training regimen to increase their flexibility, endurance, and health to participate in the race.

The traditional horse racing tournament of Bac Ha district has gone through 17 seasons, attracting the participation of many jockeys from localities inside and outside the district. This is a cultural beauty and also a National Intangible Cultural Heritage that is being cared for and promoted by the government and the people. The tournament will open on June 2.

Along with the main activities of the qualifying and final rounds, this year, the Organizing Committee also recreated the National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Bac Ha Horse Racing Festival and performed a street parade of racing horses before entering the qualifying rounds. This is considered an effective visual form to gradually restore and develop the unique cultural features of the highlands.

In addition, there is also the opening program of the Bac Ha White Plateau Festival in the summer of 2024 with special cultural and artistic activities at the Bac Ha night market stage. This is an activity to honor the cultural values of the ethnic groups in Bac Ha, promote unique tourism products to the majority of people and tourists, associated with the local tourism development orientation of exploiting and promoting indigenous folk values and knowledge.

Attending this year's festival, visitors can also participate in a tourism experience program on the "White Plateau" with a series of unique activities, such as: watching the sunset and welcoming the sunrise on the top of Ngai Thau; visiting and experiencing the 1000-year-old nghien tree and Coc Sam grassland; visiting and experiencing the ancient tea tree in Hoang Thu Pho commune; a sacred temple tour program...

Jockeys parade through the streets to visually promote the festival.

In particular, this is the season of ripe Tam Hoa plums, the experience of picking plums in the garden is also an activity that attracts many tourists. Coming to Na Hoi, Ta Chai, Ban Pho communes, Bac Ha town, Bac Ha Vegetable Farm, tourists will have the opportunity to experience picking plums in the garden, enjoying fresh, crispy and sweet plums. The plum gardens are located along the provincial road, inter-village and inter-commune roads, so it is very convenient for tourists to visit and experience.

Mr. Bui Van Vinh, Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Bac Ha district, said: The Bac Ha White Plateau Festival has been built and organized since 2019, gradually becoming a typical brand and tourism product, receiving the love of domestic and international tourists, contributing to making Lao Cai one of the indispensable destinations in Vietnam. We focus on exploiting cultural identity, available resources and indigenous products to create highlights for the festival, an invitation to visitors from near and far.

Ready to open

Bac Ha currently has more than 100 accommodation establishments, since the beginning of the year, nearly 30 establishments have upgraded, expanded and renovated to welcome guests during the festival. Accommodation establishments in the area are now ready to welcome visitors, fully prepared with items ensuring safety, quality, reasonable prices, no price increases, creating the most favorable conditions for visitors when coming to Bac Ha.

Sa Mu Restaurant and Hotel, Bac Ha town is located right in the town center, on the way to Na Hoi commune. Along with the restaurant system serving the dining needs of tourists, the restaurant currently has dozens of single rooms and dormitories, capable of accommodating about 50 guests at a time.

Ms. Do Thi Sen, owner of Sa Mu Restaurant and Hotel, said: This year, the holiday is quite long, I have renovated the rooms, invested in blankets and sheets to meet the booking requirements of tourists. At the same time, I have found places to experience plum picking and indigenous culture to advise tourists.

Restaurants and hotels are ready to welcome tourists to visit and relax.

With the goal of affirming Bac Ha's position as a provincial-level tourist area, and in the future a national-level tourist area, the Bac Ha White Plateau Festival is safe, economical, attractive, and effective, combined with many attractive activities, which will contribute to attracting domestic and international tourists, creating a breakthrough in tourism.

Ms. Chu Thi Duong, Vice Chairwoman of Bac Ha District People's Committee affirmed: We have developed a plan and deployed it to communes to propagate and mobilize people to prepare conditions to participate in the festival. In particular, this year's horse racing tournament is being held with many new features. Up to now, nearly 100 horse riders have passed the preliminary round to compete. The preparation of the field has been completed, ready for the opening day of the festival. Security, order and traffic safety issues during the festival have been planned in detail for the festival to take place successfully.

With proactive and timely preparation, the Bac Ha White Plateau Festival in the summer of 2024 will certainly bring visitors unforgettable experiences. Bac Ha district expects the festival to attract about 65 thousand visitors. This will be an opportunity for the district to enhance local cultural and tourism activities.

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