Ha Giang is a land known for unique fairs that embodies the culture of the peoples living here. One of the well-known fairs is Lung Phin fair, a fair to trade goods and the love market for young people.
Lung Phin fair is situated on Lung Phin town, Meo Vac district, Ha Giang province, where focusing quite crowded ethnic minorities. Lung Phin fair is usually opens on the days of Monkey and days of Tiger in months and held weekly, every week it in turn taking place days of Monkey and days of Tiger.
From Meo Vac town about 15 km further, by 4C lane of roads in Dong Van – Meo Vac – Yen Minh you’ll reach Lung Phin fair. A spacious land enough to display a lot of different items that sellers and buyers are free to trade though the market is very crowded.
Lung Phin fair is not only normal but they are great festival of more than 16 ethnic groups living on the rocky highlands of Ha Giang and the unique backward fair in the northernmost of Vietnam. As well as the fair in turn taking place days of Monkey and days of Tiger, so the people here call them backward fair, regular 6 days a fair and the people prepare forthe fair. Lung Phin fair only takes place in day, starting very early when the sun is not up, the market is crowded, from 4 – 5 am and not until 3 – 4 pm.
From the dawn of the fair, people from all villages in the district of Lung Phin and neighboring areas bring baskets of goods to sell in Lung Phin fair, a papoose on their backs and walk to the fairs in rows, some of them use the horses, motorbikes. The children also follow their mothers to help mothers deliver items to the market.
In Lung Phin, fair there are many items on sale. The food items such as rice, vegetables, meat, household items, materials for cultivation, clothing, textiles … mainly items are hand-made, very rustic and close. There are some people, they bring to the market just one chicken, a dozen eggs, or simply a few bundles of sugarcane, vegetables in the gardens. Particularly specialty items like mint honey, Lung Phin snow tea, hills chicken, Brocade… favored by travelers, they are simple things of Lung Phin markets.
Along with the exchange of goods, boys, girls in remote villages travel to Lung Phin fair for an opportunity to have fun, find lovers; they go to the love market as an opportunity for them to dress up, nice and fresh. Visiting the fair, you will encounter the young men and women gathering together in the beautiful and colorful costumes. You will have the chance to see the Hmong village girls in lovely floral clothes or silvery jewelry on the Red Dao girls … all are mixed with each other to create a space in the market, a colorful picture.
To the Lung Phin fair, visitors will see a unique feature of an highland fair. Everyone goes to market for trading, after buying enough, they will sit back at the market for food, both men and women drink wine and eat “thang co”. It is like eating lunch at home and then they return home. There are so many people that do not want to come home after going to the market and have a date in the next markets.
- Location: 35 kilometers from the town center of Dong Van, and 15 kilometers from the town of Meo Vac. It is next the the road Dong Van – Meo Vac – Yen Minh.
- Garthering time: This is a descending ethnic market which only takes place on Tiger day and Monkey day (according to the lunar calendar).
- Features: This market is considered the largest, the most unique and also deeply infused with mountainous culture. The market is the opportunity of garthering, meeting and exchanging among 16 ethnic communities in the region.
- Local specialties: mint honey, Lung Phin tea, corn wine, dried beef, ‘thang co’ and brocades.
