To mark the New Year, a replica market of ethnic minority people in the northern mountainous region will be open from December 29 to January 1 at the Vietnam National Villages for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi.

Market in Son Tay promoting ethnic minority culture over the New Year. Photo: The Vietnam National Villages for Ethnic Culture and Tourism.

The market is expected to add a lively ambiance to the New Year in the city and be a space for ethnic minority people to exchange culture and traditional handicrafts.

The highlight will be pavilions introducing local specialties and products from northern mountainous provinces, including demonstrations by blacksmiths and brocade weavers from the Mong and Lao people in Dien Bien province, a festival of drinking rice wine from a shared jar with Khang people from Son La province, and a meal to mark the end of the year, featuring different dishes from each group. 

The program also features folk games and special arts shows and musical performances by groups such as the Mong, Thai Tay, Dao, and Khmu.

It offers an opportunity for visitors to gain an insight into the traditional crafts and lives of ethnic minority people in the mountains.

Located at the Dong Mo Tourism Area in Son Tay town, on the outskirts of Hanoi, the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Minority Culture and Tourism is a national cultural center, reproducing, preserving, and promoting the traditional cultural heritage of the country’s 54 ethnic minority groups at regularly held festivals and cultural events.

Vietnam has 54 ethnic minority groups. The Viet (Kinh) people account for 87 per cent of the population and mainly inhabit the Red River Delta, the central coastal region, the Mekong Delta, and major cities. The 53 other ethnic minority groups, totaling over 8 million people, are scattered around mountain areas (which cover two-thirds of the country’s territory) from the north to the south.

VN Economic Times