VietNamNet Bridge – Scheduled trading sessions are what make ethnic minorities in the nation’s northwestern upland unique.

Opened either on Saturday or Sunday, a trading session is a weekend gathering of ethnic minority groups such as H’Mong, Dao, Tay and Nung. Prior to sunrise, small groups of people in colorful brocade costumes go to the trading session.

Usually, people sell typical products of the mountainous region such as fresh vegetables, ginger, sticky rice, poultry, stream fish, forest vegetables, bamboo sprouts and cakes.

Although vendors are from different ethnic groups, they share the same sale style which makes bargaining impossible as all prices are fixed. They only sell couples of poultry or livestock.

A customer buys vegetables at a trading session

Before arrival at this so-called market, vendors do not weigh their products such as vegetables, pickles, bamboo sprouts, cakes and sticky rice, but they usually tie them in bundles or pack them together for sale.

Normally prices would be slashed when consumer demand is low, or vice versa. But at this particular trading session, prices are kept unchanged irrespective of customer turnout.

As explained by elderly people, the custom of fixing prices for products comes from the good characteristics of honesty and talking straightforwardness. Ethnic people trust one another.

Meanwhile, the habit of selling couples of poultry or livestock comes from their belief that everything is created in accordance with the yin-yang philosophy. It is hard to see people selling a single chicken, duck, pig, or dog but male and female animals should be sold together.

An ethnic woman watches people trading cassava – Photos: Nguyen The Luong