Every Saturday and Sunday, from dawn until sunset, Sapa town bustles with a typical market of the Northwest mountains. The echoing greetings, the cheerful laughter, the melodious sounds of panpipes and flutes blend with the aroma of specialty dishes to create a bustling and vibrant atmosphere. Visitors coming here not only shop for unique souvenirs but also experience the local culture and immerse themselves in the life of the local people.
From early morning, the H'mong and Dao people have displayed their goods and food here.
Hoang Gia, a young man currently living and working in Sapa, said: "Every weekend, people here hold a small market. Although it is small in scale, it still has a very unique color. The H'Mong and Dao people bring products such as indigo-dyed linen, bags, hats, skirts, and shirts with 100% unique hand-embroidered patterns to sell at the market."
Walking in the market, visitors feel like they are lost in another world, where the traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities are preserved. Each market is a vivid, colorful picture with stalls selling all kinds of typical products of the Northwest mountains such as brocade, souvenirs, corn wine, wild honey... In particular, visitors will enjoy delicious specialties prepared by local people such as thang co, sturgeon hotpot, bamboo rice...
Famous specialties of the misty land of Sapa.
According to Hoang Gia, in these markets there are also vegetables typical of temperate regions that are not available in the lowlands such as cat cabbage, Chinese cabbage, chayote, fern, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms... Dishes such as honey cakes, sticky rice cakes, black sticky rice cakes are also sold in large quantities at extremely cheap prices. In addition to fresh products, people here also sell a variety of specialties for tourists to buy as gifts such as buffalo meat, smoked pork, sausage... all bearing the mark of the Northwest mountains and forests.
In these markets there are also vegetables typical of temperate regions that are not available in the lowlands.
In particular, Sapa market is also a place to preserve precious medicinal recipes of the Red Dao people. With long experience in making medicine, they bring visitors teas that help sleep well, leaves for relaxing baths, and stress relief.
"The atmosphere at the market is very bustling, people here buy and sell with each other enthusiastically and crowdedly. In addition to the usual items, at the end of the year they often bring out home-grown orchid pots to sell during the Lunar New Year. There is a large garden of all kinds of flowers for customers to choose from. Not only that, they also carry on their backs the most beautiful orchid pots from their house to sell around the market," said Hoang Gia.
Bring out whatever you have in your garden to sell...
Tourists coming to Sapa not only relax and visit famous tourist attractions but also have the opportunity to experience local culture through activities such as beeswax painting on fabric, traditional embroidery, weaving, indigo dyeing or participating in cultural festivals such as Gau Tao Festival, New Rice Festival, Xuong Dong, Roong Pooc...
Babies on their mothers' backs in the early morning market.
"What I was particularly impressed with at the Sapa market was that most of the items were made by the locals and sold. They may not use cash but will directly exchange the items they have with each other. This is something that is rarely seen in a normal market," Hoang Gia said.
