The opening ceremony of the Bac Ha Plateau Festival held in Bac Ha town, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, on June 1. (Photo: VNA) Lao Cai (VNA) – An opening ceremony of the Bac Ha Plateau Festival washeld in Bac Ha town, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, on June 1.
The highlight of the festival is a horse race, slated for June 7-8 at Bac Hatown’s stadium, featuring the competition of jockeys from Lao Cai and theneighbouring provinces of Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, and Lai Chau.
Following the opening ceremony, a street festival was held, gathering more than500 artists from communes in Bac Ha district, along with a parade of 20 outstandingjockeys of the northwest region and the participation of a group of old carsfrom the Volkswagen car club.
Later the same day, a rose and wine fest took place at Hoang A Tuong Palace.Visitors to the fest were treated with more than 50 traditional dishes and atraditional and modern art programme performed by Vietnamese and foreignartists.
The festival, which takes place from May 31 to June 9, aims to promote theunique cultural value and tourism potential of Bac Ha district to visitors fromboth at home and abroad, thus lifting Bac Ha as an attractive tourismdestination in Vietnam’s northern region.
Bac Ha town is famous for its rural market every Sunday, which is not only atrading place, but also a venue for cultural exchange among local people. Thehorse market is held as part of the Sunday market; the Bac Ha horse is praisedas one of the most beautiful types of horse in Vietnam.
The horse race is a unique traditional cultural practice of ethnic groupsliving on the "White Plateau". Organised annually since 2007, therace has been established as a most-expected sporting event of the locals andvisitors to the town. - VNA
VNA
