With its traditional rituals, beautiful customs, and sacred significance, the forest worship ceremony of the Mong ethnic community in Na Hau commune, Van Yen district, Yen Bai province, was officially recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2024, as part of Vietnam’s national intangible cultural heritage.
As tradition dictates, on the last day of the first lunar month each year, the Mong ethnic people in Na Hau commune, Van Yen district, Yen Bai province, eagerly gather at village centres to celebrate the forest worship ceremony, also known as the forest festival. This annual event is held to express gratitude to the forest deities for their blessings over the past year and to set new commitments for forest protection in the year ahead.
In the first weeks of the new year, Ha Giang has seen an overwhelming influx of visitors, with traffic jams frequently reported on mountain passes like Tham Ma Slope, Bac Sum Slope, and Ma Pi Leng Pass.
The Mong ethnic community in the northern province of Son La celebrates their traditional New Year about a month earlier than the Lunar New Year. During this time, the Mong people joyfully welcome the New Year with hope for a life filled with greater warmth and happiness in the year ahead.
Brocade making has been central to the culture of ethnic minorities in Vietnam for thousands of years. Today, the craft is still maintained by these communities in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai as it is deeply imbued with distinctive characteristics of highlanders.
During the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, each ethnic group in Vietnam has its own culinary specialties that reflect the culture of their people and are used as offerings to worship their ancestors.
Home to over 19,500 Mong ethnic people, the central province of Thanh Hoa has carried out a number of socio-economic development programmes and projects to give a facelift to areas where they live.
People from the Mong, Dao, Giay, and Lo Lo ethnic minority groups not only come to Meo Vac flea market in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang to buy and sell goods and necessities but also to meet up with each other.
Men men (steamed corn flour) is an indispensable traditional food from the diet of the Mong ethnic people in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.
For a long time, silver jewellery has been thought to possess talismanic qualities in the spiritual life of the Mong people. They believe it can protect health, exorcise evil spirits and bring in happiness.
A new rice festival was held in Mu Cang Chai district in the northern province of Yen Bai on September 25 as part of activities surrounding UNESCO’s recognition of Xoe Thai as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Gau Tao Festival is one of the most important festivals of the Mong ethnic minority people in Ta Su Choong commune in Hoang Su Phi district of the northernmost province of Ha Giang. It is held annually in September when paddy fields turn golden ripe, a highlight to attract tourists to the locality.
For a long time, silver jewellery has been thought to possess talismanic qualities in the spiritual life of the Mong people. They believe it can protect health, exorcise evil spirits and bring in happiness.
Apart from praying for a bumper crop and wealth, the forest worship ceremony of the Mong ethnic people in Si Ma Cai is also meant to cultivate a love for nature and the awareness of environmental protection in the community.
Mai Chau district in the northwest mountainous province of Hoa Binh is a destination where visitors can admire nature’s majestic beauty, unique and wild ecosystems and the hospitality of local ethnic minority people.
For a long time, silver jewellery has been thought to possess talismanic qualities in the spiritual life of the Mong people. They believe it can protect health, exorcise evil spirits and bring in happiness. Silver carving requires meticulous technique
From her love for brocade colours in her homeland, Sung Thi Lan founded Muong Hoa cooperative, where she entrusts her dream of popularising the nation's cultural value and helping local people escape from poverty.
