Big market with a wide range of ethnic groups: Hmong, Dao,
Nung, and merchants from other ethnic groups who come all the way from China to
sell their products. Several Pa Zi women sell traditional incense made from the
bark and resin of scented trees.
Muong Khuong market takes place on Sundays and is located in
a small border town, which is frequented by Flower H'mong, Tu Di, Tay and Giay
ethnic minorities. They come from surrounding villages to buy and sell local
products such as food and material for agriculture and fabric.
The district is looking to develop into an eco-friendly
destination
Muong Khuong district is planning to remodel itself into a
centre of community-based eco-tourism in northwest Lao Cai Province in its
current period of development (2005-10), said the chairman of the district
people committee Nong Van Hung at a recent tourism conference.
The district, which has 13 markets and seven handicraft
villages, has chosen tourism as the driving force that can better the lives of
its population of 51,000 who’s current capita per head is VND3.5 million
(US$209).
Muong Khuong District is about a 10-hour train ride from the
capital and then approximately 50km east from Lao Cai centre. The district is
then accessible by motorbike or bus from Lao Cai City, Vietnam.
The locality is home to 14 ethnic groups including Mong (the
largest group who account for 43 per cent of the population), Nung, Dao, Pa Di
and Phu La. The mix in ethnicities lends the area a colourful character,
visible in the market and the wares each group has to offer.
"The market is one of the main tourist attractions
which sees a lot of visitors, especially as the district also serves as a link
to other famous sites like Sa Pa Town, Bac Ha (Bac Ha tour)and Si Ma Cai
districts in the province and the border gate with Yunnan, China," said
Hung.
"The agriculture-based district will target
community-based eco-tourism in a sustainable manner that will help develop
future social-economic projects over the course of the next few years," he
said, adding that the district is expected to open more border gates for
increasing tourism traffic from China.
Vibrant market
Muong Khuong District is well-known to travellers for its
many markets lining National Road 4D. It gives visitors a chance to glimpse
into the life and traditions, not to mention goods on sale, of the Mong, Nung
and Dao.
"We want to transform tourism in Lao Cai Province into
a powerful industry and Muong Khuong District is just one of the tourist
destinations we want to focus on and improve upon. Currently, we are upgrading
the infrastructure and landscapes in the district to make it more attractive to
tourists," said vice director of Lao Cai Province’s Culture, Sport and
Tourism Department, Le Duc Luan.
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Challenges ahead
During the conference, travel agents highlighted the
problems tourists faced and how they needed to be rectified as it was important
to ensure that travellers did not leave with bad impressions of the area.
"We are fully aware that Lao Cai is famous for its
sites, especially Sa Pa Town and Bac Ha District and how tourists are drawn to
the area’s weekly markets and lifestyles of the different ethnicities. However,
we are afraid that an overload of tourist traffic could prevent visitors from
travelling throughout the province," said Dang Thi Tho, head of the Hanoi
branch of Phoenix Voyage travel company.
"What we have learned from our 10 years of offering
tours in the province is that authorities need to open more sites so that
visitors have more options to avail of when they visit Lao Cai. Our customers,
mostly from France, would visit Sa Pa and Bac Ha but never considered
prolonging their stay in the province because nothing attractive was on offer
there," Tho added.
Tran Thi Huyen Thanh, director of Wild Lotus company, said:
"I have seen just how beautiful Muong Khuong District’s natural landscape
is. That is its advantage but it needs to tap into it and explore creative ways
to promote it so that the area becomes an ideal destination for travellers to
Lao Cai Province."
However, the 34-year-old director said that the District
needed to revamp the markets to make them easier to access and browse through
in a carefree manner. He said locals needed to be made aware of norms of social
etiquette in their dealings with tourists.
"At the moment, many locals do not even smile or turn
their heads if tourists want to take photographs with them. Instead it is
common for them to ask for a little money if they are asked to pose for
photographs or they trail tourists, and harass them into buying their wares.
This chaotic atmosphere needs to change," said Thanh.
The district opened a lodge in centre of Cao Son Village,
where visitors could stay overnight and then go on a trek the following day
throughout forests and markets in or near Cao Son, Lung Khau Nhin, Pha Long, Ta
Gia Khau, Ban Lau, Ban Xen and Lung Vai.
Many spoke of their pleasure visiting brocade weaving sites
and maize wine villages in Ta Chu Phung and Di Thang. Perhaps more such
lodgings need to be opened.
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New plans
In the current 2005-10 five-year plan for tourism
development in the district, authorities in Lao Cai hope to complete work on a
road that will link Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai districts to Ha Giang next year.
This should facilitate tourism in the area as it will give travellers
opportunities to explore in a convenient manner.
The road will also turn Muong Khuong District into a centre
of tourism and provide a viable trade route from Hekou, Ma Guan and Yunnan in
China to Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai districts in Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces.
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