Khau Vai Love Market Festival Culture Tourism Week

From the 25th to 28th days of the third lunar month, visitors also eagerly attend Khau Vai Love Market Festival Culture Tourism Week – a specific traditional cultural activity of local people in Khau Vai Hamlet, Khau Vai Commune, Meo Vac District, Ha Giang Province.
This year’s Khau Vai Love Market Festival Culture Tourism Week was held from 13 to 16 May 2015. Besides incense offering ritual in some places such as Ong Temple, Ba Temple, French Post…, many diversified activities also were organized to highlight specific and unique culture features of local ethnic people, typically art program reappearing the legend love story; the 2nd Miss Northernmost Region Contest. On this occasion, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy folk songs, duo singing of young men and women of Tay, Giay, Nung ethnic groups; hear flute sound of Dao ethnic young men, passionate khen sound of Mong ethnic young men; admire the beauty of the highlands young women in colorful brocade dresses and enjoy special cuisine of Ha Giang such as: thang co, men men, thit treo… In the framework of Khau Vai Love Market Festival Culture Tourism Week, there were also the contests of cow, nightingale; cow fight, goat fight.
Khau Vai Love Market (former name as Phong Luu Market) was formed in 1919, originated from a romantic love story between a Nung boy and a Giay girl. Their love wasn’t supported and led to the grudge between two tribes. In order to avoid a bloody confrontation, they were forced away from each other. However, the boy and the girl vowed that they would meet once a year on the 27th day of the third lunar month. Khau Vai Love Market has begun since that.
Khau Vai has become the market session for all ethnic minority people of Mong, Dao, Giay, Tay, Nung… in Nam Ban, Niem Son, Tat Nga, Lung Pu, Son Vi, Thuong Phung of Meo Vac District (Ha Giang Province) and Na Luong, Duc Hanh, Khuoi Phat of Bao Lac District (Cao Bang Province) from young to old people to meet, talk or say love. Young people go to the market to find their love, wife/husband through their khen sound and sing. People got married to meet their old friend. Everyone is eagerly to wait for the market days which each year only once.
Khau Vai Love Market is upgraded into Khau Vai Love Market Festival in 2007. Since 2012, Khau Vai Love Market Festival is held in the form of Khau Vai Love Market Festival Culture Tourism Week.
Thu Giang