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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.
Opening: 6 am of Sunday
Closed time: 1 am
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.
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.
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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