If you have the chance, never give up experiencing these wonderful things! And this is an interesting experience of mine in the beautiful land of Tua Chua.
Experience going to Tua Chua market
Market culture has long been a unique beauty in Vietnamese social life. Markets are always attractive because of the unique features of cakes, fruits, vegetables, and even the colors of the ethnic costumes of the highlands. If you come to Dien Bien in the future, don’t forget to experience Tua Chua market; one of the market sessions that is still preserved to this day.
A few words about Tua Chua market
Tua Chua Market takes place every week, this is an opportunity for the Mong, Thai, Dao… indigenous people to go to the market in their most colorful costumes, bringing their farmed products to sell and exchange. Many women also go to the market mainly to meet people and chat.
Most people who go to the market will focus on the stalls selling fabrics, decorative accessories, embroidery items, etc. They will buy and sell, chat and show off to each other the pieces of fabric they have embroidered; many tourists will also be caught up in the colorful beauty of this place.
The area selling fabrics and garment accessories is always crowded with people.
Some people who go to the market normally focus on local specialties such as sticky rice, oranges, doi seeds, wild chestnuts, chicken, pork, banana seeds, wild ginseng, handicrafts, bamboo chopsticks, etc.
Currently, Tua Chua market is even more modern by selling goods via live stream, many market vendors hold a board of 5-7 phones to live sell goods; this helps people all over the country to buy goods at Tua Chua market. And this is also the first time I see this “unique” thing compared to other markets I have been to.
When going out to buy something as a gift, there are a few convenient things that you should buy, both compact and convenient, such as doi seeds, mac khen, dried bamboo shoots, fabrics, brocade, embroidery, jewelry, pepper, chili, honey, even bamboo hats…
This is what I bought when I went to the market: a traditional Mong shirt for 170 thousand, fabric for 60 thousand/meter, patterned fabrics for 20-50 thousand, wool for 20 thousand.
I also bought dried bamboo shoots, chili, mac khen seeds, cham cheo and then packaged everything and shipped it home.
If you accidentally buy too many goods, don’t worry because Tua Chua district center has economical delivery, post office, you just need to pack and send the goods, the goods will arrive home without having to carry anything; I think you should apply this method to comfortably shop at the market.
Tua Chua market time
Tua Chua market takes place on the weekend. Starting on Saturday afternoon, people start gathering at the market yard. From 7:00 to 8:30 pm, the opening music of the market will begin at the Tua Chua cultural house market yard. There will be singing and dancing performances with the sound of the Northwest highlands, attracting many locals and tourists to come and admire.
Accompanying the opening night of the market are many food stalls, notably purple sticky rice, armpit-roasted pig, thang co, fried chicken, sour fish, cabbage soup, steamed tofu; this dish is just steamed tofu with ginger but it is really delicious, the tofu is soft, fragrant and melts as soon as it enters the mouth, making me remember it forever.
This is my meal with the Tua Chua district project board so there will be many dishes, not my collection.
On Sunday morning, a few vendors also move to the market, around 5:30 am some people are already at the market, 7:00 – 9:00 am is the busiest time of the market. At noon, the crowd gradually thins out, many people wait until the end of the day to sell before returning.
Location of Tua Chua market
Tua Chua market takes place in the central market area of Tua Chua district – Tua Chua night market area, located on Road 129, Thang Loi commune, Tua Chua district, Dien Bien province.
A small note for those who come here to experience is to find a room reservation in advance, because on weekends there are quite a lot of tourists coming here, so there is often a situation of not having enough rooms. Room rates range from 250,000 VND/single room.
Attending the wedding of the H’Mong people in Tua Chua
Experiencing an ethnic minority wedding is one of the things I always wish for, not only because of curiosity but also because I want to know what typical dishes they will serve to guests at their wedding. With the excitement of experiencing and the hospitality, I was able to experience a H’Mong wedding.
Opportunity to attend the wedding of H’Mong Tua Chua
After the trip to explore Da Giang, some commune officials introduced me to the local weddings. They advised me to experience them once. There were two weddings in one day, one of the Thai and the other of the Mong people. They asked me which wedding I wanted to go to. I immediately chose the Mong wedding; the most populous local wedding in Tua Chua.
At first, I was very shy, but my brother and sister-in-law kept advising me, “Go, it’s okay! Up here, people will invite you to the wedding just by meeting you once, no need for relatives or anything. Even if you don’t know them, they will still be happy to welcome you, and they will be happy to know that you are from there, it’s rare to have guests from the lowlands come to this remote land!” After what my brother and sister-in-law said, I felt something “touching in my heart” that made me go experience a local wedding.
Things I experienced at a Hmong wedding
The wedding took place at a Hmong wedding restaurant. It was my first time attending a highland wedding and I felt it was very simple and intimate.
Upon entering, the host’s relatives stood in two rows inside the flower gate to welcome guests, one row of men, one row of women shaking hands and greeting guests. Once inside, a rectangular table was arranged for 6 people, each table was filled with food with a menu of more than ten dishes.
The ceremony on stage, as far as I remember, lasted only 5-10 minutes. After introducing the bride, groom and both families, cutting the cake and drinking wine, the ceremony was over. Next was the toasting, the bride’s mother and aunt in traditional costumes would go together to offer wine to each guest, not leaving anyone out. Following that, the bride and groom would also offer wine to each guest. In about 1 hour, the toasting at the wedding party was completed and everyone started to leave.
Wedding party space is always colorful with costumes
As usual, when I was introduced as a Southerner, many other people invited me to drink, the bride invited me, the groom invited me, and the bride’s mother invited me to drink on this important day. It was truly a first for me to experience, being invited to drink, shaking hands, congratulating me, and having everyone care and ask about my trip – although I was still confused, it was truly an experience that I will always remember about this trip.
Behind from left to right are the bride’s aunt, mother and sister.
On the right is the bride in traditional Mong girl costume.
The bride and groom took pictures with us, they really are a perfect match, so cute; that day he said “I also want to go like you, to go to see how beautiful Vietnam is”.
Hmong wedding dishes
The wedding of the H’Mong people in Tua Chua is mostly typical dishes of the land such as chicken, beef, pork, buffalo, sticky rice, vegetables… home-cooked corn wine is an indispensable specialty to entertain guests of this place.
The dishes at the local H’Mong wedding are very delicious to me, and I can eat almost any dish of Dien Bien cuisine in general. It is rich in the sweet and aromatic flavor of nature, not too much MSG, and has the fragrant smell of highland spices.
And that is the experience in Tua Chua – the land I have been through, for me, experiencing many things in many places is a way to remember the places I have been, not only the landscape but also the culture and indigenous people. Always cherish every opportunity to experience to make the trip more vivid, I can do it, you can do it too!