PANO - The week of culture, tourism and exploration of Mu Cang Chai rice terraced fields, a national tourist attraction, has started with an opening ceremony on September 18 evening in Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province.

During the ceremony, the audiences were entertained with folk songs, dances performed by ethnic minority people in the northwestern region. The performances lively featured locals’ typical culture with a highlight of the H’Mong pan-pipe.

At the ceremony

During Mu Cang Chai festival, which is annually organized at the beginning of autumn, tourists can enjoy various typical cultural and tourist activities as a mountainous kermes, a photo exhibition entitled Mu Cang Chai - Rhythmical Waves of Rice, community-based tourism, and other specific sports activities of local ethnic minority groups.

This year’s festival’s highlight was the “Flying over brown rice fields” festival for those loving adventures to fly paragliders over the top of the Khau Pha Pass.

Over the past years, Mu Cang Chai district has known for its socio-economic development, especially the ripe rice terraced fields, the special cultural values with close attachment to H’Mong ethnic minority people’s history that was built from locals’ strong will, labor and creativity for over 300 years.

The week aims to honor the national tourist attraction and H’Mong ethnic minority people’s typical culture and historical values as well as to raise public awareness of preserving and promoting tourist attraction’s values linking with the locality’s tourism development.

Translated by Mai Huong