With unique cultural characteristics and numerous historical, cultural relic sites, Bac Ha district has been known as an attractive tourism destination of the northwestern mountainous province of Lao Cai.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism in the “white plateau” has seen a strong recovery, becoming a unique tourism area of the province.
Nguyen Duy Hoa, Secretary of the Bac Ha district Party Committee, highlighted that the locality has distinctive, intriguing characteristics, and necessary factors to become a tourism magnet of the province in particular and the northwestern region in general.
Notably, Bac Ha market is a special cultural feature in the province which has been selected by Serendib magazine of Sri Lanka as one of Southeast Asia’s 10 most famous markets.
Another famous tourism site attracting tourists to the locality is the ancient mansion of Hoang A Tuong, a delicate combination between Asian and European architectural styles, showing the clear East-West cultural interference. The work was designed and supervised by two architects from different cultures - France and China.
Bac Ha is also home to hundreds of relic and heritage sites, including a heritage of humanity such as the Tay ethnic people's tug of war ritual in Trung Do village, Bao Nhai commune, four national heritage sites and four national historical relic sites.
Besides natural factors, many tourists have been thrilled to festivals in the locality such as Gau Tao Festival (Say Nan) of the Mong ethnic people; Tay ethnic people's field festival with the Xoe dance which has been recognised as a national intangible heritage, among others. In an attempt to recover tourism, the district has planned to organise a series of tourism events throughout the year to lure back holiday-makers.
In addition, the completion and operation of the Hanoi - Lao Cai expressway intersection has shortened travel distance by more than 20km, creating more favourable conditions for visitors coming to the “white plateau”.
In order to create an important highlight to stimulate tourism demand in Bac Ha 2023, the Bac Ha White Plateau Summer Festival was held from June 3-11, 2023. At the event, along with visiting historical and cultural relics, tourists also experienced many unique cultural features and enjoyed local specialties.
According to statistics from the district culture office, during the nine-day event, Bac Ha welcomed 63,000 visitors, about 12% of the total to the locality in 2023.
The district is currently building 10 groups of unique tourism products associated with the "white plateau" brand, including a typical cultural space of the Mong, Dao, Tay and Nung ethnic groups in the direction of uniqueness, sustainability while ensuring benefits of the local communities in order to contribute to sustainable poverty reduction.
At the same time, the district has planned to preserve and promote traditional cultural spaces of ethnic groups associated with the development of local community tourism.
