A peaceful Thai ethnic village in Moc Chau

Doi Village is about 30km far from Moc Chau plateau, a place to preserve traditional culture and attractive green tea hills to visitors. Visiting this place, visitors have the opportunity to participate in and experience daily activities like the local people often do such as looking for medical leaves, picking tea leaves, fishing, and cooking many traditional dishes by themselves such as: grilled fish, grilled chicken, com lam, etc. Moc Chau Plateau has a temperate climate, topography and soil suitable for growing many crop plants, typically tea. Heart-shaped tea hills in Moc Chau have become attractive tourist attractions, drawing a lot of visitors, especially young people. Visitors can admire immense green tea plots and also rent or buy colourful traditional costumes of local ethnic groups to take photos. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

Taking advantage of the natural landscapes and cool climate all year round, local villagers have developed community-based tourism products to serve the demand of tourists. Moc Chau Plateau, one of the biggest plateaus in the country, stretches some 80km long and 25km wide, and stands about 1,050m above sea level. As a result, its average temperature is a cool 16-26 degrees Celsius. The climate is ideal for resorts and eco-tourism. In the winter, from Pha Luong and Van Ho peak visitor can view the beautiful Moc Chau plateau in the season of fog. The government and local people have been promoting the advantages to Moc Chau to make it become an increasingly attractive destination for tourists and investors. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

Community-based tourism has helped local ethnic people have stable incomes, contributing to preserving traditional cultural identities in localities. The government has approved the master plan for the Moc Chau national tourism zone’s development with a vision to 2030. The plan is an opportunity to exploit the province’s tourism potential and create a breakthrough for socio-economic development in Son La province and the northwestern region. Moc Chau has many tourist attractions, such as a floating maket on Da River, Doi Cave, Son Moc Huong Cave, Ang Village pine hill, Dai Yem water fall, five caves in On Village, Xuan Nha National Nature Conservation Area and Phieng Luong peak. Recognising the advantages of the native highlands, many businesses and households in Moc Chau have strongly invested in tourism by building restaurants, mini hotels, motels in villages, developing tourism products. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

People still keep their traditional method of producing household items. The photos were taken before the fourth wave of COVID broke out. The government has approved the master plan for the Moc Chau national tourism zone’s development with a vision to 2030. The plan is an opportunity to exploit the province’s tourism potential and create a breakthrough for socio-economic development in Son La province and the northwestern region. Under the plan, the Moc Chau National Tourism Zone, covering 206,150 hectares in Moc Chau and Van Ho district, will feature diversified and unique tourism products with high competitiveness along with natural landscapes and ethnic cultural identities. 106 (Photo: Mai Mai/ Vietnamplus)

Mother nature offers the locality abundant fruits and trees. Son La province is a special land of not only majestic mountains but also distinct cultural values representing for the typical culture of ethnic minority groups in the Northwest Vietnam. It is home of 12 ethnic groups involving Thai, Kinh, H'mong, Muong, Dao, Kho Mu, Xinh Mun, Khang, La Ha, Lao, Tay, and Hoa. In which, Thai is the largest community in Son La province, accounting for 54% of the population. The province has been working to preserve and promote Thai culture in Vietnam’s northwestern region. Son La is well-known for its Moc Chau and Na San plateaus with tea plantation, dairy cow farms and hi-tech flower farms. (Photo: Mai Mai/ Vietnamplus)

Lively and beautiful flowers of the mountainous region. Leaving from the bustle of city to the paradise of flowers in Moc Chau, visitors will experience unexpected feelings. The immense tea hills, the beautiful white plum forests, the smiles of Thai children or the charm ethnic’s girl on the fields every morning… All of things is deeply impressive in the hearts of visitors. More especially, the beauty of white cabbage flowers and the yellow of terraces rice fields in the sunset create Moc Chau wonderful as the paradise. Anyone who has traveled the Northwest can not forget to set foot on the Moc Chau highland. In the vast of mountains, Moc Chau (Son La) appears lively as a picture with many brilliant colors. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

Moc Chau plateau is always beautiful in any season, so visitors can visit the place anytime of year. This place is peaceful and poetic as a princess who sleeps deeply in the forests and mountains of Northwest. The time before and after Lunar New Year is the season of peach blossom, plum blossom in Moc Chau. When it is cold, plum blossoms is in bloom full of hills make Moc Chau beautiful and warmer. From above , Moc Chau is as a white carpet covered the small plum flower petals. When getting closer, the branches of peach blossom interwoven together that are highlighted between the white of plum blossom hills. Petals are as shy in the majestic mountains looking very charming. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

A passion fruit flower is in full bloom. Passion fruit is a new fruit that has been grown in Moc Chau for about 3 years now with an area of about 100 hectares but has achieved a very large yield. The fruit is fragrant, sweet, not bitter like in many places. In particular, visitors can enter the garden to pick at the price of 10-15,000/kg. Passion fruit products are the first line of products for which Nafoods has set food hygiene safety standards and applied them to the entire production process. The success of passion fruit in Moc Chau has led to the model being expanded to five other districts. Son La plans to have 1,000 ha of passion fruit by the end of this year and build a 5,000-hectare production zone by 2021. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

With a strength in agriculture, Thai ethnic people in Doi village have developed several cultivars, including tea, passion fruit, avocado, pumkin, among others. The northern province of Sơn La has formed organic fruit planting areas combined with tourism services. Beside typical tourism products like relaxing destinations at resorts and spiritual tours to pagodas, temples and historical relics, Sơn La has its own attractions to youngsters. Tourists who like to post photos on social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, among others, should choose Sơn La to visit to contemplate gardens of ripe flowers, orchid trees or fruit gardens while travellers who like adventure sports can visit Sơn La to experience cave exploring or mountain climbing. (Photo: Mai Mai/ Vietnamplus)

Thai ethnic girls in Son La are famous for their beauty. Located in Vietnam’s northwestern region, Son La province borders Yen Bai and Lai Chau provinces to the north, Hoa Binh and Phu Tho provinces to the east, Dien Bien province to the west, and Thanh Hoa province and Laos’ Houaphanh province to the south with a borderline of 250 kilometers. Covering some 14,123 square kilometers, Son La is the third largest locality in the country by area with a population of almost 1.25 million (according to 2019 statistics). It is home to Thai ethnic group as the most populous group that accounts for more than half of its population, followed by Kinh (Viet) and other indigenous ethnic groups, including H’Mong, Muong, Dao, Kho Mu, Xinh Mun, Khang, La Ha, Lao, Tay and Hoa. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

Children in a resettlement village of Black Thai ethnic people. With 253 kilometers of Da river and 93 kilometers of Ma river running through it, the province boasts large potential for aquaculture and hydropower development. In addition to four exiting hydropower plants - the 2,400MW Son La, 520 MW Huoi Quang, 200MW Nam Chien 1 and 32 MW Nam Chien 2, the provincial authorities have licensed the construction of dozens of small- and medium-sized hydropower plants. Son La is also home to more than 50 mines and mineral pits with large deposits of nickel and copper in Bac Yen district, talc and coal in Moc Chau district, and magnetite in Song Ma district. With such construction materials as limestone, kaolin and clay, the province has great potential to develop mining industry. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)

Children in the mountainous region love to wear red T-shirts with golden star. Northern Vietnam areas are attractive not only with mesmeric landscapes and the distinctive cultures of ethnic groups. Touring these areas, you may be also surprised by the friendliness of many ethnic children who are on average quite poor materially but rich in ability to fill others with joys and pleasant feelings. Despite the lack of material possessions, ethnic children remain innocent with their friendly eyes and optimistic smile on their face, expressing an inner joy that seems boundless. While not attending school, local children turn paths into their playgrounds. Tourism has become a considerable source of income helping to improve local living standards in the locality. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Children in a resettlement village of Black Thai ethnic people are playing with each other. Touring these areas, you may be also surprised by the friendliness of many ethnic children who are on average quite poor materially but rich in ability to fill others with joys and pleasant feelings. Despite the lack of material possessions, ethnic children remain innocent with their friendly eyes and optimistic smile on their face, expressing an inner joy that seems boundless. While not attending school, local children turn paths into their playgrounds. Tourism has become a considerable source of income helping to improve local living standards in the locality. Apart from enjoying scenic landscapes and local food, travellers can immerse themselves in daily activities like farming, gardening, making dumplings and weaving cloth. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Children in the mountainous region do not have many places for entertainment like those in the city. They often gather together to play hide and seek. Despite the lack of material possessions, ethnic children remain innocent with their friendly eyes and optimistic smile on their face, expressing an inner joy that seems boundless. While not attending school, local children turn paths into their playgrounds. Tourism has become a considerable source of income helping to improve local living standards in the locality. Apart from enjoying scenic landscapes and local food, travellers can immerse themselves in daily activities like farming, gardening, making dumplings and weaving cloth. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Local people in Doi village make fishing equipment by themselves. The fishes caught from the clean streams of Moc Chau plateau are firstly cleansed and its organs removed before being grilled. The tantalizing smell when the fishes are done is absolutely irresistible and the taste won't disappoint you. Son La is well-known for its Moc Chau and Na San plateaus with tea plantations, dairy cow farms and hi-tech flower farms. The province has 78,850 hectares of fruit trees with specialty fruits such as Son La plum and passion fruit, Song Ma longan, Yen Chau mango and banana, Moc Chau avocado, and Mai Son red-dragon fruit. (Photo: Vietnamplus)

Throughout time, Thai women have retained their traditional clothes which include short vests, long black skirts, waistbands, headscarves, and silver ornaments. Young Thai girls learn from their grandmothers and mothers, how to tighten their waists with cloth bands to keep their figures trim. Thai women learn the craft of weaving and making their own clothes from the time they are small. They collage colourful clothes and embroider flowery images or patterns on indigo or black clothes. Traditional clothing of ethnic groups is a cultural legacy and a message from the past to the present. Preserving traditional clothes is an important mission. Clothes are an indispensable part of life and society. The rich history and tradition of embroidery and weaving, has given the region a wide breadth of cultural diversity. (Photo: Mai Mai/ Vietnamplus)

A special treat of Thai ethnic people. The fishes caught from the clean streams of Moc Chau plateau are firstly cleansed and its organs will be removed before being grilled. The tantalizing smell when the fishes are done is absolutely irresistible and the taste won't disappoint you. Anyone who has the chance to dine with a Thai family, this dish will appear on the table, serving as the warmest welcome from the host family. Deep-Fry Calf – Be Chao Moc Chau, Cow Milk – Sua Bo Moc Chau, Buffalo Smoked-Meat – Thit Trau Gac Bep Moc Chau and Corn Alcohol – Ruou Ngo Moc Chau, Salmon – Ca Hoi Moc Chau are the local food you should try in Moc Chau. (Photo: Mai Mai/ Vietnamplus)

With its breathtaking landscapes and distinctive culture, the northwestern region the hearts of people with wanderlust. Northwest attracts tourists by majestic mountains and rugged stretches of road full of challenges. Besides nature is stunningly sharp and poetic beauty of the villages perched on high mountains. Whether to Northwestern season of the year, visitors are not from your hearts in amazement at the beauty of this land. Through the bumpy road, the vast terraced rice fields and the crystal-clear streams, you will arrive at noon at Ngoc Chien. Being a remote village in Muong La district, Son La, Ngoc Chien located at an average altitude of 1,800 m above sea level compared to the year-round mild weather is like Dalat in Central Highlands. (Photo: Mai Mai/Vietnamplus)