"Discovering Mu Cang Chai Festival" to open
PSNews - On the occasion of the National Day (September 2), Yen Bai planned to host the Mu Cang Chai terraced field festival between August 29 and October 18. The festival includes a series of activities such as musical shows, a marathon race and a photo exhibition.
 |
With the theme "Discovering Mu Cang Chai", this-year festival will feature 100 athletes; a helicopter tour to experience the landscape from above; and a photo exhibition on the charms of Mu Cang Chai.
There will also be musical shows on Saturday nights and a Mu Cang Chai fair of local farm produce, among other activities.
As CNBC described, rice terraces cover more than 2,200 hectares of land in Mu Cang Chai, of which 500 were designated as national heritage sites by Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2007.
It is said there is never a bad season to see Mu Cang Chai, as the rice terraces are beautiful year-round. Visitors in March can see glittering ponds before locals transplant rice seedlings in the period from April to May. After May, the hills are covered in green until the fields start to turn yellow with ripe rice in early September.
The locality is about 1,000 metres above sea level, making it impossible to cultivate wet rice as in deltas. Local residents grow rice in terraced fields to stop water flowing downhill.
Vietnam’s rice terraces may not be the most accessible places in the country but the effort of getting to them is certainly worth it if you have the time. The unique setting and the ethic tribes provide a great experience even for the most seasoned of travellers.
