Bac Ha White Plateau Festival slated for early June
VOV.VN - The annual Bac Ha White Plateau Festival 2023 is scheduled to get underway in Bac Ha district in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai from June 3 to 11, with a traditional horse race to be the main activity.
The festival will mark the 16th time that the horse race is held in the mountainous area. This year the race will take place from June 3 to 10 at Bac Ha stadium, with the participation of jockeys from Lao Cai and the neighbouring provinces of Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, and Lai Chau.
The festival will also include a street carnival, an opening ceremony of a pedestrian street, a programme of recreating intangible cultural heritage of the Bac Ha horse race, and art performances put on by ethnic people at the Hoang A Tuong Palace.
Other activities such as tours to explore the tea making culture of the Tay ethnic group, and to discover sightseeing spots in the northern mountainous area, will also be held.
Bac Ha district is famous for its rural market session which is held every Sunday. The site is not only a trading place, but also a venue for cultural exchanges among ethnic people residing in the region. The horse trading session is held as part of the Sunday market. The local horse is praised as one of the most beautiful types of horse throughout the country.
The horse race is a unique traditional cultural practice done by ethnic groups living on Bac Ha white plateau. Organised annually since 2007, the race has been an a much-anticipated sporting event among both locals and visitors to the town.