Unique 'valley of beauties' Vang Pheo in Lai Chau

Vang Pheo is one of the oldest villages of the White Thai people in Lai Chau, where many ancient houses are nestled among green rice fields.

International tourists visit Vang Pheo, Lai Chau. (Photo: N.Minh)

About 30 km from Lai Chau city, Vang Pheo village is located right next to Phu Nho Kho mountain in Muong So commune, Phong Tho district, where Nam So and Nam Lum streams converge.

This is one of the oldest villages of the White Thai people in Lai Chau - an interesting point on the journey to conquer the tourist attractions of the Northwest.

Coming to Vang Pheo, visitors will feel more clearly about a village with a beautiful geographical location like a precious gem bestowed by nature, just as it has been "rumored" for a long time.

Ban Vang Pheo is located right next to Phu Nho Kho mountain, where the Nam So and Nam Lum streams converge. (Photo: N.Minh)

Vang Pheo has many ancient houses nestled next to green rice fields in a peaceful, quiet space, known by word of mouth among tourists as the "valley of beauties".

The name “Beauty Valley” comes from the legendary story of Han who was born and raised on this land, along with games and farming work.

As a young girl, Han was extremely beautiful and capable. She often taught the villagers how to spin and weave, and helped the poor. When the enemy invaded, Han disguised herself as a man and called on young men from all the villages in the area to gather forces and unite to fight against the invaders. She was revered by the villagers as a female general.

After defeating the enemy, she returned to the spring at the beginning of the village, took off her clothes and immersed herself in the cool blue water of her homeland, then flew to heaven. To commemorate Han's merit, the people in the area built a temple and held an annual festival.

Not only the beautiful Han in the legend, but from ancient times until now, Muong So commune has been famous as the land of the White Thai "beauties". This place, known as the "valley of beauties", the White Thai girls with the xoe dance make the land lords infatuated.

The Vang Pheo village art troupe performs a traditional dance. (Photo: N.Minh)

Even now, Vang Pheo is still considered the village with the most beautiful girls in Muong So commune. Many tourists coming here have exclaimed: "everywhere you go, you meet beauties"...

Coming to Vang Pheo, it is not difficult to admire the silhouettes of Thai girls on the stairs of stilt houses, wearing pure white traditional shirts and fair skin. The girls in this area have a very typical Thai beauty with tall stature, white skin, long hair...

Possessing unique cultural features, hospitable locals, and poetic natural scenery, Vang Pheo village has many conditions to develop community tourism.

Currently, Vang Pheo village has over 120 households with more than 530 people, all of whom are White Thai. The people here live mainly by raising livestock, growing crops and weaving.

Thai girl and plum blossom season. (Photo: N. Minh)

In recent years, the Thai people in Vang Pheo have been quite professional in tourism. Since 2007, Vang Pheo village has been recognized as a provincial cultural and tourist village. Every year, this place welcomes thousands of domestic and international tourists.

Although in the process of integration, the culture of the White Thai people in Vang Pheo is still preserved quite intact. From the stilt houses to the elaborately designed dresses of the White Thai women, the black, ankle-length, seamless skirts, the dotted shirts reaching to the waist, with a seamless neck... everything is still imbued with traditional cultural identity.

In the eyes of the White Thai, before getting married, the more fabric a young woman weaves, the more virtuous and talented she is considered. Over thousands of years, with skillful hands and creative minds, the White Thai people in Vang Pheo have produced fabrics with diverse designs and delicate patterns, creating a unique cultural beauty compared to other ethnic groups.

Young women of Vang Pheo village spin and weave. (Photo: N.Minh)

The spiritual cultural treasure of the Thai people is also very rich with musical instruments such as the Tinh lute, songs, unique scarf dances, xoe dances and ancient poems rich in humanity: typically the poem "Xong chu xon xao" - a masterpiece of Thai literature. Along with that are folk songs and proverbs praising the beauty of lifestyle, behavior in family, community and with nature...

The Thai cultural festival in Vang Pheo is one of the community cultural activities that attracts a large number of tourists. Each festival is a picture depicting social life, bearing the traditional characteristics of the Thai people - cultural nuances that cannot be found anywhere else.

Typical examples include the Nang Han festival on the 15th day of the 2nd lunar month, the Then Kin Pang festival on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month, the Kin Lau Khau Mau festival on the 15th day of the 9th lunar month... At these festivals, in addition to the worship rituals, there are also many unique folk games that are deeply imbued with the cultural identity of the people's daily life, such as: to ma le, throwing con, pushing sticks, tu lu...

On weekends or festivals, tourists flock to Vang Pheo to explore the peaceful Northwest space and the simple life of ethnic minorities, and immerse themselves in the dances and songs of the White Thai people.

Coming to Vang Pheo village, visitors can enjoy dishes imbued with Thai ethnic identity. (Photo: N.Minh)

After visiting the village and experiencing the cultural space of the Thai people, tourists can stay overnight in a stilt house. Tourists who love to explore can experience bathing in streams, visiting caves, and capturing images of an interesting village in the Northwest region.

Coming to Vang Pheo village, visitors can also enjoy dishes imbued with Thai ethnic identity, such as: rock worms, rock moss, goby fish buried in ash, grilled stream fish, bitter bamboo shoots, sweet bamboo shoots, smoked buffalo meat, steamed pork, bitter vegetable soup...

The people of Vang Pheo, with their sincerity and hospitality, beautiful and peaceful natural scenery, far from the noise and dust of the city, will certainly make visitors forget all their worries and daily hustle and bustle.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/doc-dao-thung-lung-my-nhan-vang-pheo-o-lai-chau-290189.html