Thick Flower of Mu Cang Chai -

Drinking the dew and breathing the wind of the cold winter days in the highlands, then bursting into brilliant red and pink colors on the hillsides, on the mountain slopes, along the road to the village and right next to the porch, creating a poetic scene, captivating the hearts of many tourists who have once come to the Mu Cang Heritage Area.

To Day is a flower of the peach family. The Mong people in Mu Cang Chai often call it “Pang To Day”, which in Vietnamese means “Wild Peach Blossom”. To Day is a tree with a wide canopy, growing on hillsides and mountainsides. The flower has five pink petals like peach blossoms, but when it blooms, it forms clusters, the pistil is very long and red.

Mr. Thao Du Sinh in Ta Chi Lu village, La Pan Tan commune said: “The Mong people believe that when the earth and sky change to Spring, after a year of hard work, the harvest is bountiful, the house is full of rice, looking up at the mountain top and seeing the To Day trees blooming with bright red flowers in the mountains and forests, it is also the time when Mong boys and girls dress up in new dresses, practice their flutes, and prepare Pao fruits to celebrate Tet and go out in the spring. The To Day flower is closely associated with the lives of many generations of Mong people in the highlands of Mu Cang Chai. It is a flower with strong vitality and only blooms in the cold winter, usually blooming most in late December. After that time, although it has not completely withered, its color will fade and will no longer be as beautiful as before.”

At first, they were just small spots on the trees. After only a week of blooming, To Day covered the mountains and forests in bright pink. The patches of To Day flowers heralded early spring, spreading from the mountain tops down to the valleys, bordering the roadsides of the district towns, on every path. The Mong people's houses were also immersed in the color of flowers. The vast green forests awakened in graceful pink wings, drifting like a fairyland.

To develop this plant species associated with tourism, recently, Mu Cang Chai district has taken many drastic actions to protect natural To Day flower forests and mobilize people to plant new ones. Among them, it is necessary to mention the campaign to encourage each cadre and party member to plant 2-5 To Day flower trees; each school and office unit to plant 30 trees; communes and towns to plant trees at headquarters, on both sides of the road...

Mr. Sung A Chua - Vice Chairman of Mu Cang Chai District People's Committee said: "For the past two years, the district has actively promoted and mobilized people to protect and plant new To Day flowers to create landscapes and develop tourism. Especially on the occasion of Tet tree planting in early Spring, the district mobilizes people to plant hundreds of thousands of new To Day flowers. Up to now, the whole district has about 5 hectares of To Day flower growing area concentrated in Mu Cang Chai town and the communes: La Pan Tan, Mo De, Cao Pha, Che Tao, Khao Mang".

In the dry winter sunshine, the bright color of the To Day flower brightens up the majestic highland, making visitors fascinated and immersed. The To Day flower, along with the art of the Mong panpipe, the art of creating patterns with beeswax on fabric by the Mong people, and the special national monument of the Terraced Fields, have created the "identity" of Mu Cang.

The colorful To Day festival is just the occasion when the Mong people of the three districts of Van Chan, Tram Tau, and Mu Cang Chai welcome an important event, which is the art of the Khen of the Mong people, the art of creating patterns with beeswax on fabric is recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is a good sign, as well as a source of pride and responsibility for many generations of Mong people here - the "cultural ambassadors" who have been, are and will be carrying out the responsibility of preserving, maintaining and promoting the cultural identity of their people to a large number of domestic and international tourists.

Article and photos: Thanh Mien
Design: Khanh Linh

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