Kinh village in China

They are Vietnamese people who have been wandering here for more than 500 years and are currently settled in the Tam Dao area (in Giang Binh commune, Dong Hung town, Guangxi province, China), more than 25 km from Vietnam's Mong Cai border gate.

"Are you Kinh?"

When we arrived at An Nam communal house in Van Vi fishing village, Mrs. To Tiet came and grabbed our hand, asking clearly: "Are you Kinh people?". After saying that, she quickly turned to call her husband, children and neighbors to come out to chat.

Everyone was bustling as if they had just received good news. Even from the end of the village, two old ladies over 80 years old also leaned on their canes and walked to the communal house yard to meet us. "Are you Vietnamese people here to visit?", "Kinh people visiting Kinh people"... were the questions they asked continuously.

We told them that where we lived was Ho Chi Minh City, more than 3 days drive from the Chinese border. But none of them knew, they only heard that hundreds of years ago, their grandparents originated from Do Son (Hai Phong City) and went fishing at sea and followed the tide to this land and now there are more than 20,000 people of Vietnamese origin living and working here.

Kinh people sing Quan Ho Bac Ninh, speak Vietnamese in China

"We don't know much about Vietnam. But if Vietnamese people come here, they must stay and treat us to dinner. And speak Vietnamese for us. They must speak a lot so we don't forget Vietnamese" - Mrs. Tiet enthusiastically invited.

Unable to refuse, we nodded and agreed to stay and have dinner with the villagers. While waiting for everyone to prepare, we borrowed an electric motorbike to visit the Kinh village. The further we went, the more surprised we were when everything was no different from a village in the Northern countryside.

At the beginning of the village, there is a communal house, next to a well and a familiar bamboo hedge. Every 15 households or so, there is a garden growing rice, potatoes and other crops. Women wear conical hats, hoe the soil and talk to each other in their native language.

Stopping in front of a grocery store, we noticed signs selling Vietnamese goods such as cigarettes, coffee, and even chili sauce. Mrs. Do Tu, the store owner, stepped out to show off a bottle of fish sauce newly imported from across the border: "The villagers here produce fish sauce and use it in all their dishes. We import more Vietnamese goods to prepare for the stormy season when there will be no fish to make fish sauce."

According to Ms. Tu, even after hundreds of years, all activities here remain original. More than 15 years ago, when smartphones were not yet developed, people imported cassette tapes of lullabies and Quan Ho songs to sell. "My generation and previous generations were all lulled to sleep by their parents with folk songs. Many people can play Vietnamese musical instruments," Ms. Tu said.

Don't forget Vietnamese

Indeed, when we returned to the communal house yard for lunch, the villagers had already pulled out the monochord and prepared to perform. Without any hesitation, Mrs. Tiết stood in the middle of the communal house yard and sang in a simple voice: "When in love, we take off our shirts and give them to each other, when we go home, we lie to our fathers and mothers... that we crossed the bridge, love, love, love, love, the wind blew...".

As soon as she finished, she switched to playing the folk song "Climbing Thien Thai Mountain" on the Dan Bau.

Ms. To Tiet, 10th generation Kinh ethnic group in China, plays the monochord

To learn more about the origins of the Vietnamese people in China, we went to the Kinh Ethnic Museum managed by Guangxi Province.

In front of the museum gate is a statue of a couple fishing at sea, simulating the early days of Vietnamese settlement here; inside, images of palanquin processions, kitchens, Vietnamese specialties are recreated... It takes nearly an hour to read and learn all the information in the museum. The museum is open every day of the week and is free of charge.

Mr. Li Xian, the museum's caretaker, said that the people we met were formerly called Annamese and Vietnamese, but are now officially called Kinh. They are one of the smallest ethnic minorities in China.

According to the story, in the past, there were 12 Vietnamese ancestral families who migrated along the fish stream and divided into 3 islands named Van Vi, Son Tam and Vu Dau. Gradually, the 3 islands were filled to form Tam Dao peninsula as it is today.

Mr. Hien said that the local government has just allowed schools in areas where the Kinh ethnic group lives to include Vietnamese in their curriculum. This is not a compulsory subject, but almost all children have registered for extra classes. "Since they already communicate with their parents at home in Vietnamese, when the teacher teaches, the children absorb it very quickly," Mr. Hien said.

Young people in Tam Dao also preserve Vietnamese language

Not only do they try to preserve their language, but every year the locals invite elders from Tra Co (Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province) to Tam Dao to guide the organization of festivals and worship at the communal house. There are 4 major festivals each year and that is the occasion for everyone to come together to celebrate and pray for good luck.

According to statistics, in Tam Dao there are more than 120 Kinh people who can play traditional Vietnamese musical instruments and there are more than 400 books recording the folk literature treasure, including many folk songs, proverbs, fairy tales...

When saying goodbye to Tam Dao, we noticed a banyan tree in front of the village that must have been several hundred years old. The locals named it Nam Quoc tree, as a reminder for the next generation not to forget their national roots.

The way is not difficult!

We were one of the first groups of tourists to set foot in China by road after 3 years of strict border controls due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To visit the Kinh ethnic minority, we just need to register for a passport through Mong Cai border gate (Quang Ninh province) on the National Public Service Portal for 50,000 VND.

After entering the Dongxing border gate (China), we took a bus to Wanwei beach for 10 yuan (about 35,000 VND). At the beach, there are dozens of stalls selling food and drinks. Almost all are Kinh people and speak Vietnamese, especially some people wear ao dai, a traditional Northern village dress.

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