Tourists and locals mingle in dances around the campfire

Sa Pa - where there are not only 4 seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter, but it also has a special season, which is "the season of boys singing to girls" - the season of dating and love. Since ancient times, love markets have become a bridge for many highland male and female couples, as well as a waiting place for many couples who love each other, but cannot come together. Today, with the development of the market economy, the love market has gradually lost its identity. In order to preserve the unique culture of the old love market and help tourists better understand the cultural value of the love market, from the end of 2020, the Lao Cai Provincial Tourism Information and Promotion Center has experimented to recreat the "Sapa Love Market". In 2021, "Sa Pa Love Market" continues to be recreated at Sa Pa Tourist House (No. 02 Fansipan, Sa Pa town) in a unique space, special art programs beautified the romance of Sapa love stories after each market.

Now, in addition to the love market organized by the Provincial Center for Tourism Information and Promotion, coming to Sapa, tourists can also immerse themselves in the recreated love market space at the check-in area of Green Farm (No. 058 Violet street). This activity takes place every 2 weeks on Saturday night. Besides, depending on the needs of the delegations, Green Farm can organize additional evenings during the week. "Sa Pa Love Market" has main activities such as going to the market, where love begins, dating, dragging wife, discovering highland cuisine... along with activities such as stall dancing and campfire. Arriving at the love market, tourists can immerse themselves in the rhythm of the sound of the pan-pipe, the flute, the lip lute of the promised couple. There is also the appearance of pack horses accompanying couples from remote villages to the love market.

Green Farm creates space for people to sell goods.

Coming to the love market at Green Farm, from afar, tourists can hear the sound of pan-pipes and music. This place is like a real traditional festival, the boys playing the flute around. The girls wear colorful dresses, legs with rattles, holding umbrellas and dancing to the swaying music. Viewers are tourists surrounding them to form a circle. At the love market, tourists can witness the image of boys and girls starting to get acquainted, dating, and know each other by the sound of the pan-pipe when it's low and high, mixed with the inviting sound of the lute. Through the pan-pipe, the flute, the boys have the opportunity to confess their feelings to the girls. When they fell in love, they exchange flirting, loving glances. Just like that, the love of the couple blossom from the markets.

Drunk in the tunes, adding a little bit of highland alcohol, Mr. Nguyen Anh Duy, a tourist from Hai Phong confided: Amazing! This is a special market, I have discovered many interesting things from this market, the identity, costumes, dances and cuisine of the highland people are reproduced in a simple way. We don't have to travel far, just in this campus, just one night there is so much to explore.

The check-in area of Green Farm also provides space for indigenous people to display and sell traditional souvenir products. Here, people in need can register to participate in the sale. People are committed to selling goods at reasonable prices, not "cut and slash" and enticing tourists. Products sold at Green Farm are mainly handicrafts imbued with national cultural identity such as brocade souvenirs, rice wine, honey, fresh vegetables, bath medicine of the Red Dao people, cardamom essential oil... Sitting in a corner at a love market selling brocade products, Ms. Ta May confided: In the past, my daughter and I sold goods at the stone church. When we saw tourists, we would follow customers to invite them to buy goods. Since Green Farm recreates the love market, I am assigned a fixed position, without having to travel, but still meet many tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Hieu, media representative of Green Farm said: Green Farm is one of the pioneers in Sapa to organize activities to recreate the love market. The new unit organizes this activity in 2022, but each night attracts about 200 tourists. Since tourism activities began to be bustling again, the number of tourists to Sa Pa is increasing, the check-in area of Green Farm organizes a re-enactment of the love market to create more tourist space for tourists; contributing to promoting the strengths of the intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minorities and increasing their own income, while limiting the situation of local people dragging tourists.

Each love market is recreated and lasts until about 9pm on the same day. The love market ends when the night dew falls heavily, the campfire also gradually goes out, the people start to clear the goods, the pack horses return to the village, tourists return to their rooms to rest to prepare for the journey to discover Sa Pa on the new day.