(HBO) - Vo Market happens twice a week, with the Sunday session being the busiest. The market offers all kinds of things, from clothing, footwear to necessary items and agricultural tools. It particularly still preserves many features of a traditional wet market.
.jpg)
A Muong ethnic minority man
sells traditional products of his people at Vo Market.
Located in Vo Street, Nhan Nghia
Commune, Hoa Binh’s Lac Son District, Vo Market has been popular for many
generations as a marketplace for not only local people but also those from
neighbouring communes, such as Van Nghia, My Thanh, Tuan Dao, Tan Lap, Mien Doi
and Quy Hoa.
It is a very bustling and crowding
market where people come for not only selling and buying but also chitchatting
weekly.
Though many new markets, such as Chieng
Market (Tan Lap) and Sao Market (Tuan Dao) have been established in nearby
communes as part of the local new-style rural building campaign, Vo Market
remains the busiest and most crowded one thanks to its long history.
Displayed at the market are various
traditional farm produces, including Ri chicken, eggs, wild-caught shrimps and
freshwater crabs, bamboo shoots among others.
There are also a wide range of hand-made
cultural products of Muong ethnic minority people, from gongs, to traditional
clothing, brocade items, offering a unique experience for first-time visitors.
Vo Market is held from early morning to
noon./.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
The clothing of women reflects the culture of the Muong, Thai, Tay, Dao, and Mong ethnic groups in the northern province of Hoa Binh.
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
.jpg)
