Sa Pa Market

Mist still lies over the rooftops of Sa Pa, and the smell of leafy greens and damp mountain soil has already spread through the town center. This is when the market is at its liveliest of the day.

The Sa Pa tourist market stands in the heart of town, in Lào Cai province. The Lào Cai newspaper reports 532 stalls on three floors, with an open-air area beside them. Each floor is a world of its own. The lower floor smells of herbal medicines, glows with brocade, and is piled with dried local goods and handicrafts. The upper floor holds ready-made clothes and traditional ethnic goods. The open-air area is kept for fresh vegetables, flowers and food. When night falls, the yard lights up again as a night market.

What sets this market apart from the markets of the lowlands is what lies on the vegetable stalls.

The Nhân Dân newspaper reports that Sa Pa lies about 1,500 meters above sea level. A temperate climate and rich mountain soil produce vegetables that the hot lowlands cannot grow. "Sa Pa temperate vegetables" is a recognized brand. Its typical products are the shoots and fruit of the chayote vine, along with cabbage and kohlrabi. According to the Lào Cai newspaper, chayote was brought to Sa Pa under French rule and adapted to the climate quickly. The vine climbs a trellis, bears fruit in abundance and gives shoots for stir-frying. Both are familiar on a Sa Pa table.

Besides vegetables, the market sells shiitake mushrooms from Sa Pa, roasted chestnuts, temperate fruit such as peaches, plums and pears, and herbs from high in the mountains. These stalls are usually kept by farmers, or by buyers who carry goods down from the villages from first light. That is why the morning brings the freshest and fullest stock.

The brocade and handicraft stalls are a part of the market in their own right. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism records that the sellers here come from five ethnic minority groups, and that each group has handwork of its own. The Hmong are known for indigo-dyed linen and engraved silver. The Dao are known for brocade embroidery and cloth bags. The Giáy and the Tày weave in their own ways, and so do the Xa Phó.

The authority also quotes one seller: "I learned it from my mother when I was small." Each piece of cloth is the result of teaching passed down through many generations, not of mass production.

Chợ tình Sa Pa, the Sa Pa love market, is a different place altogether. It is a community cultural event, with folk gatherings and exchanges. The market in town is a commercial market in the middle of Sa Pa. The people behind these stalls make and sell goods for real. They are not a performance for visitors.

In the early morning the mountain greens are still fresh, the brocade has just been spread out, and a whole highland town is stirring to begin its day.