Ta Van Village

Coming down from the center of Sa Pa into the Mường Hoa valley, a visitor first sees a hillside of rice terraces, one tier above another from the foot of the slope to the crest. Then come the low wooden houses scattered along the hill, and a small stream running past. The village is far quieter than the town above.

This is Tả Van.

Tả Van is a village of the Mường Hoa valley. The valley lies in Sa Pa, in Lào Cai province. The village has more than 150 households, according to the Lào Cai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Most of the people are Giáy, so the place is often called Tả Van Giáy. The Giáy here work their fields, the women keep up the traditional craft of embroidery, and many households have started homestays to host overnight guests.

Homestays in Tả Van are not a new story. In 2017, the Tả Van Giáy 1 homestay cluster received the ASEAN Homestay Award. It was one of the community homestay models that the ASEAN region recognized. That says Tả Van has welcomed guests, for a long time, in a way worth learning from.

The most striking thing about Tả Van is its terraced fields.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the Sa Pa rice terraces as a national scenic site in 2013. The recognized area covers 749 hectares across three communes. Two of them are Lao Chải and Hầu Thào. The third is Tả Van. The first-level protection zone lies mostly in Tả Van commune. So the terraces seen here are the core of this heritage site.

Each field is the work of many generations. People cut into the steep slope, built banks to hold the water, and led water down from the mountain streams, one step at a time. The fields are not only beautiful. They are the livelihood that feeds every family in the village, season after season.

Tả Van also has a lively cultural life. The community keeps its festivals and brings them into its tourism: the Going Down to the Fields festival, Gầu Tào and Roóng poọc. It keeps the xòe dance, the bell dance, the sinh tiền dance and the fan dance as well. At Gầu Tào, the villagers raise a ceremonial pole in a wide open space and hold a ritual praying for a good harvest. Then the festival part begins, with folk games and dances of friendly exchange that fill the whole valley.

The road down to Tả Van follows the slope of the valley. Each turn shows another tier of fields and another wooden house, and the village appears more clearly below the hill with every step.

Inside the village, Tả Van can come down to a single scene. An old person sits weaving beside a fence. A child plays in a yard. A thin curl of kitchen smoke drifts through the afternoon. These moments need no words. Standing there and looking is enough.

Then the sky darkens. Mist hangs low over the terraces, and the first yellow lamplight shows in the wooden houses. It is easy to see why people want to stay in Tả Van one more night, just to hear the Mường Hoa valley breathe in the quiet.