In the last days of the year in Ha Giang, the rocky plateau is engulfed in dust rain and fog. But by the end of the week, the atmosphere changes when crowded, bustling markets are opened.
Meo Vac Market meets every Sunday in the center of Meo Vac town, starting from about 4h to 16h. From early morning, people from 18 communes and townships of Meo Vac district and neighboring communes in Yen Minh and Dong Van districts began to come to the largest flea market in the region to exchange and trade. Market-goers include men, women, children and the elderly.
Meo Vac Market is the largest market of Ha Giang province, planned into areas according to products sold, from daily items to agricultural products.
Working in the field of documentary survey, cultural history, Mr. Nguyen Chi Nam, 38 years old (Hanoi), has visited Meo Vac market many times, at different times of the year. He said the market is most crowded around the time before and after the Lunar New Year. Before Tet is the time when people go shopping for utensils and food to prepare for the New Year. After Tet is the time when people come to participate in games and festivals.
The market gate is where the busiest trading activities take place. There are concentrated trading areas for cattle and poultry to agricultural tools, food and snacks such as donuts and corn tortillas. Electronic booths also gradually appeared according to the needs of local people.
Most of the agricultural products and necessities at the market are grown and made by people such as vegetables, agricultural tools, brocade textiles, spices, herbs.
Another outdoor area where people sell corn wine, a specialty wine of Ha Giang. The women, dressed in traditional costumes, sit in rows, holding cans of wine in liters to sell to customers. Diners can sample the wines before purchasing.
Corn wine is indispensable in chucks, offerings or parties and meetings of local people. Next to the sale, there is an area for market goers to sit and enjoy corn wine and chat and socialize.
Located in the central area of Meo Vac market is a food court, which attracts the most people. This area has 2 floors, the first floor focuses mainly on food stalls, with a clear area division table.
The food court is a place where people and tourists enjoy specialties of Ha Giang such as thang co (photo), Pho Trang Kim, buckwheat triangle cake, mèn mén, porridge lu pipe.
Mr. Nam often enjoys pho and thang try when coming to Meo Vac market. "Because of serving more for tourists, thang try has now changed, the way of processing is more hygienic. Handmade noodle soup, direct, very fresh and delicious," he said.
The second floor of the house is an area for slaughtering and selling fresh meats. Meo Vac market is also a source of buffalo meat and beef for traders in the region.
Attracting many women are the clothing stalls on the second floor. The costumes are diverse colors and designs, embroidered with traditional motifs of the Mong, Dao, and Lo Lo ethnic groups. In addition, there are booths selling jewelry and accessories.
Attending many highland markets, from Dong Van, Meo Vac to Quyet Tien, Ma Le, Lung Phin markets, Nam found that the markets are basically quite similar, only different in size.
After Dong Van old market was located at the foot of Don Cao mountain, next to the old quarter cleared in 2012, Meo Vac market is now the largest flea market, imbued with the cultural identity of ethnic groups of Ha Giang. "Most people come to the market wearing traditional costumes of their ethnic groups, the items for sale are also characteristic. The market space is old, bringing a sense of nostalgia," Nam said.
The flea market has become a typical culture, deeply ingrained in the lives of people in Ha Giang. Children from an early age followed their parents and grandparents to the market every week. For people here, the flea market is not only a place to buy and sell and exchange necessities but also an opportunity to meet acquaintances, make new friends, where young boys and girls find wives and husbands.
Meo Vac Market along with the adjacent Meo Vac Stadium is the place where the practice of "catching wives" of the Mong ethnic people takes place. "Young men take wives, and middle-aged men drink drunk, lying in the market," Nam said. In addition to preserving the unique cultural features of Ha Giang ethnic minority in the markets, Nam hopes that bad customs and habits will gradually disappear.
According to VnE
Photo: Nguyen Chi Nam