Lung Tam Linen weaving village, Ha Giang

Introduction to Lung Tam village

Lung Tam village is well known to be a linen weaving village, located at the foot of a high mountain in Lung Tam commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang province. From the beginning of its establishment, there were only 10 households, then gradually people from the high mountain migrated to settle down, so far Lung Tam village has more than 100 households living mainly in the village. mostly the Mong people.

Lung Tam commune is located in a small valley with the Mien river winding and flowing through it, and the four sides of the commune are high mountain ranges, creating a charming mountain landscape.

In addition to farming, the main work of the people in the village is weaving linen and brocade to serve the ethnic minorities and is seen as a precious souvenir to be brought for export at home and abroad.

Visiting Lung Tam village, you can understand clearly about the working and living activities of the people here. More recently, the Hmong women no longer have to wear a hunchback to the mountain, instead they will be sitting by the loom, and with meticulous diligence, the ladies will create unique brocade products.

 

Transport to  Lung Tam village

To come to Lung Tam linen weaving village, from the centre of Ha Giang city, you drive along Highway 4C to Quan Ba heaven gate. From here, you go through Tam Son town to Coc Ma village. In this village there are 7 turns, you need to turn right at the 7th turn then go straight along the small road leading to Lung Tam village.

 

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Getting around the area

Travelling to Ha Giang, getting around Lung Tam linen weaving village, can be done by car or motorbike. Once there visitors can explore on foot.

 

Best Things to do in  Lung Tam village

Travelling to Ha Giang, specifically coming to this craft village, you have the opportunity to learn or can personally sew and weave with indigenous women. observe the stitches and the patience of weaving the fabrics. Each stage is made with the hard work and meticulousness of Lung Tam villagers. When you visit Lung Tam village, you should visit other nearby places near the village too:

• Quan Ba Twin Mountain: Quan Ba Twin Mountain is one of the famous tourist attractions in Ha Giang, in the west of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. The image of two green hills bordering on grass, below the hill, the flat rice fields form a beautiful large space, especially in the ripe rice season the scene is filled with a brilliant yellow colour, like a painting. lively and attractive.
• Sung La Valley: Sung La Valley belongs to Dong Van town, this is a paradise of flowers, trees, and plants that blend together to create a beautiful, colourful natural picture loved by many tourists travelling to Ha Giang. The most beautiful time of Sung La is from mid-October to early January, the mustard flower season follows the season of buckwheat flowers, making the scenery so pretty. It has a sense of peace and joy to visitors and is loved by many young people.
• Ma Pi Leng Pass: Ma Pi Leng Pass is one of the 'four great peaks', Ma Pi Leng has some of the most dangerous roads, the clouds obscure the way, making the magnificent nature a little more mysterious, bringing a sense of excitement for visitors who are adventurous
• Lung Cu flagpole: Lung Cu flagpole is a landmark marking the sovereignty of the North and is the ideal check-in place for visitors to Ha Giang. At the foot of the flagpole, the vast field of buckwheat flowers, in each season, has become a favourite destination for tourists.

 

Cultural information

With linen weaving, the H'Mong people not only have another source of income besides farming and animal husbandry, but also a means to preserve and promote the values of the people's cultural identity. their tribe. The reason the Hmong choose to weave linen instead of cotton is because they believe that linen is stronger and more durable. And according to spirituality, they believe that linen is the bridge between people and the afterlife. Elderly people believe that flax fibres have shown the way for the deceased to return to their ancestors and reincarnate as a human.

Hmong women are all taught how to weave linen from a young age. Weaving linen is an expression of hard work and ingenuity - the criteria to evaluate a woman's good character. Even the skill of weaving is so valued by the Hmong that it determines whether a girl is a material wife or not. Through the finished linen sheets, people will have a broader and deeper view of the culture and national identity of the H'mong people.

 

What’s good to eat in  Lung Tam village?

When coming to Lung Tam village, you can enjoy Ha Giang's specialties such as thang co, five-colour sticky rice, buckwheat cake, amaranth cake, Ha Giang men men, and Au Tau porridge.

 

Entertainment in Lung Tam village

Visitors who come to Lung Tam village in Ha Giang, should not miss the opportunity to participate in any of the  special festivals in Ha Giang. 

Buckwheat flower festival

This festival is an opportunity for Ha Giang to promote its heritage, beauty, cultural features and tourism potential. Usually, the buckwheat flower festival takes place in the second half of November every year. Each year, the venue may change, be it at Dong Van town stadium, Khau Vai love market, etc.

Coming to the buckwheat flower festival in Ha Giang, tourists will have the opportunity to admire the beauty of this flower in large fields. During this time, visitors can also experience many tournaments, competitions and many other interesting activities such as buckwheat cake making contests and boat racing to Tu San alley. Flowers are distributed in many districts in Ha Giang such as Dong Van, Quan Ba, Yen Minh and Meo Vac.

Fire dance festival

Fire dance festival (also known as fireball festival) is a festival of the Pa Then ethnic group in Ha Giang, held on the 16th day of the 10th lunar month every year. This is the time when the crops have been harvested, beginning in the harshest part of winter. According to the concept of Pa Then people, fire is the highest deity, symbolising peace and luck. The purpose of the fire dance festival is to pray for a bountiful harvest, full health, and banish all bad luck.

This festival is usually held by each family. The offerings used to offer to the gods are a rooster, a bowl of rice, wine, paper money and incense. After making offerings to the gods for about 5-7 hours, the festival will start at around 8pm where they will. begin to worship the gods. The young men sitting opposite the "compassionate" sorcerer will jump over the burning fire for 3-4 minutes without burning or pain, like real artisans.

 

Moon bridge

Cau Trang (Moon Bridge) Festival is a festival in Ha Giang with the cultural beauty of the Tay ethnic group, held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (Mid-Autumn Festival). For the Tay ethnic group in Ban Loan village, Yen Dinh commune, Bac Me district, Mother Trang is the one who blesses the earth. People hold this festival to welcome Mother Moon and fairies down to welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival, praying for peace, luck, and bountiful crops.

The ceremony is usually held in advance on the 14th and on the full moon day will be the actual festival. Coming to Ha Giang on the occasion of this festival, visitors will enjoy traditional Tay cuisine, listen to folk songs, and participate in extremely interesting folk games.

Gau Tao festival

This is the most important and biggest festival of the H'Mong ethnic group, held from January 1 to 15. The purpose of the ceremony is to pray for blessings or fate, which involves the apricot tree.

There are many activities and games taking place in the festival such as spinning, archery, horse jumping, flute dance and bird's nest.

Cap Sac festival 

The Sac Sac Ceremony (Lap Tinh Ceremony) is a traditional ceremony only for men of the Dao people. This long-standing Ha Giang festival is usually held at the end of the year (November, December) or January. This is an extremely important milestone, marking the maturity of those who have been granted ordination. They will begin to participate in the important work of the village, support the shamans, and reunite with their ancestors when they die.

 

Top Tips for your stay in Lung Tam village

Visitors should choose comfortable clothes when visiting this village. However, if you go in the winter, remember to bring enough warm clothes because the weather is quite cold at this time. In addition, you can rent costumes of the Mong people to take pictures to save your memories when coming here.

 

Information about accommodation in  Lung Tam village

Travelling in Lung Tam village, you can choose to rest in Dong Van, because this is an area with many interesting places and activities and also the most suitable place to rest after a day of exploring the rocky plateau, considered the North Pole or the buckwheat field.

During peak season or on certain occasions it may not be possible to get a hotel room in Dong Van, so nearby places such as Pho Bang might suit you. There is also an opportunity to stay right on the commune itself. Lung Cu is an option which is a little further, Meo Vac also has many hotels, motels and homestays that can be used as accommodation for you.

If you like to get back to basics and live a little wild, you can bring a tent to sleep overnight. However, you should choose low places to set up your tent to sleep in as it will be warmer. If you do pitch your tent at a high altitude, bring a warm sleeping bag.

 

Further Information

Weaving is a traditional profession in Lung Tam, so everyone from young people to the elderly understands the stages and masters how to weave linen.

The main material for weaving is made from the bark of the cold tree. Flax is grown here a lot by the people from the plains to the mountainsides. At the time of harvest, the trees were cut down by the people, soaked in water, and then plucked out small pieces. When going through the peeling process, the flax fibres are rolled into a rotating frame until the flax is soft, then boiled or steamed, until the process of making flax yarn has been completed. For the stage of dyeing the flax, natural materials found by the Mong people themselves are used. The colour is taken from the leaves, and the wood - absolutely no chemicals are used.

The process of weaving into products is the most difficult stage that requires high technology. All weaving tools are made by Hmong people and are completely woven by hand. The Hmong use a loom to weave, after meticulous time stitching each fibre into a sheet, they wash the cloth many times until it is white, then put it on a stone or a log to rub it back and forth until it is completely white. Next, the process continues with a soak in the indigo solution for about 1 hour, then it comes out to dry in the sun, then back to soak in the indigo solution, this process is repeated 5 or 6 times. The process of dyeing the fabric takes a very long time, depending on the weather, it can take 3 days to dry the fabric. In order to produce a perfect fabric, all stages must be done correctly and with the utmost care. The finished fabric is very soft with very bright and shiny colours.

 The colourful motifs are hand-embroidered by the most experienced locals. The sharp embroidery needles point squares, triangles, birds, butterflies, symmetry, making the fabric more vivid and beautiful.

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