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Northern Vietnam, bordering mainland China, is the village of Sapa. Sapa is known for being the coldest area in Vietnam. Not only for that, in this town and area, live the Black Hmong and Red Dzao tribes. People from these tribes are easily recognizable from the traditional clothes they wear.
The black Hmong wear black and dark blue clothing, and their hands are often all blue from dying fabric.
The Red Dzao wear black and red clothing, and a red scarf winded around their head, held by silver pins, with tassels and small bells hanging over the neck. They also shave their hair up on the forehead as well as their eyebrows.
Both Hmong and Dzao wear beautifully handmade silver jewels, which they sell all around the village of Sapa, along with fabric, clothing, bags, shoes and etc – all of it handmade.
One would think that they dress like that only for show in order to sell their products, and then go back home and dress “normally”. As far as you walk, drive or ride your bike around Sapa, people all dress and work according to their traditions, even in the most remote villages.
A few hours ride away from Sapa is Bac Ha, famous for its market, where another tribe lives – the Flower Hmong. Most are dressed in pink, with a bit of red, blue, yellow, black, green, and orange, thus the name.
Bac Ha is, like Sapa, a very popular touristic place, but the people seem to pay little attention to the tourists. Of course they do try to sell their products to foreigners, like in every other country, but they still maintain their way of living, and you will see people buying horses, dogs, fruits and vegetables in their traditional outfit, taking little notice of the cameras shooting them.
The village of Sapa is a good place to have an overview of the Montagnard (mountain tribes) still living in Vietnam, and most importantly, one that has yet to be contaminated by western culture.
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