The joy of the ethnic minority in Mu Cang Chai in the harvest of rice

Mu Cang Chai is a district of Yen Bai province, about 300 km north of Ha Noi, in the northwestern region of Vietnam. The place is home to the HMong and Thai community. For the place being about 1000 meters above sea level, the steep hills make it almost impossible to grow rice fields like those in the delta. Thus local residences grow their own rice on the terraced fields, for the purpose of preventing water from flowing downhill. These terraced fields lying among rugged green mountain valleys, under clear blue sky or a mysterious and crips fog, bring to eyes an imposing scenery.

Photo by Dao Doanh Chinh

Every year, between September and October, the terraced rice fields of Mù Cang Chải, a rural district in northern Vietnam’s Yên Bái Province, put on a show of picturesque harvest colours. In the fresh, dew-brushed dawn, hundreds of stepped rice fields, carved into the contours of steep valleys, are illuminated by the autumn sun. The golden-green and toast-brown colours of the ripe rice are luminous. The curving terraces, although man-made, appear to be in complete harmony with the landscape, creating a hypnotic patterning across the hills and valleys. 

In the harvest time of the rice crop, travelers take the visit to Mu Cang Chai from late September to early October to see and take photographs of waves of terraced rice fields, as this is when the fields turn brilliant yellow and shine in their fullest beauty. This is also the time when the fields become full of life as Mong ethnic minority farmers in their traditional attire harvest the ripe rice grains, and shoulder bags of the fruit home through mountains and hills as well as over swinging suspension bridges. It is normal to see ethnic minority mothers use cloth as a cradle to carry their infants on their back when they are harvesting paddy in the fields in the northwest of Vietnam. Children of the farmers run here and there in the fields, chatting with their parents and giggling in tune with the joy of their parents during the harvest season

People are hurrying for the harvest season, otherwise all of the ripe seedling rice will fall down and there will be no more sunshine to dry it up. There are families with relatives of all generations to help with harvesting. Families take turns harvesting from one family to the next until it’s all harvested. Even the Red Dao ethnic minority woman brings her newborn baby with her while in the fields to harvest. This paints a very vivid picture of what life here is like.

A great experience when coming to Mu Cang Chai in the rice harvest season, there is no reason to miss the trip to Mu Cang Chai - this beautiful land for the upcoming holiday. Travel with Vietnam Typical Tours for the most memorable Mu Cang Chai adventures.