Coming to the high mountains, take some time to go to the Sapa weekend market, wander to the bustling shops, crowded with sellers. This mountainous land has long been known for its majestic beauty, misty climate and sincere, gentle, warm-hearted indigenous people. And Sapa night market, the fair, love market or weekend market all have unique and mysterious magnificence waiting for you to discover.
This Sapa market is located right in the town area where the market was a junction of the roads from the center of the villages down here to facilitate trading. The old people recounted that the old Sapa weekend market was very bustling and crowded, meeting right on a large outdoor field with men leading horses and buffaloes, packing a little more products from the mountains down to exchange and trade. Like Sapa night market, love market, Can Cau, Bac Ha,... everything can be found here, from shiitake, wood ear, firewood, rice, corn, to even medicinal plants. In 1995, this Sapa market began to be renovated and refurbished with a very new look.
In the past, according to the custom of ethnic people in Sapa, the market held five days a session like the lowland people. But then, because the French came here, people moved to the Western calendar and Sapa weekend market was born for convenience. During the week, you can easily see the bustling image of a highland market, but it is not on the weekend that is the most crowded. People from all over the places flock to the market: in the north, there are Ta Giang Phinh and Ban Khoang villages; In the south, there are Ho villages, Thau stream, Ta Van, Lao Chai, etc.
The distance from their villages to the Sapa weekend market is quite long, so people in remote areas often have to go the day before. The Dao people usually go to the market on Saturday night, while the Hmong people go to the market on Sunday morning. So you will see here the scene of the Dao people going from the market back home, while the H'Mong people go the opposite way, just coming from their village to the market. Many people go to the Sapa weekend market to stay awake and have fun with each other with folk songs, amidst the sounds of lute, flute, and Khen.
Although there are solid stalls, people here are still used to the rustic way of sitting and spreading tarps to sell products, different to the more modern night market Sapa. On the wide open ground in the middle of the market, men ride or lead horses, with flintlocks on their shoulders and knives wrapped around their waists in bamboo boxes. Here you can also see the different colorful costumes of H'Mong, Red Dao, Giay, Tay people... standing on every corner of Sapa weekend market.
At the market, you can easily buy rare pharmaceuticals and forest products such as royal lotus root, reishi mushroom, bear bile tree, etc. Besides, there are also traditional brocade handmade products such as clothes, bags, hats, scarves,… The products are cleverly displayed in the Sapa weekend market for sale, you can freely choose to view the goods, buy them as gifts for relatives or friends. You should also not miss the chance to enjoy typical ethnic dishes such as smoky Thang Co pans, smoked meat, mustard greens, chayote, corn wine, and apple cider, all of which can be found in Sapa night market.
