Sticky rice from Song Ma River, Son La province, is in season. Photo: Truong Son

Ngoc Chien, the rice harvest season passes through each village.

The morning in Ngoc Chien begins with the sound of rice threshing machines. In the fields of the villages of Luot, Muong Chien, Na Tau, Phay, and Ke, people go down to the fields early in the morning. The rice is cut, threshed, and bagged; the straw is gathered, and the freshly harvested rice is spread out in the sun.

In Ke village, Sung A Ki has just harvested over 2 tons of rice. “We harvest the rice as soon as it ripens. We dry it before bringing it home for storage. Whoever finishes first goes to help others,” said Sung A Ki.

Harvest season is therefore not just a family affair. During these days, the rhythm of labor is also a time when people meet more often, sharing work and experiences, from choosing the right time to harvest to drying and preserving the rice after harvest. Those with strength contribute their labor, those with machinery provide assistance, working together to bring the fields to a close for the harvest.

Ngoc Chien currently has over 650 hectares of rice fields, concentrated in the villages of Luot, Muong Chien, Na Tau, Giang Phong, and Ke. The common rice variety usually ripens first, while glutinous rice – a specialty rice variety preserved through generations – typically remains in the field for an additional 10-15 days.

According to Mr. Lo Van Thoa, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Chien commune, the commune harvests approximately 7,500 tons of various types of rice each season, mainly glutinous rice.

For the Thai people in Ngoc Chien, rice is not just a product of the fields. When the new rice arrives home, the rice is cooked, sticky rice is steamed, and puffed rice is made; the rituals celebrating the new rice harvest also begin. It is an occasion for people to give thanks to heaven and earth, remember their ancestors, and connect with the community.

From the rice grain, the harvest thus extends into a story of culture and life. And from that, the specialty rice variety not only holds production value but also becomes a part of the community's memory.

Xim Vang, terraced rice fields halfway up the mountain

While the harvest in Ngoc Chien unfolds in valleys and fields along the streams, in Xim Vang, rice is sown on the curves of the mountains.

At an altitude of nearly 1,500m, the villages of Song Chong, Xim Vang, Hang Cho, and Trong Tau enter the rice harvest season. Terraced rice fields stretch along the mountain slopes, some areas ablaze with golden hues, others still green, creating layers of color that change according to the ripeness of the rice.

But the terraced rice fields here are more than just a landscape. They are the result of generations of Hmong people clearing land, building embankments, channeling water, and preserving the soil on the high mountain slopes.

According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Bac, Chairman of the People's Committee of Xim Vang commune, the entire commune currently has over 320 hectares of rice fields, concentrated in Song Chong, Hang Cho, and Xim Vang. Land reclamation and investment in irrigation systems have helped to gradually expand the cultivated area.

In Hang Cho village, nearly 70 hectares of terraced rice fields are in their ripening season. Ms. Hang Thi Se's family owns 1.5 hectares of rice. For farmers, the golden harvest season is first and foremost a season of labor.

“This year, there’s plenty of irrigation water, and the rice is growing well. The villagers are focusing their efforts on harvesting. If visitors come, we can show them how to harvest and thresh the rice, and other tasks the people do,” Ms. Se shared.

From familiar tasks, Xim Vang incorporates a part of the harvest season into experiential activities. Tourists can pick sickles to harvest rice, thresh rice, play pao throwing, shoot crossbows, enjoy local cuisine, and learn about the life of the H'Mong people.

What's remarkable is that these experiences don't require a pre-built setting. The rice paddies are still rice paddies, the rice is still harvested, and the grain is still carried home by the people. There, the beauty of the golden harvest season is inseparable from daily life. What tourists see on the mountainside is also the result of hard work, of how the people preserve the land and water, and pass down their production experience.

When the golden season in the highlands becomes a tourism story.

The golden season in Son La is not limited to Ngoc Chien and Xim Vang. From Muong La, Song Ma, Sop Cop, Yen Chau, Van Ho to many other highland areas, the time when the rice ripens creates a unique landscape.

But if tourists only come to take pictures and then leave, the value of the golden harvest season will only lie in the scenery. Localities are aiming to connect the harvest season with local life experiences, encouraging tourists to stay longer and giving people more opportunities to create livelihoods.

In Ngoc Chien, the journey can begin in the rice fields, continuing with stories about sticky rice, new rice, glutinous rice, young rice flakes, and life in stilt houses. In Xim Vang, visitors can learn about terraced rice paddies, how the H'Mong people cultivate crops on the mountain slopes, participate in some of the seasonal work, and enjoy local cuisine.

At that time, tourism was not separate from agriculture but went hand in hand with it: the fields produced crops, the people created the products, culture created the stories, and tourism connected these values ​​with visitors.

During her trip to Xim Vang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, a tourist from Hanoi, was impressed not only by the terraced rice fields but also by the atmosphere of the harvest season.

"Being able to stand in the middle of the rice fields, watch the villagers harvest, and even do some of the work myself made the trip feel more personal," Thu shared.

The golden harvest season can therefore become a part of the highland tourism livelihood. However, development needs to go hand in hand with infrastructure, services, environmental sanitation, and respect for the community's way of life. More importantly, it is necessary to preserve the original values: the Tan sticky rice variety, the processing methods, and the new rice harvest celebration rituals in Ngoc Chien; and the terraced rice fields preserved through generations in Xim Vang.

After each harvest season, what is worth preserving is not just the photographs, but also the rice grains, customs, and community life that make up the landscape of the highlands.

The golden season in the highlands of Xim Vang, Son La province. Photo: Truong Son