Plum blossom garden in Long Luong commune, Van Ho district is in full bloom.

Not wanting to miss Van Ho - the most beautiful season of the year, we, the "travel" enthusiasts, brought our cameras and hit the road. Starting from Son La city, traveling 130 km along National Highway 6, it took about 3 hours to arrive at Van Ho. The fog gradually cleared, the scenery along National Highway 6 through Van Ho district gradually appeared like a painting.

The first stop is Hua Tat community village, Van Ho commune, following the concrete road down to the end of the village is the stadium, children wearing colorful traditional clothes are playing tulu, innocent faces with bright eyes, smiling mouths waving to greet every time they see strangers visiting. That innocence is beautiful and familiar.

Tourists take souvenir photos with Mong ethnic children in Van Ho district.

Visiting the house of Mr. Trang A Chu, the first Mong ethnic person in the village to do community tourism. These days, A Chu homestay is full of tourists. Welcoming us, A Chu happily shared: Hua Tat is no longer as remote and poor as before. People have eradicated opium poppies, renovated houses to make homestays, preserving the unique identities of the Mong ethnic people from making Do paper, pounding sticky rice cakes, painting beeswax on fabric or the sounds of Mong flutes to introduce to tourists. Our Mong village is changing day by day, the lives of the villagers are also getting better.

Mong ethnic children playing in the plum garden.

Leaving Hua Tat village, we continued along Highway 6 to Long Luong commune. From afar, the village with houses interspersed with white plum gardens, occasionally dotted with pink peach blossoms, next to a garden of brilliant yellow mustard flowers brings a sense of peace. All of them paint a gentle, beautiful picture that makes everyone fall in love. Surely the beautiful scenery from the pure white plum gardens in Moc Chau, Van Ho in recent days has flooded social platforms and mass media, causing the flow of vehicles on Highway 6 on weekends to become crowded, following each other back and forth.

Visit A ​​Pha plum garden Mr. Trang A Pha's family, in Long village Luong, Long Luong commune, where many tourists visit. The family arranges a large area of ​​land so that vehicles can stop and park without obstructing or causing traffic safety problems. Plum trees are planted in rows on the gentle hillside, the flowers bloom evenly and beautifully, in the middle of the garden there is a thatched roof house, swings, and bamboo chairs for visitors to sit and "check in". In addition, the garden also rents out ethnic costumes for visitors to create the most satisfying photos.

Tourists visit and experience the mustard garden in Van Ho district.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Tam, a tourist from Hanoi, shared: This is the second time I have had the opportunity to visit Van Ho district. However, this is the first time my family and I have taken photos to "check in" at the blooming plum gardens. The scenery here is beautiful, there are many cute children, the air is fresh and cool. We took photos together, preserving memorable moments here.

Tourists "check-in" with canola flowers in Van Ho.

Not only the white plum gardens attract tourists, but the poetic and long fields of canola flowers have also become a destination that tourists from near and far cannot miss when coming to Long Luong. The white and yellow canola flowers blooming together, competing in color, have created a beautiful picture that captivates everyone.

Mr. Giang A Sanh, owner of the Van Ho mustard flower check-in point in Long Luong village, Long Luong commune, excitedly said: From 2016 until now, every year at the end of November, my family has dedicated a land area of ​​more than 1 hectare to grow white and yellow mustard flowers. The garden opens to welcome guests from the end of January to the beginning of March. Every day, the garden welcomes from 300 to 400 visitors to take photos. In addition, the family also rents out traditional costumes and sells local agricultural products such as mustard greens, taro, etc. to earn more income.

Mong ethnic children playing in the rape fields.

Tourists experience pounding traditional sticky rice cake of Mong ethnic people in Long Luong commune, Van Ho district.

Peach blossoms spread across the hillsides and mountainsides, blooming under the sunlight of the first days of spring, full of life. Peach blossoms are still faintly visible in the beautiful villages, showing off their gentle pink color. Next to the rows of peach blossoms are rustic wooden houses, carrying dry firewood, Mong ethnic women sitting in groups of three or five meticulously embroidering brocade skirts, or children playing in the yard, flocks of hill chickens wandering under the peach trees... All of these evoke the feeling of a Northwest spring that is so close, familiar, rustic and lovely.

Not only that, from 2018 to present, Long Luong commune has also organized peach blossom festival to introduce and promote the image, people, and local specialties to domestic and foreign tourists.

Having the opportunity to experience traditional cultural lifestyle, folk games, blending into the highland lifestyle to enjoy the picturesque scenery from peach gardens, mustard gardens, plum gardens, and enjoying the specialty "fog" will certainly be a beautiful, unforgettable memory for visitors when coming to Van Ho - the most beautiful season of the year.

Thu Thao