Early spring go to heaven gate market

Special market

In the bitter cold of the first day of the new year, dozens of Mong women still patiently sit in huts built on the roadside to wait for customers. At an altitude of about 1,500 meters above sea level, there are days when the temperature drops below 5 degrees Celsius. With no protection on all sides, the people working here therefore often have to face cold drafts.

That is the image we witnessed when visiting the market at the Muong Long Heaven Gate (Ky Son). The market is built next to the intersection, in the territory of Huoi Tu commune, the border with Muong Long. It is only about 1km from Muong Long Heaven Gate, so many people still call it "Heaven Gate Market". However, in reality, most of the vendors at this market come from Pha Xac village (Huoi Tu commune).

This market is located far from residential areas, at an altitude of about 1,500m. Photo: Tien Hung

Unlike other normal markets that are usually located in the middle of residential areas, where there are many people passing by for the convenience of buying and selling, this market is set up in a deserted place. It is more than 1 km from the nearest residential area. Therefore, most of the customers at this market are people from the lowlands, or from Muong Xen town who have business to pass by.

According to Mr. Denh Ba Long - Chairman of the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune, this market was formed spontaneously, about 10 years ago. "The market was formed after the road from Huoi Tu to Muong Long was repaired. Seeing the crowded traffic, especially visitors from the lowlands often stopping at the intersection to enjoy the scenery, a few households brought their family's products there to sell. Seeing these people selling well, other households gradually followed suit. Then they started setting up tents," said Mr. Long. Up to now, there have been nearly 15 stalls in this unique market.

The items here are quite diverse, all are specialties of the Mong people. Photo: Tien Hung

Because it is located on the top of a mountain, most of the mornings here are always covered in fog. During this season, the women selling goods at the Heaven Gate market are often tormented by the cold. To keep their bodies warm, they cover their bodies, leaving only their eyes. “This market has no timetable. Whoever sells everything has to go home. Only on slow days do they sell until dark. It is very cold here, many customers from the lowlands cannot stand staying even for a while,” said Ms. Va Y Xu (32 years old).

Wild mice are sold for between 50,000 and 100,000 VND each. Photo: Tien Hung

The female vendors here have to cover themselves up to cope with the biting cold. Photo: Tien Hung

Mountain specialties

The items at the Heaven Gate market are quite diverse. All are mountain specialties, products grown or picked and hunted by the Mong people nearby. But the most popular is still the mustard greens. Each bunch of mustard greens here is sold for 10,000 VND. To have nearly 100 bunches of mustard greens to sell at the market, Ms. Lau Y May (40 years old, Pha Xac village, Huoi Tu commune) had to wake up at 2am. All of these mustard greens were grown by Ms. May in her fields. Because the fields are far away, it took her more than an hour to get there on foot. After busily picking vegetables, she carried a basket on her back and walked back to the market when it was just dawn. "The Mong people are used to working like this. It's not hard at all," Ms. May said with a smile.

The market is often covered in fog in the morning. Photo: Tien Hung

In addition to selling mustard greens, Ms. May's stall also has some wild banana stalks, which are sold for between 5,000 and 10,000 VND depending on the type. These are banana stalks that Ms. May picked along the way from the fields. Like many other women, Ms. May sells at the Heaven's Gate market all year round. When mustard greens are out of season, she sells taro, then cucumbers... All of which are grown by her and her husband on the fields. Most of the mustard greens sold here have flowered. According to Ms. May, in the past, Mong people planted vegetables that had flowered, meaning they were too old and had to be cut down and planted with other plants. But then, seeing that people in the lowlands liked the type of mustard greens that had flowered, they brought them out to the street to sell.

“Growing vegetables here is very simple, you don’t have to take care of them carefully or spray them with pesticides like in the lowlands. Here, you just need to bring the seeds to the field and sow them, and they will grow on their own until harvest. Maybe because the soil and climate are good, they grow very quickly,” Ms. May added.

The Heaven Gate Market is now a check-in point for tourists passing by. Photo: Tien Hung

In addition to vegetables, tubers, and fruits, there is a very popular item here, which is wild mice. Especially on cold winter days. This season, wild mice are quite rare, because they often hide in deep caves to avoid the cold, making hunting them very difficult. Therefore, each mouse is sold at a fairly high price. Some mice are even advertised for more than 100,000 VND. Unlike house mice, wild mice's food is mostly plants. However, they are quite large, some weighing more than half a kilo.

“This season, having wild mice hung in the kitchen is great,” said Ms. Lau Y Tho (42 years old), pointing to the group of wild mice hanging in front of the stall. Ms. Tho said that her two sons had to stay up all night in the forest to hunt these mice. After the mice were hunted, they were immediately brought to the market to sell without any processing. Therefore, this item can only be sold during the day. If they don’t sell out, they will bring them back to cut open and process. “It’s a specialty. Many people from the lowlands come by and find it disgusting so they don’t dare to buy it. In fact, it’s very clean because it only eats flowers, roots, and seeds. If it doesn’t sell out, it’s brought back to hang in the kitchen, and when there are important guests, it’s brought out to entertain them. It’s not sold cheaply,” said Ms. Tho.

Mountain specialties. Photo: Tien Hung

Mr. Va Cha Xa - Chairman of Muong Long Commune People's Committee said that this market at the intersection is not only for buying and selling goods, but also a tourist destination. "Currently, Muong Long Commune is focusing on developing community tourism. And that Heaven Gate market is the first and very important destination in the journey of tourists when coming to this land. There are all the specialties of the local people for tourists from the lowlands to buy as gifts. It is also a great place to enjoy the scenery", Mr. Xa said.