Unique border market in Nghe An
From early morning, when the village was still covered in fog and cold, the Nam Can border market in Ky Son district attracted people from all over.
Bustling highland market
Nam Can border marketis a place for trading goods, also a place for cultural exchange between Vietnam and Laos. For that reason, everyone is eager to visit and enjoy the unique things at this border market.
Previously, the market was held twice a month on the 14th and 29th. But from 2019 to now, with the increase in cultural exchange as well as trade between Vietnam and Laos in general and Nghe An province with Xieng Khouang in particular, along with the increasing "supply - demand" of goods, the market has increased the number of sessions per month, held every Sunday.
Nam Can Market is located next to the border gate with Laos, so it is also called Doan Ket Market. Each market session is like a festival for people in the border villages of the two countries. The market is about 270 km from Vinh city and about 25 km from Muong Xen mountain town of Ky Son district.
The most bustling and lively area from dawn is the area of stalls selling cooked food and cuisine of the highland people. At these stalls, next to the red-hot charcoal stoves with billowing smoke and the fragrant smell of the dishes, visitors can easily find typical dishes of the ethnic minorities: chicken, grilled pork, grilled pork intestines, vermicelli, pho, bamboo-tube rice, dried meat... along with cakes and many types of wine distilled from agricultural products.
The food court attracts many guests, they meet at the market, invite each other to the restaurant to meet, chat, ask about health and share experiences in raising livestock, growing crops, developing the economy, and building a prosperous village.
Entering the center of the Vietnam - Laos border market, visitors will clearly feel the bustling, vibrant scene and the typical lifestyle of the ethnic minorities in the Nghe An highlands. Attracting a large number of young women are stalls selling traditional costumes of the Mong, Thai, Lao people... Here, people go to the market to choose and help each other try on dresses, scarves, hats... The sound of laughter and lively conversation. The activities of embroidering and sewing traditional costumes are carried out by the skillful hands of women and mothers...
Explore unique culture
As the main market gathering ethnic groups of Vietnam and Laos, the goods here are quite rich and diverse, serving the shopping needs of the people. Products grown by the locals, livestock, local cuisine, brocade clothes, farming tools, fresh food, groceries, etc. are all brought by people from both countries to exchange and sell. In addition, there are also tourists, not only domestic but also foreign, coming to visit and explore the unique culture of the people in the highlands of the border.
At the market, you will not encounter any solicitation to buy goods, but only see simple faces in colorful ethnic costumes. They come to the market not only to buy and sell but also to enjoy the market and enjoy the customers.
The Nam Can border market has a very different atmosphere compared to the markets in the lowlands. It is a polyphonic, multi-colored, multi-lingual, peaceful, bustling and warm space. The goods sold at the border markets have long been a characteristic. Because the goods displayed at the market are all products made by the highlanders themselves and brought down to exchange and trade. These are young green vegetables grown on the highlands, sticky rice, red rice, squash, pumpkins... and spices picked from forest trees.
Besides, there are fresh products such as local chicken, black pork, local buffalo, beef... Agricultural tools serving production such as knives, hoes, shovels... made by highlanders are also of great interest to customers.
The Vietnam - Laos border market was opened with the initial purpose of serving the shopping and trading needs of people on both sides of the border, as well as being a place for cultural exchange, but currently, the scale of the markets is constantly growing. The stalls are displayed close together and the goods are very diverse. In addition to going to the market for the purpose of buying and selling, exchanging goods, many people come to the market to visit and have fun because the border market is always attractive, a convergence of many cultural colors of many ethnic groups.
Mrs. Va Nhi Hoa - a resident of Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son) excitedly said: "Almost every month, my husband and I go to the border market once. Because the distance from home to the market is more than 30 minutes by motorbike, we have to wake up very early to prepare goods, including a few chickens, mustard greens, bags of hot peppers, sacks of fresh ginger... all made by ourselves. When we get to the market, traders buy them at a reasonable price. With money in hand, in addition to buying new clothes for our children, we also buy some farming tools to do farming, some household items for the family and some vegetable seeds to plant. Going to the market, we get to meet many acquaintances and relatives living in the same village and commune, which is very fun."
Near noon, the Nam Can border market gradually became less crowded, which was also the time when trucks with Vietnamese and Lao license plates were loaded with goods after a day of purchasing agricultural products; each person carried large and small bags in their hands, returning home on the roads.
The image of honest, generous sellers who do not haggle or overcharge, who "satisfy their stomachs" is imprinted in the minds of those who have had the opportunity to visit Nam Can market. The Vietnam - Laos border market for the highlanders is like that, simple and warm like the hard-working, brave people who grew up amidst the mountain winds and clouds./.
