'Forest blessings' flow down the street to welcome Spring

Stone is mined by people in the remote Ky Son region on their fields and brought to the mountain town of Muong Xen to sell during Tet. Photo: Quang An

When spring is in full swing, it is also the time when people from the highlands of Con Cuong, Anh Son, Tuong Duong, Ky Son, Que Phong, Quy Chau… rush into the forest to find products. Dong leaves, giang tubes, peach blossoms, cotton flowers… follow the flow of people on the bus to the city, bringing the spring colors to every home. Local people call it “forest blessings” to welcome Tet.

In Ky Son and Que Phong districts, local peach trees planted by local people for many years, with plump buds, beautiful flowers, and green leaves, are brought down to the mountain town to sell.traders. According to the Mong men who are selling peach trees for Tet in the Muong Xen town area, you should not just cut down peach trees when you see them, but you should know how to choose old and beautiful branches to cut. This year there is still next year, you have to know how to save them.

In the Muong Xen town area, in the days before Tet, in addition to digging stones, people also sell many other products. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Market researchpeach blossoms for TetIn the highlands of Ky Son, most peach trees cost from 2 to 5 million VND/branch. In particular, there are peach branches that have all the elements: shape, buds, shoots... and traders pay for 25 to 40 million VND/branch.

In the remote Ky Son district, the most peach trees are in the communes of Muong Long, Na Ngoi, Nam Can and Tay Son.
Mr. Vi Oanh - Head of the District Agriculture and Rural Development Department said: Decades ago, the people of Ky Son highlands planted peach trees on their fields, both for shade and for fruit, few people cut branches to celebrate Tet. Later, people in the lowlands liked to dig rocks and moldy peach trees, so every time Tet comes, people in the highlands "hunt" for moldy peach trees to sell to traders.

Around the end of December, on the roads leading to the inner communes of the district, motorbikes loaded with peach branches continue to Muong Xen town, making the year-end atmosphere in the highlands even more bustling. Perhaps the harsh nature has created a unique beauty for the Spring peach blossoms here.

Dong leaves are harvested year-round to supply cake production facilities, but most abundantly at the end of the year to supply people everywhere to wrap cakes.TetAccording to people in Hanh Dich commune, Que Phong district, Dong leaves often grow and develop in areas with high humidity. The deeper they go, the more beautiful the leaves become. Giang trees grow halfway up the mountain.

Dong leaves are purchased by traders in Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district, then selected and beautifully bundled to sell to the market. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Luong Van Manh in Chieng village, Hanh Dich commune said: The place to pick dong leaves is by the stream, 1 hour walk from home, so each day can only pick 2 trips. Each trip, 1 person can carry more than 10 bundles of leaves. "Customers most prefer dong leaves about 25 cm wide, about 50 cm long, to wrap banh chung and banh tet beautifully. Therefore, I have to take the trouble to find dong bushes with many beautiful leaves. Picking dong leaves requires sharp cutting tools, the leaf stem must be cut in one stroke to be beautiful. Arranging and bundling leaves also requires "skill" to avoid tearing the leaves. Because people believe that "forest blessings" welcome Tet, when bundling leaves, torn or bad leaves cannot be mixed in to sell to customers," said Mr. Luong Van Manh.

Traders gather dong leaves along National Highway 7, through Tam Dinh Commune (Tuong Duong) to transport downstream for consumption during Tet. Photo: Xuan Hoang

The selling price of dong leaves varies from year to year. This year, according to traders who buy dong leaves in the districts of Tuong Duong, Ky Son, Que Phong... the purchase price for people right at the forest gate is 300 - 400 VND/leaf. Traders buy, select, bundle them beautifully, and transport them downstream for consumption.

According to traders, dong leaves are found mostly in the highland districts along National Highway 7A and National Highway 48. However, the most beautiful dong leaves are in the Hanh Dich, Thong Thu, and Dong Van areas of Que Phong district. Experience shows that in years when it rains from the beginning of December to the 20th of the lunar calendar, dong leaves are in high demand. Because of the prolonged rain, people are reluctant to go into the forest. In years when it is sunny all December, dong leaves are in abundance, which means they are cheap to buy.

People in Dong Van commune (Que Phong) exploit bamboo tubes to sell to traders. Bamboo tubes are used to split bamboo strips to wrap Tet banh chung (square sticky rice cake) so consumption is high during Tet. Photo: Quang An

People who specialize in buying dong leaves say that the characteristics of dong leaves are green flesh, green leaves and the tip of the leaf has a spiral. There are two types of dong leaves: gourd leaves and doc leaves. But the most popular is still doc leaves.

Bamboo shoots must be cut from the forest and sold immediately, because bamboo shoots must be fresh to be easily split into thin strips. The strips are used to wrap cakes, the thinner the split, the better. Ms. Luong in Dong Van commune, Que Phong district confided: "I don't expect to get rich, I'm happy with the "forest's bounty" as long as it's enough to cover Tet. The villagers have been attached to the forest for generations, and every Tet, all their clothes, meat, fish, candy, etc. depend on "forest's bounty".

“Forest blessings” make spring more beautiful, so that the people in the highlands can have a warmer and more complete Tet. Therefore, those who enjoy these products must know how to protect the forest, know how to preserve each tree. That is, it is necessary to exploit the forest reasonably, so that the forest can flourish. When picking dong leaves, if people are careless, they will cut them down, crush the roots, and damage the dong trees. The same goes for bamboo shoots. When the bamboo shoot season comes, if bamboo shoots are exploited indiscriminately, it will inadvertently lead to deforestation. Or there are people who dig them up, cut them down to the roots, not allowing the trees to continue growing. If there is no awareness to exploit these products, one day the “forest blessings” will be exhausted.

Buying and selling dong leaves and other products in Muong Xen town, Ky Son district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

It is impossible to calculate how much money the highlanders earn each year from picking “forest products”, but there will be hundreds, thousands of families who have a prosperous Tet thanks to the products of the forest. Therefore, at the end of the year, going up to the highlands, we see trucks loaded with goods going down to the lowlands. On those trucks are green dong leaves, giang tubes, peach branches, and other products that lowlanders call “specialties” of the highlands, giving us a feeling of excitement when Spring comes./.