SA PA — A festival showcasing the traditional and ethnic cultural beauty of brocade will open this weekend in the north-western mountain province of Lào Cai's tourism hub of Sa Pa.

The Brocade Festival 2026 will take place for the first time at Sun World Fansipan Legend's Bản Mây (Mây Village), with the theme Mùa Vàng Ươm Sắc Thổ Cẩm (Golden Season Coloured in Brocade), from August 22 to September 6, 2026.

It promises a poetic journey through the autumn in the northwestern region, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the vibrant culture and daily lives of the mountain communities.

Visitors can explore the fascinating process and images of farming through the intricate brocade threads and patterns, all crafted by the skilful hands of local ethnic artisans.

If the golden harvest represents the fruitful result of labour, then brocade serves as a medium that preserves the lives, beliefs and identity of the Northwest people within every single thread, according to the organiser, the Sun World Fansipan Legend.

 

The festival’s highlight will be a mini-show themed Mùa Nắng Mưa (Sun and Rain Season), inspired by the life and culture of the Mông people, an ethnic group in the mountain region.

Through the language of dance, indigenous music and distinctive traditional items such as baskets, ladders, corn, rice, and a 25m-long brocade, the performance show will vividly portray the cycle of life: from labour, childbirth and child-rearing to traditional customs, love and the formation of a new family.

While the sun brings a golden, bountiful season, the rain – though challenging – ushers in new life. The harmony of authentic sounds and performance art beautifully captures the image of a resilient, loving community shining brightly amidst the mountains and forests.

Visitors will also have the chance to watch the two popular rituals of Cơm Mới (New Rice) by the Tày and Thái ethnic groups – the cultural practices deeply connected to the harvest, gratitude, and the community's spiritual life.

 

The New Rice ritual ceremony of Tày people will be operated and led by Then Phương, a famous then practitioner. Then is a traditional singing genre of the Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic people in Việt Nam. Through then chants, ritual procedures, and offerings, the ceremony expresses gratitude to heaven and earth, ancestors and the sacred forces that have blessed the community with an abundant harvest.

This is followed by the Thái people's New Rice offering ceremony, which conveys appreciation to heaven and earth while praying for peace, prosperity, and bountiful crops. When the formal rituals conclude, Bản Mây will become a vibrant festive atmosphere featuring xòe – a traditional folk dance of the Thái community in northwestern Việt Nam, bamboo pole dancing and other community interaction activities.

Cultural stories of the Northwest will continue to be told through artistic expression in elaborately staged performances and fashion shows inspired by traditional brocade fabrics and patterns. Visitors can also immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere by participating in folk games and activities such as stilt racing, rice-cooking contests, traditional cake pounding and harvest races.

In particular, visitors to Fansipan during the National Day holiday can also enjoy a natural landscape transitioning from late summer to early autumn, featuring the Mường Hoa terraced fields, which are turning golden during the rice ripening season with drifting clouds, and vibrant mountain blossoms. Flowers burst into brilliant orange hues against the sky, creating a spectacular scene rarely seen at other times of the year.

After exploring the region's nature and culture, visitors can continue their journey through the Sun World Fansipan Legend spiritual and cultural complex, savour highland cuisine and bask in the beauty of Sa Pa during autumn.

From the yellow terraced fields to the intricate patterns of brocade, and from the New Rice rituals to performances rich in ethnic cultural identity, the 2026 Brocade Festival unveils a northwestern region that is both vibrant and steeped in heritage. — VNS