Visit Ta Phin village of Dzao people
Sapa
in July, it rains in torrent, but we were determined to make our
way to Ta Phin village, Sapa district,
Lao Cai province, by the
irresistible attraction to exotic and colorful dresses of
ethnic
girls from Dzao, Hmong on their way home after the market
session.
By skillful hands, indigenous girls are weaving "dance" of
brocade, keeping the valued unique traditional culture. By
sewing, the women here are making a prosperous, happy life,
contributing to poverty reduction in the area.
The 20km road from Sapa brought us to the center of Ta Phin
commune, crept through the beautiful terraced rice fields as a
picture of mountain and river. At the start of the village, we
saw groups of women plying with needle, creating colorful
brocade products.
Nobody remembers when Ta Phin became a traditional craft
village, over generations every woman make brocade, all families
make brocade. The women in the village consider it as an
indispensable work everyday.
Ta Phin village is inhabited by Red Dzao people, since tourism
came to Sapa, Ta Phin has become a popular destination for
travellers, many come here to enjoy the special "Herbal bath",
specialty of Dzao people in the village.
To have a bath with the tradition of Red Dzao, the barrels
contain up to more than 10 herbs, some places use even 120
different herbs, in the small bathrooms, heated steam from the
wooden tubs spread all over.
According to Dzao people in Ta Phin, herbal bath or deep the
feet in the herbal water for a long time can cure you of skin
diseases, back pain, particularly women after bathing have
smooth skin.
In Ta Phin village, people cannot miss Ti O Cam cave, over a
dirty path without any tree, along the green rice fields is the
way to Ti O Cam grotto, this is a big grotto that can
accommodate a regiment. In the cave, under the torch light
guests feel like losing in a fairy land, beholding stone shoots
and stalagmites.
