Mu Cang Chai's 2,300 hectares of terraced fields have been cultivated by the H'Mong people for hundreds of years. Developing tourism as well as preserving the surrounding environment has now become a priority for the local people.
The festival is organized annually to promote local tourism and culture by sharing the local landscape, people, and culture to domestic and international visitors.
Harper's Bazaar magazine has just published its list of the 30 most beautiful destinations in the world, which includes Mù Cang Chải's terraced fields in Vietnam.
The list also included Venice (Italy), Machu Picchu (Peru), and Santorini (Greece). Mu Cang Chai's terraced fields span more than 2,300ha at a height of 1,000m above sea level in Hoang Lien Son Mountain Foot.
Terrace farming involves carving out steps into the side of the mountains. Seen from afar, the terraced rice fields look like a picture of nature, whose colour changes seasonally, exhibiting its most alluring charm when the new crop begins, when green rice grows and the field is lush with ripening crops.
The terraced rice fields of Mu Cang Chai coupled with distinctive cultural practices of local ethnic groups are what make this locality so unique.
