The highlight of the festival is a horse race, to be held on June 7-8 at Bac Ha town’s stadium, featuring the competition of jockeys from Lao Cai and the neighbouring provinces of Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, and Lai Chau.
The festival will also include a street festival, gathering more than 400 artists from communes in Bac Ha district, a bicycle tour through plum-growing areas and flower valley, and a rose and wine fest at Hoang A Tuong Palace.
The festival aims to promote the unique cultural value and tourism potential of Bac Ha district to visitors from both at home and abroad, thus lifting Bac Ha as an attractive tourism destination in Vietnam’s northern region.
Bac Ha town is famous for its rural market every Sunday, which is not only a trading place, but also a venue for cultural exchange among local people. The horse market is held as part of the Sunday market; the Bac Ha horse is praised as one of the most beautiful types of horse in Vietnam.
The horse race is a unique traditional cultural practice of ethnic groups living on the "White Plateau". Organised annually since 2007, the race has been established as a most-expecting sporting event of the locals and visitors to the town.
