The annual Sa Pa Summer Tourism Festival 2018, the third of its kind, kicked off at Sa Pa resort town, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on April 28. 

The festival features diverse and interesting activities from May 1 to June 30, including a photo exhibition, a flower festival, Ham Rong mountain climbing competition, cultural festival of Mong Cat Cat village retracing wedding of Dao ethnic people, new harvest welcome ceremony of Xa Pho ethnic group, and others. 

The event “A Day as Farmer” in Ta Phin commune will enable tourists to experience farming in mountain areas and pick herbal leaves with Dao ethnic people. 

As part of the event, the cultural and tourism festival of Tam Duong district, the northern province of Lai Chau will be held for the first time to introduce its culture, tourist areas, cuisine, music performances and folk games to businesses and visitors in Sa Pa. 

The same day, a ceremony to announce Ta Phin Cave as a national cultural heritage took place in Ta Phin commune, Sa Pa district. 

Ta Phin Cave lies in a range of karst stone mountain – a part of Hoang Lien Son Range in Sa Xeng village, about 1km to the north from the communal People’s Committee. Its gate is 5m high, 3m wide and 10m deep, leading to a space of hundreds of square metres with drooping stalactites of different shapes. 

On December 29, 2017, the Cave was recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national scenic site. 

During the opening ceremony, street and folk music festivals also attracted crowds. 

Le Manh Hao, Vice Chairman of the Sa Pa district People’s Committee, said the festival is expected to attract nearly 70,000 visitors at home and abroad during the April 30 – May 1 holiday, 

Sa Pa is now home to more than 300 lodging facilities with around 6,000 rooms, many of them are three-to-four star hotels.-VNA