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Si Ma Cai is not a famous tourist destination however it's attraction is by no
means less than Sapa or Bac Ha. Si Ma Cai district is 27km from Bac Ha, 98km
from Lao Cai City and 135km from
Sapa. Si Ma Cai is not as frequented as Bac Ha
or Sa Pa, also located in the mountainous province, since it is nestled at the
far end of a road near the border with China. Traveling there requires visitors
to hold onto their hats and their seats either in a car or on a motorcycle for
nearly 40 kilometers of bumpy, winding road from
Bac Ha.
Mountain adventurers like to compare Si Ma Cai in the
northern mountainous
province of Lao Cai to a shy lass with discrete charms sleeping in the mountain
as the beauty of the little-known village lies in the quiet and simple daily
lives of different peoples.
The name Si Ma Cai means “horse market” in H’mong language and old peoples said
that it was the biggest horse market of the region. Local people explain that Si
Ma Cai means horse market or a place where horses are tied. However, Mong people
like to talk about Si Ma Cai as a place for legendary horses whose steps resound
on the hills and mountains of the region. Of course, there are no legendary
horses in Si Ma Cai now, but visitors can hear the steps of horses pleasantly
mingling with the footsteps of ethnic peoples on a long trip from the hills and
mountains to the village’s central market, particularly on Sunday.
However, life is changing fast and horses are not the only purchasing objects
nowadays.
The market place is simply a large ground near the recently developed town let
of Simacai District with some thatched huts built to accommodate shops and food
stalls. Every Sunday, Simacai market attracts some thousands of Flower H’mong,
Zao, Phu La peoples from villages in the region come to shopping, enjoying
themselves meeting friends and relatives…after hard working days. They spend
most of their time at the market talking, chatting and also drinking a lot.
In recent years, the charms of Si Ma Cai have been awakened and have become
attractive to travelers due to the flower-colored clothes of the Mong and Red
Dao ethnic peoples, by the greenery of mountains and hills, and by the legends.
The quiet Si Ma Cai bustles on Sunday as Mong, Dao and other ethnic peoples
arrive from different directions for a hill-tribe market. There, they buy and
sell meat, vegetables, fruit, clothes and other necessities of life as well as
swap fun stories after a week of hard work.
The Si Ma Cai market remains distinct to its origins since locals sell what they
harvest from the forest and business is just a matter for locals, no traders
bring items from Hanoi or elsewhere. |
