Throughout its history, Sapa’s downtown market opened on Saturday night as a destination for young, single Hmong, Dao, Tay and Ray ethnic minorities in the surrounding areas to go and seek their true love.

Those already married also seldom missed the event, as it offered them an opportunity to revisit old flames and relive the experience of young love.

In the evening, the lovers’ market would fill with tenderly bewitching music from the romantic leaf-horn, and with people from all around the area dressed in their finest garb.

The event added weight to the timeless charm of Northwest Sapa, where the French, throughout their colonial rule, often spent their holidays due to the area’s mild temperature and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding landscape.

Today, Sapa is still regarded as one of Vietnam’s top vacation and relaxation destinations, sought out by both locals and foreigners alike. In 2008 it welcomed more than 285,000 tourists.

In an effort to further increase the area’s tourism potential, provincial authorities plan to make the lovers’ market the highlight of the Lao Cai Culture-Tourism Week ’Sapa Welcomes You’ that will run from April 30 to May 3.

The celebration will include activities highlighting the rich and distinctive aspects of Sapa’s diverse ethnic cultures, including a festival entitled ’Walking in a Cloud’, featuring traditional festivities celebrated by local ethnic people, as well as a gastronomically scintillating fair featuring Muong ethnic cuisine.

VietNamNet/VNA