Preserving Cultural Values – A “Highlight” for Border Tourism

27/08/2026
Alongside its majestic mountains, winding roads, and distinctive landscapes of western Thanh Hoa, the former Muong Lat border area also preserves a vibrant cultural space shaped and enriched over generations. The customs, festivals, languages, traditional costumes, and folk arts of the Mong, Thai, Dao, Kho Mu, and other ethnic communities have become distinctive cultural resources, contributing to the uniqueness and appeal of border tourism.

The khèn has become an indispensable cultural bridge during traditional ceremonies and celebrations of the Mong community.

Rich Cultural Heritage of Ethnic Communities

One notable feature is that the cultural values of ethnic minority communities in the border region are not confined to traditional forms but remain vibrant parts of everyday community life. From stilt houses and traditional costumes to the sound of the Mong khèn, rituals, festivals, and folk games, each ethnic group contributes to the distinctive cultural identity of this remote borderland.

Among the Kho Mu community, in Ban Lach (Muong Chanh Commune) and Ban Doan Ket (Muong Lat Commune), many distinctive cultural traditions have been preserved, including the Rice Mother Welcoming Ceremony. This ritual is associated with the beliefs of communities practicing upland rice cultivation. It expresses gratitude to the rice plant while conveying hopes for abundant harvests and a prosperous life. The ceremony has been passed down through generations among the Kho Mu, not only within individual families but also as a shared community activity. Through the ritual, traditional beliefs about nature, agriculture, family, and community are transmitted, contributing to the distinctive cultural identity of the Kho Mu people in the border region.

For the Mong people, the khèn, a traditional bamboo mouth organ, has long been a distinctive cultural symbol. Its melodious sounds are present in spiritual and community life, from spring festivals to communal gatherings. For Mong people in Ban Pu Toong, Pu Nhi Commune, boys are introduced to the khèn from an early age, along with its rhythmic dances and movements that are both powerful and graceful. During festivals, the sound of the khèn, the dances of Mong girls in colorful traditional costumes, and folk games such as pao throwing and spinning tops create a vibrant community space rich in cultural identity.

According to cultural inventories, the border communes in the area still preserve numerous customs, rituals, and traditional crafts, including indigo dyeing, embroidery, brocade weaving, and traditional paper-making, as well as various folk games and performances. However, amid changes in social life, some customs, festivals, and traditional crafts are at risk of disappearing. Cultural preservation in the border region has therefore become an urgent task. If cultural heritage is preserved only in people’s memories or showcased on special occasions, these values will struggle to maintain their vitality in the long term. What matters is creating an environment in which culture continues to be part of everyday life, while enabling younger generations to embrace and pass it on.

A Highlight for Tourism Development

In tourism development, natural landscapes may provide the initial attraction, but cultural identity is what creates a destination’s uniqueness and depth. Cultural inventories conducted across the communes of the former Muong Lat District identified 8 tangible cultural heritage sites and 53 intangible cultural heritage elements. These include notable heritage sites and destinations such as Chung Cave and Cu Cave in Tam Chung Commune; Pu Toong Waterfall in Pu Nhi Commune; the memorial stele dedicated to the Tay Tien soldiers in Muong Ly Commune; and the Tu Ma Hai Dao Temple in Muong Lat Commune.

Intangible cultural heritage includes the Harvest Prayer Ceremony, the Dao Cap Sac Ceremony, and the Xen Muong Festival of the Thai people, among others. These are important “pieces of the puzzle” that allow the local authorities to preserve cultural identity while developing distinctive tourism products that carry the unique imprint of the region.

Traditional costumes worn by Mong girls during the village festival.

Visitors come not only to admire the scenery but also to learn about community life, enjoy local cuisine, listen to and watch traditional musical instrument performances, experience traditional crafts, and take part in appropriate cultural activities. Ban Lat in Tam Chung Commune is one example. Alongside the natural landscape and cave system, the traditional stilt houses of the Thai ethnic community create a distinctive cultural space with strong potential for community-based tourism.

On May 15, 2023, the Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1673/QD-UBND approving the Tourism Development Project for the former Muong Lat District through 2025, with a vision to 2030. The project identified tourism as an important economic sector contributing to livelihood creation and sustainable poverty reduction. Following the implementation of the two-tier local government system from July 1, 2025, the border communes in the area have continued to incorporate tourism development into their resolutions, identifying it as one of their key development directions. In particular, preserving and promoting traditional cultural values is seen not only as a means of safeguarding cultural identity but also as a resource for developing distinctive tourism products and enhancing the destination’s appeal to visitors.

According to Lo Van Tuan, Deputy Head of the Culture Division of the Muong Lat Commune People’s Committee, for cultural values to truly become a resource for tourism, it is necessary to continue documenting cultural heritage at risk of disappearing; pay greater attention to artisans and heritage practitioners; and create opportunities for younger generations to learn traditional languages, musical instruments, crafts, and cultural rituals. When local people are both custodians of their cultural heritage and beneficiaries of these values through tourism, preservation will gain greater motivation and vitality.

This is also a way to ensure that culture does not become something merely mentioned during festivals or special events, but continues to be part of everyday life, creating a distinctive identity for the destination and becoming a “highlight” for the sustainable development of border tourism.

Source: Baothanhhoa.vn

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