Tourists and local residents will be able to witness a traditional horserace on June 6-7 as part of the Cultural Tourism Week held in Bac Hadistrict in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

Nearly 200 horses will perform in a procession, after which 100 horseswill race each other, either in teams or as individuals.

The winning team will be awarded a prize worth 20 million VND (920USD) and the winning individual will receive 6 million VND (260 USD).

The stadium in the municipal centre can hold up to 5,000 spectators,both tourists and locals alike. Tickets cost 30,000 VND (1.3 USD).

The traditional form of riding without a saddle makes the horse racein Bac Ha all the more fun to watch and spectacular performances are tobe expected.
During the war, horse racing was discontinuedas jockeys were sent to the battlefields to protect their country’sindependence.

In the spring of 1980, a horse race organisedby the Bac Ha Military Command brought together more than 50 jockeysfrom villages all over the district.

Twenty-seven yearslater, horse racing was officially taken up again as a cultural activityas part of the annual tourism development cooperation programme run byeight north-western provinces.

Bac ha district is inhabited by 14 ethnic minority groups, predominantly H’Mong, Dao, Tay , and Nung.

More and more visitors are coming to Bac Ha to attend the uniquefestival, with visitor numbers doubling to 30,000 in 2012 compared to2009.

Lao Cai hosted 1,470,000 visitors in 2014, including 545,230 international tourists.-VNA