As autumn sets in and the terraced fields of Luc Hon glow with golden hues, crowds of visitors once again make their way here to join the golden harvest festival. Beyond admiring the mesmerizing landscape, travelers can immerse themselves in the vibrant cultural world of the Tày ethnic group, making the event a true highlight of this year’s autumn-winter tourism season.
This year’s festival takes place as the rice ripens across the province-recognized terraced fields stretching through Khe O, Cao Thang, and Ngan Pat villages of Luc Hon Commune. It is a time to honor agricultural labor, express gratitude for the harvest, and celebrate Tay cultural identity. According to Chairman of the Luc Hon Commune People’s Committee, Vi Tien Vuong, the 2025 autumn-winter tourism opening ceremony will take place on October 25 at Luc Na Communal House, kicking off a series of Tay-themed cultural and artistic activities.
Visitors can take in the beauty of the golden fields, stroll along flower-lined roads, and join locals in the warm, communal new rice feast that embodies the heartfelt spirit of the uplands.
Among the festival’s highlights, the new rice Celebration stands out as a sacred and time-honored ritual. Usually held in mid-November at Luc Na Communal House and in local households, the ceremony features offerings of sticky rice, green rice flakes, chicken, and stream fish presented to ancestors in gratitude for the harvest and prayers for abundance in the coming year.
A distinctive feature of this ritual is the symbolic act of bringing the “spirit of rice” from the fields back home, expressing the harmony between humans and nature. After the ceremony, locals and visitors share the new rice meal, celebrating the joy of harvest together while passing on the Tay philosophy of “When drinking water, remember its source.”
The cultural soul of the Tay people is vividly reflected through then singing and the melodic sounds of the tinh lute. The then songs tell stories of origins and gratitude, while the gentle notes of the tinh evoke nostalgia and serenity. At Luc Na Communal House, local artisans perform and engage with visitors, ensuring that the music of then continues to resonate far and wide. The traditional indigo attire of the Tày, paired with green sashes and silver jewelry, creates a graceful harmony against the golden backdrop of the terraced fields, offering visitors countless charming photo opportunities.
Beyond the festival, Tày culture has become an essential part of community-based tourism. Programs like “Live with locals - Eat with locals - Work with locals” invite visitors to stay in stilt-house homestays, pound green rice, steam sticky rice, learn folk dances, or cook traditional dishes. Ban Cau village is among the most representative “Tay cultural villages,” where guests can listen to local tales, taste specialties such as khau nhuc (braised pork belly), sausages, and vermicelli, and enjoy traditional games like nem con (cloth ball tossing), tug-of-war, and top spinning.
This year’s Luc Hon yellow harvest festival not only revives cultural traditions but also introduces new and exciting experiences. A major attraction is the “Flying over the yellow season” paragliding activity, giving visitors a bird’s-eye view of the terraced fields while blending adventure with culture. Meanwhile, the OCOP product exhibition at Luc Na Communal House showcases local agricultural goods, handicrafts, and signature Tày products, from brocade and silver jewelry to glass noodles, celebrating both tourism and cultural heritage.
According to Vi Tien Vuong, Luc Hon’s tourism development rests on three pillars: Nature, Culture, and People. “The yellow harvest festival perfectly embodies this vision,” he shared. “The terraced fields are the stage, Tay culture is the soul, and the people are the creative heart”.
Luc Hon aims to welcome 35,000 visitors and generate over VND 11 billion in tourism revenue in 2025. In order to achieve this target, the commune focuses on human resource training, infrastructure improvement, and encouraging local participation in community-based tourism, ensuring sustainable and inclusive development.
More than just a celebration of the harvest, the 2025 yellow harvest festival is a heartfelt tribute to the Tay people’s cultural legacy in this borderland. Amid the yellow rice fields, the resonant then melodies, and the aroma of freshly cooked new rice, visitors can feel the warmth, vitality, and timeless beauty of Luc Hon’s Tay culture at its most enchanting moment of the year.
