Embroidery competition at the Kieng Gio Festival in Hoanh Mo commune

What sets Hoanh Mo apart is the harmonious convergence of multiple cultural spaces. The Dao Thanh Phan people mainly reside in highland villages such as Song Mooc, Khe Tien, Khe Moi, Cao Son... where where livelihoods are closely connected  to forests, star anise, cinnamon, and medicinal herbs. The Dao community possesses a rich cultural heritage, marked by distinctive rituals such as the Cap Sac ceremonial and the Kieng Gio Festival, which have been recognized as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Brocade embroidery, traditional herbal medicine knowledge, and rammed-earth house architecture are among the most prominent cultural hallmarks of the Dao people.

The Tay people primarily inhabit in lowland areas along streams. They preserve Then singing, the gourd lute (đàn tính) performances, along with a wide range of traditional customs and beliefs imbued with strong humanistic values. Meanwhile, the San Chi people live in buffer-zone villages and is famous for Soong Co folk songs which have  simple and lyrical melodies closely associated with daily labor and communal cultural life.

The interweaving of these various cultural spaces has shaped Hoanh Mo’s unique identity on the cultural map of northeastern mountainous region.

"Cao Ly Moon Night" program held in in Hoanh Mo in October 2025

Recognizing the significance of protecting and promoting cultural identity, Hoanh Mo Commune has developed the project “Preserving and Promoting Traditional Cultural Values in Association with Sustainable Tourism Development for the 2025–2030 Period”.

Under this initiative, the commune prioritizes the conservation of both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the restoration of traditional rituals, and the maintenance of hallmark festivals such as the Kieng Gio Festival, Cao Ly Moon Night, and highland periodic markets. At the same time, various folk cultural and artistic activities are encouraged to be revived and promoted in conjuction with experiential and community-based tourism products. Hoanh Mo aims to develop a community-based that places local residents at the center, enabling them to directly participate in welcoming and serving visitors, thereby preserving cultural values while increasing incomes and improving livelihoods.

Alongside cultural preservation efforts, the commune is also focusing on upgrading tourism infrastructure, training local human resources, strengthening connections with travel agencies inside and outside the province, and encouraging households to develop tourism products, culinary services, and cultural experiences. Traditional cultural assets such as ethnic costumes, herbal medicine knowledge, cuisine, and festivals are gradually being transformed into distinctive tourism products bearing a strong local identity.

 By Huu Viet