Unusual market where leaves are used as currency at Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh

Kick off a vibrant summer on Ba Den Mountain - the highest mountain in the South, the leaf market – a unique market in Tay Ninh will be held on all Saturdays in June. The market sessions will take place from 5 PM to 7 PM, and the leaf distribution time is from 4 PM to 6 PM.

The strange thing about this market is that visitors don't need to use money, but use bodhi leaves to buy goods. Each visitor when taking the cable car up to Ba Den Mountain will receive a free bodhi leaf. All kinds of cakes, sweet soups, sticky rice, cassava… delicious and imbued with the folk flavors of Tay Ninh are bustlingly sold on the mountaintop. Tay Ninh specialty rice paper, banh it, banh cuon, banh u, banh xu xe, banh bot loc, banh bo, banh da lon…, hundreds of types of cakes in all colors and flavors make the market fragrant with rustic flavors.

Ms. Pham Khanh Hoa (Ho Chi Minh City) shared: “There are too many attractive rustic dishes that remind me of childhood memories. I only wish I had more bodhi leaves to eat all the specialty dishes here”. 

Tay Ninh is known as the homeland of the Cho La (Leaf Market). No one remembers exactly when the first leaf market was held. The people of Tay Ninh pass down the story that about a decade ago, there was an elderly kind-hearted doctor in Hoa Thanh town named Mr. Bui Quoc Thai who founded this 'unique' market. Here, everyone, young and old, rich or poor, locals of Tay Ninh or people from elsewhere... can come to exchange and trade using their 'capital'. Whoever has sticky rice brings sticky rice, whoever has cakes brings cakes, each person only needs to use leaves to exchange for food. Leaves don't have a specific 'value' either; whoever likes something picks it, whoever wants to eat something buys it.

Then, annually, on the 14th and 15th of the first lunar month, the people of Tay Ninh organize the Lá Market (Chợ Lá). In the consciousness of Vietnamese people, the full moon of the first lunar month is an important festival to pray for peace and abundance in the new year, and also to embrace goodness and compassion. The Lá Market organized on this occasion is also the wish of the people of the sacred land of Tay Ninh for a peaceful and prosperous life, where everyone has a spirit of sharing and good intentions.

Today, the Lá Market has become a "specialty" of Tay Ninh and is the only market in the country that does not use money. You can visit Vieng Market (Nam Dinh) in the style of old Northern Vietnamese markets to "buy luck and sell prosperity" for the whole year, where buyers do not haggle, and sellers are happy and generous to bring luck for the year. You can also visit Am Duong Market (Bac Ninh) to pray for luck and cast away worries – where buyers and sellers do not bargain, do not count money, and are not noisy. But only at the Lá Market in Tay Ninh can you use leaves not only to buy food but also to "buy" joy and good fortune.

Thanks to its special charm and cultural value, the Tay Ninh Leaf Market has in recent years been recreated in several other provinces on special occasions, such as in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai. At Ba Den Mountain – Tay Ninh's iconic destination, Leaf Markets are now often organized during major festivals like Tet, the Le Via Ba festival… to recreate the beauty of the local people's simple and kind cultural life, and to help visitors experience the unique culinary flavors of the land of young buffalo and rice paper.

Uniquely, at Ba Den Mountain, the stalls are specially set up to evoke old countryside markets with thatched-roof stalls, and girls wearing "ao ba ba" (traditional Vietnamese tunic) and "khan ran" (checked scarf). More interestingly, this "one-of-a-kind" market is also a distinctive cultural space, where visitors can immerse themselves in the joyful atmosphere of folk games and lively dances around the market.

“This strange market is a place you come not only to eat and drink, but also to have fun, to relive beautiful childhood memories. Importantly, people connect with each other, almost everyone is happy, no longer feeling any distance between them” – shared Ms. Tran Thi Tu (Long An).

After the Leaf Market, the activity that tourists most look forward to when visiting Ba Den Mountain is participating in the lantern offering ceremony at Tay Bo Da Son Square. Here, each tourist receives a free lantern, and writes their wishes to offer to the Buddhas. Thousands of lanterns light up the night at the foot of the Lady Buddha statue, creating a memorable spiritual and cultural experience on the sacred mountain peak.

Dubbed the roof of the South, Ba Den Mountain is known every summer as a perfect escape from the heat destination, with temperatures on the mountaintop always 8-10 degrees Celsius lower than the city. Along with La Market and the sacred Dang Dang ceremony taking place on Saturdays in June, Ba Den Mountain becomes the hottest destination in the South this early summer season.