Fansipan is vibrant with the Ban May Golden Season Festival.

(Photo: Bao Long)

The Golden Season Festival of Ban May recreates the traditional rituals and activities of the people from 7 ethnic groups: Hmong of Sa Pa, Hmong of Dien Bien, Xa Pho, Tay, Giay, Red Dao, Thai, and Ha Nhi, celebrating a year of favorable rain and wind and welcoming a bountiful harvest. The peaceful Ban May nestles at the foot of Fansipan mountain; these days are bustling with a festive and communal atmosphere, offering visitors unique cultural experiences rich in local color.

Especially, joining the atmosphere celebrating the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2nd, right from the entrance of Ban May, red flags are skillfully arranged like winding terraced fields, brilliantly fluttering. Throughout the village, each miniature scene is meticulously cared for: full granaries, stacked rice baskets, bunches of golden corn... all exude a sense of abundance, creating a prosperous scene that is both peaceful and bustling, like a welcome to the long-awaited ripe rice season.

The New Rice Celebration Festival, also known as the New Rice Festival, a custom of the Tay ethnic people, is recreated authentically and vividly by this ethnic community in Sa Pa. The ceremony is an occasion for the Tay people to express gratitude to deities and ancestors for blessing them with a bountiful harvest, while also praying for future harvests to be prosperous. Fragrant glutinous rice grains from the first harvest are steamed into new rice, offered at the altar to thank heaven, earth, and ancestors.

After the ceremony, bowls of fragrant, sticky white rice are handed directly to tourists. Each bowl of rice is like a blessing for a bountiful harvest, good fortune, and well-being, allowing those who depart to carry with them the lingering taste of the golden season from the mountains and forests.

If the ceremony part brings solemnity and sacredness, the festival part explodes with cheers. Eager tourists gather around bonfires, watching and trying their hand at contests related to the farming life of the highlands, such as rice cooking and sticky rice pounding, where the skillful hands of the locals, along with cheers of encouragement, blend into a lively melody. The presence of local artisans makes each action, each story by the pestle and mortar, the bonfire more vivid and authentically Sa Pa.

Not only festival activities, visitors to Ban May can also immerse themselves in the melodies of the Hmong khèn, the Tày then singing, the Thai xòe dance, or the drum and gong sounds echoing through the mountains and forests. Each performance carries the breath of daily life, from production labor to simple aspirations for a prosperous and happy life.

From May village, the journey will be extended on the Guinness World Record-holding three-rope cable car system to Fansipan - the "Roof of Indochina". A cable car trip this season is perhaps the most beautiful of the year, when visitors have the chance to admire Muong Hoa valley, dyed golden by terraced fields winding to the horizon, dotted with simple houses.

This year, the program celebrating the National Day of September 2nd, Sun World Fansipan Legend carries the message “Beloved Vietnam 02/09 – Our homeland, glorious with flags and flowers”, encompassing pride and love for the country in a series of artistic, cultural, and entertainment activities for the holiday.

At Fansipan peak – the roof of Indochina, the sacred flag-raising ceremony is one of the unmissable experiences. Watching the red star flag flutter on the flagpole and singing the Vietnamese national anthem amidst majestic mountains and nature is a magical moment, filled with pride for the magnificent Vietnamese homeland. On this occasion, the resort area is also decorated with tens of thousands of red star flags from the station to Fansipan peak, creating proud photo opportunities. 

From August 19 - September 20, 2025, the resort is offering a special promotion for Vietnamese visitors. When purchasing a cable car ticket after 1 PM, visitors will receive a complimentary dinner buffet featuring special highland cuisine at the Van Sam and Hoa Hong restaurants between 4 PM and 6:30 PM.

Anyone visiting Ban May Cloud Village in August, certainly cannot forget the aftertaste of the festival: the warmth, hospitality, and simple joy of the golden season amidst the great mountains.