Mai Châu

Location
Mai Châu is a district of Hòa Bình Province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. The district is located at about 165 km from Ha Noi.

Culture
There is an estimated 48,570 inhabitants including 7 Ethnic Minority groups. ‘White Thai’, ‘H’Mong’, ’Zao’, ’Muong’, ’Tay’, ’Hoa’, and ‘Viet’. Mai Chau consists mainly of the ‘White Thai’ people. The Ban Lac People have Thai ancestors that settled in the North-Western area of Vietnam. The two tribes, White Thai and Black Thai, settled in the same area and make up the largest ethnic population of the region.

Architecture
The Mai Châu area is well known for its stilt houses. The type of stilt houses, or pile dwellings, they construct are called Thai stilt houses and are made of bamboo and timber. These houses are elevated 10–12 feet off the ground in order to avoid water damage and shelter animals from the elements.

Society
Education and training Mai Chau successfully held excellent teacher contest, district-level good students and established the team to attend the provincial exams in 2011-2012 school year. In addition, the district now owns 09 national standard schools; 21/23 communes and towns standardize preschool education universalization; 22/23 communes and towns standardize primary education universalization at the right age; and 23/23 communes and towns standardize primary education - literacy universalization.

The province well establishes preventative health, regularly monitors epidemics at the community, educates residents to know how to prevent the disease for themselves, their family and whole community; successful implements national target programs on health, and widely disseminates among ethnic minorities. Simultaneously, Mai Chau continuously improves health care quality and enhances the spirit of patient care. The district currently is the owner of 52.17% commune health stations.

Environmental pressures
Mai Châu faces several environmental concerns:
 * Deforestation - Land continues to be cleared in order to produce more crops
 * Trash - Mai Châu faces a garbage disposal problem and this is evident in the diminishing quality of their water courses.
 * Tourism - A gradual influx of tourists puts strain on the local environment

History
Mai Chau formerly called Muong Mai, was formed in the thirteenth century. Since the French colonial period, Mai Chau has belonged to Cho Bo, Muong Hoa Binh province. On October 1890, Mai Chau and Da Bac consolidated into Mai Da. After the victory of French resistance, on 21 September 1956, the Prime Minister signed a decree dividing Mai Da district into 2 districts:  Mai Chau district and Da Bac district.

Activities
Numerous activities you can enjoy in Mai Châu includes photographing, trekking, eating, biking and kayaking.

Special events

 * Xen Ban, Xen Muong festival (Thai ethnic group): the festival takes place in annual August (lunar calendar) in Muong village. Xen Ban, Xen Muong festival aims to worship Deity of Muong village, and give thanks to ancestors, demand the peace for people in the community.
 * Cau Mua (Pray for rain) festival (Thai ethnic people): is held inApril (lunar calendar). The festival is organized on the night of Moon with the red halo in March or April (lunar calendar). All of people gather together to pray for rain, then relay torch around their village.
 * Gongs Festival (Muong ethnic groups): The festival takes placein days of the spring, Tet holiday, or important events. It is one of the largest festivals in Mai Chau in general and in Muong people in Hoa Binh in particular.  The festival is an opportunity for everyone in the village gather together. They usually wish prosperity and peace for each other. The highlight of the festival is Xec Bua singing. It revealed playful and excited psycho-emotional of folk artists.
 * Long Tong Festival (Tay ethnic groups): the festival is held on early spring days from the 05 to 15 January (lunar calendar). "Long Tong" festival aims to wish a luxuriant harvest, good weather, and a prosperous life. In particular, there are many attractive activities taking place in the festival: lion dance, Con throwing, Xoe dance, or tug of war...

Specialties
Mai Châu is famous for "com lam" and straw wine.
 * Coming to Mai Chau, tourist will have chance to enjoy many specialties of Thai people such as rice cooked in bamboo (Com lam) and grilled meat. It is rice, often glutinous rice, cooked in a tube of bamboo, served with salted roasted sesame, grilled pork or chicken skewers. The bamboo chosen should be fresh and young so that the new membrane inside the tube can wrap the rice, adding it a special flavor, fragrance and sweetness. To prepare the rice, first fill the tube with about 80% of rice and 10 % of water, in favor of water inherent in bamboo, then adding a little coconut water to make the rice more pleasant; wrap the tube with banana leaves and then burn it on fire until it smells pleasant. When it is done, the singed skin of the bamboo is removed, leaving a thin cover that is also peeled away when you eat. Sniffing the blending fragrance of fresh bamboo, banana leave, and sticky rice as well as experiencing the sweet flavor of rice, bamboo, and coconut, and the greasy saltiness of sesame, or the great taste of grilled wild boar are certain to induce guests to fall in love with “cơm lam”.
 * A tube of “cơm lam” plus fragrant grilled wild boar taken with a sip of “rượu cần” (literally “straw wine”) is enough for you fall in line with nature and people here.

Sinh Cafe
Sinh Cafe offers a tour to Mai Châu with an estimated cost of 51 USD per person. The trip lasts for 2 days and departs from Ha Noi. More information about this tour can be found here.
 * Ha Noi: visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
 * Ban Lac: explore the Thai culture