Festival «Lễ hội Văn hóa, Du lịch Mường Lò 2026» (Mường Lò culture and tourism festival)

   Two thousand and twenty-six people join hands and move in a circle around a fire — one for every digit of the year. The mass xòe dance closes the opening night of the Mường Lò festival, and four wards and communes have been rehearsing for it since the end of August.

   The Mường Lò culture and tourism festival runs from 25 September to 2 October under the theme «Tinh hoa Xòe Thái - Sắc màu Tây Bắc» — the essence of Thái xòe, the colours of the north-west. The opening is at 20:00 on 26 September at the Nghĩa Lộ ward stadium in Lào Cai province. Entry terms have not been set out; the stadium and the square are public venues.

   What is on the programme:

   — a mass xòe with 2,026 dancers: Nghĩa Lộ fields 600 people, Trung Tâm 500, Cầu Thia 500 and Liên Sơn commune 426;
   — a culture and tourism space of the north-western ethnic groups;
   — a tourism fair with OCOP products;
   — street performances;
   — hands-on programmes for visitors across the festival week.

   Xòe is not a stage number but the way the Thái of the north-west gather: the circle opens and closes, hands stay linked, the step is shared. UNESCO listed Thái xòe as intangible heritage of humanity, and Mường Lò is considered its home. It is not danced here for an audience — the people at rehearsal are the same people harvesting rice during the day.

   Come if you want the north-west at its best week. The Mường Lò valley is one of the four great rice valleys of northern Vietnam, and late September is harvest time: the terraces stand gold while the town holds a festival every evening.

   Nghĩa Lộ is part of Lào Cai province — the 2025 merger folded in the former Yên Bái province, to which Mường Lò belonged. The day-by-day schedule is still being finalised and some venues will be announced closer to the dates, so check the provincial newspaper before you travel.

   A festival week, a golden valley and a circle two thousand hands wide. If the north is on your route in late September, keep the evening of the 26th free.