(HBO) – Mountainous Hoa Binh province is home to many ethnic groups, in which Muong accounts for 63% of the population. The costumes of the Muong people have their own characteristics and beauty. In the modern life, the traditional costumes of the Muong ethnic group are always cherished and honoured.
Traditional costumes of the Muong ethnic group have their own characteristics and beauty. Photo: Actors and actresses in traditional costumes perform at a big event in Tan Lac district.
The traditional costume of Muong women consists of a shirt, a skirt, a halter top, a headscarf, a waistband, and jewelry. There are two types of shirt: short for daily use and long for festivals. A square halter top is worn under a short shirt.
The skirt consists of two main parts: the waistband and the long black skirt. The waistband is green or yellow. The white headscarf represents the faithfulness of the Muong women. Today, the traditional costume of Muong women has been adjusted to be more suitable, compact, and easy to wear, but still retains its value, identity and structure.
Different from women's costume, that of the Muong men is quite simple, with a short or long indigo shirt, long pants, a belt, top bun, and a long headscarf.
Luy Ai hamlet in Phong Phu commune (Tan Lac district) is known as an ancient Muong village in Hoa Binh, which still preserves many traditional cultural values. Dinh Thi Dun, head of the Women's Union of the hamlet, said that at Muong Bi Khai ha (going down to the field) festival, every participant must wear traditional costumes of the Muong ethnic group. This is an opportunity to preserve and introduce the cultural identity of this group to tourists inside and outside the province, and also to honour the race's traditional costumes./.
Over recent years, the Farmers' Union of Mai Chau district has implemented numerous specific programmes and activities to support its members in developing products under the One Commune One (OCOP) programme. These efforts have contributed to enhancing local agricultural branding, increasing goods value, and improving incomes and living standards for residents.
Since 2022, the Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training has provided advice for the provincial People's Committee to issue Plan No. 219/KH-UBND on November 17, 2022, which outlines the implementation of a project titled "Enhancing the application of Information Technology (IT) and Digital Transformation in Education and Training for the 2022–2025 period, with a vision to 2030.” As of now, the local education sector has made significant progress in IT adoption and digital transformation.
Hoa Binh allocated over 30 trillion VND (nearly 1.18 billion USD) to develop infrastructure systems in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during 2019 - 2024. Priority was given to transport and irrigation infrastructure; markets; schools; medical stations; communal houses; and power grid, telecommunication, radio, and television systems.
The Hoa Binh provincial organising committee for anniversary activities on December 17 held a ceremony to unveil a ceramic mural on the local military-civilian ties and release a book on the Party and political work of the provincial armed forces during 1947 – 2024, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and 35th anniversary of the All-People Defence Festival.
In recent years, Hoa Binh has allocated significant resources to foster cooperative economy, helping ethnic minorities capitalise on their potential and advantages to escape poverty.
As a mountainous district still facing numerous challenges, Da Bac has made notable progress in advancing administrative reforms across various areas. The district has prioritised reorganising and streamlining its administrative apparatus, operating "one-stop-shop” units, and applying information technology (IT) in the handling of administrative procedures. Efforts have also been directed toward upgrading infrastructure and equipment to enhance service quality for residents and businesses.
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