Kick off the vibrant summer season on Ba Den Mountain - the highest peak in Southern Vietnam. The unique leaf market in Tay Ninh will be held every Saturday in June. The market will run from 5 PM to 7 PM, and the leaf distribution will be from 4 PM to 6 PM.
The unique aspect of this market is that visitors don't need money; they use Bodhi leaves to buy goods. Each visitor taking the cable car up Ba Den Mountain will receive a free Bodhi leaf. A wide variety of delicious cakes, chè (sweet dessert soup), sticky rice, cassava, etc., with the rich flavors of Tay Ninh folk cuisine, are bustlingly sold on the mountaintop. Tay Ninh specialty rice paper, banh it (small steamed rice cake), banh cuon (steamed rice rolls), banh u (pyramid-shaped glutinous rice cake), banh xu xe (a type of pancake), banh bot loc (tapioca dumpling), banh bo (sponge cake), banh da lon (pig skin cake), etc., hundreds of cakes with various colors and flavors create a fragrant market with a rustic charm.
Pham Khanh Hoa from Ho Chi Minh City shared: “There are so many tempting rural dishes that remind me of my childhood memories. I only wish I had more Bodhi leaves to try all the specialties here.”
Tay Ninh is known as the home of the Leaf Market. No one remembers exactly when the first leaf market was held. Tay Ninh residents say that about ten years ago, an elderly philanthropist in Hoa Thanh town, Mr. Bui Quoc Thai, started this unique market. Here, everyone, old and young, rich or poor, from Tay Ninh or elsewhere, can exchange and buy goods using their own "capital." Those with sticky rice bring sticky rice, those with cakes bring cakes; everyone just needs leaves to exchange for food. The leaves don't have a specific "value"; people choose whatever they like and buy whatever they want to eat.
Since then, every year on the 14th and 15th of the first lunar month, the people of Tay Ninh organize the Leaf Market. In the minds of Vietnamese people, the 15th day of the first lunar month is an important day to pray for peace and abundance in the new year, and to aim for goodness and compassion. Holding the Leaf Market on the 15th day of the first lunar month 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 kindness.
Today, the Leaf Market has become a "specialty" of Tay Ninh and is the only market in the country that doesn't use money. You can go to the Vien Market (Nam Dinh) in the style of an old Northern Vietnam market to "buy luck and sell well" for the whole year, where buyers don't haggle, and sellers are cheerful and generous to bring good luck for the whole year. You can also go to the Yin and Yang Market (Bac Ninh) to pray for good luck and relieve worries - where buyers and sellers don't bargain, don't count money, and don't make noise. But only the Leaf Market in Tay Ninh is where you can use leaves to buy not only food but also joy and good luck.
Due to its attractiveness and unique cultural value, Tay Ninh's La Market in recent years has also been recreated in several other provinces and cities on special occasions, such as in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai. At Ba Den Mountain – a symbolic destination of Tay Ninh, today La Markets are often held during major holidays such as Tet, Ba's birthday… to recreate the beauty in the sincere cultural life of the local people, and help visitors experience the unique culinary flavors of the land of beef and rice paper.
What's unique is that at Ba Den Mountain, the stalls are specially set up, reminiscent of the old village markets with thatched stalls, girls in Ao Ba Ba dresses, and scarves. More interestingly, this "unique" market is also a special cultural space, where visitors immerse themselves in the cheerful atmosphere of folk games and lively dances around the market.
“This strange market is a place where you come not only to eat and drink, but also to play and relive beautiful childhood memories. Importantly, people connect with each other, almost everyone is happy, and there is no longer any distance between people,” shared Ms. Tran Thi Tu (Long An).
After the La Market, the activity that visitors most look forward to when coming to Ba Den Mountain is attending the lantern offering ceremony at Tay Bo Da Son square. Here, each visitor receives a free lantern, writes their wishes to offer to the Buddha. Thousands of lanterns light up the night at the foot of the Buddha statue, creating a memorable spiritual cultural experience on the sacred mountain.
Known as the roof of the Southern region, Ba Den Mountain is known as a perfect summer escape with temperatures on the mountaintop always 8-10 degrees Celsius lower than the city. Along with the La Market and the sacred lantern offering ceremony held on Saturdays in June, Ba Den Mountain has become the hottest destination in the Southern region in early summer this year.
