A thread tying ritual, called hang van or et van, is an age-old practice of the Thai in the northwestern mountainous region of Vietnam and western parts of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces, who believe a sick person can get well again after praying the deities of muong troi, the heaven, and having his wandering souls returned to the body through tying a thread around his wrist.

The Lo Lo, a Tibeto-Burmese language group, is also called O Man, Lu Loc Man, La La, Qua La, Di Nhan, Di Gia or Lac To. The group’s official name Lo Lo has been used in Vietnam since 1979. The Lo Lo group is divided into two sub-groups, namely Lo Lo Hoa and Lo Hoa Den. Today, almost all Lo Lo people reside in upland districts of Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Lai Chau border provinces.

The Hmong Xanh, “blue” Hmong, is one of four sub-groups of Hmong people living mostly in Van Ban district of the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

Located on the left bank of the Red River and about 13 kilometers to the southeast of the capital city, Bat Trang ceramics village in Gia Lam rural district of Hanoi has become one of the country’s famous tourist destinations for its well-known pottery and porcelain products.

Sac bua, which means playing gong, is a traditional new year festival of the Muong, a big ethnic minority group living mostly in Hoa Binh northern province with a population of nearly 1.3 million.

The Nung Phan Slinh is one of three main subgroups of the Nung, an ethnic minority group of the Tay-Thai language living mostly in the northern mountainous provinces of Lang Son, Bac Giang and Cao Bang. The group’s customs of celebrating birthdays for elderly people not only show their filial piety but also reflect their spiritual life and more or less reveal information about their history and culture.

The Cham is a Malayo-Polynesian language ethnic group living mostly in the central provinces of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan. Ninh Thuan province has the highest number of Cham people with more than 74,000 living in 22 villages across the locality.

The Dao, one of 54 ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, immigrated into the country in the late 17^th century, living in areas bordering Laos and China with a population of over 750,000.

The Dao Ho, also called Dao Quan Trang (Dao people in white trousers), is one of the nine sub-groups of Dao people residing mainly in Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces. Dao Ho people often live in mountain valleys with an altitude of 100-150m above the sea level which is favorable for wet rice cultivation.

Slip sli, a three-day festival held in the seventh lunar month, is the annual second biggest festive event of the Thai, Tay and Nung ethnic groups living in the northern mountainous provinces of Cao Bang, Lang Son, Lai Chau and Dien Bien.