The Ethnic Groups of Northern Vietnam: 20 Cultures, One Journey
Exploring the Living Traditions of Sapa and Beyond: 20 Cultures, One Journey
Ethos works across Sapa and five northern provinces of Vietnam, home to some of the country’s most distinct and fascinating ethnic groups. From the misty mountains of Lào Cai to the valleys of Hà Giang, each community preserves its own traditions, languages, rituals, and artistry.
This page brings together 20 diverse ethnic groups, each with a story to tell; woven through their clothing, festivals, food, and ways of life. By clicking on each image, you’ll be able to explore their origins, cultural practices, and how Ethos partners with them to sustain and celebrate their heritage.
Together, these communities form the living heart of northern Vietnam’s cultural identity, offering you a deeper journey into the most authentic and unique experiences the region has to offer.
Heritage Shorts is a documentary series dedicated to capturing the living traditions of Vietnam’s ethnic minority communities. Each short film offers an intimate look at unique crafts, practices, and rituals that have been passed down for generations. These films preserve and celebrate the cultural richness of northern Vietnam and together form a visual archive that highlights the resilience and creativity of communities whose heritage remains a vital part of the country’s identity.
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Cong
Number around 2,600 and reside in Lai Châu and Điện Biên. They follow clan-specific customs and hold annual ancestor worship ceremonies to protect their crops.
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Dao
Number around 900,000 across various northern provinces and consist of distinct subgroups known for their traditional attire and embroidery. Red Dao (Sapa) and Black Dao (Sin Ho), are renowned for therapeutic baths made from local medicinal plants.
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Giay
Reside in the northern mountainous provinces with a population of 68,000. They wear cotton clothing and celebrate the Roóng Poọc festival for the rice season. They traditionally treat farmland as communal property.
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Ha Nhi
Lolo-speaking group numbering 12,500 in Lai Châu and Lào Cai. They live in earthen houses, perform rituals for water and forest gods and celebrate a significant harvest festival called ‘Kho gia’.
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Hmong
Sizeable group with over 1.4 million members, skilled rice cultivators known for their vibrant traditional attire and embroidery. They practise Animism, honouring ancestors and spiritual entities through rituals led by shamans.
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La Chi
Reside in Hà Giang and Lào Cai, speak a Tai-Kadai language and number 15,126. Famiy patriarchs manage economic and social relations. They believe in 12 souls per person and practise sex-based child exchanges to balance their population.
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Lu Hu
Number around 12,000, reside in Lai Châu and speak a language similar to Lolo. They are one of the first ethnic groups to be chronicled in the Chinese historical record.
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Lan Tien
A Dao subgroup in northern Vietnam. They blend Daoist and animist traditions, practise ancestor worship, and wear indigo-dyed clothing with subtle silver adornment. Farming, clan ties and ritual life remain central to their identity.
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Lao
Live predominantly in the northwest having migrated from Laos. They build stilt houses and practise traditional customs like betel chewing. Their New Year festival (April) features rituals, dances, folklore and music.
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Lo Lo
A Tibeto-Burman community in Northern Vietnam with around 5,000 members. They are known for their intricately crafted traditional garments.
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Lu
Around 6,000 in number and reside in Lai Châu. They migrated to Vietnam from Yunnan, China, around a thousand years ago and live in stilt houses. Their polytheistic beliefs emphasise ancestor worship and the existence of good and evil ghosts.
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Nung
The Nùng, a Central Tai-speaking group, migrated from 11th-century China to Vietnam’s Cao Bằng and Lạng Sơn. About one million strong, they practice ancestor worship, polytheism, and shamanism, preserve clan traditions, and maintain distinctive indigo-dyed attire adorned with silver jewellery.
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Pa Di
The Pa Di, a small Southwestern Tai group in Vietnam’s Lao Cai Province, maintain distinct identity through language, culture, and unique attire. Their symbolic pyramid-shaped hat and indigo-dyed clothing represent heritage, prosperity, and communal roots, now mainly worn for ceremonies and festivals.
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Pa Then
Group that resides primarily in Hà Giang and Tuyên Quang, where they migrated to some 2-300 years ago. During their fire dance festival, they express gratitude for harvests.
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Phu La
Group in Lào Cai with around 12,500 members. Their gender-specific costumes feature bright colours, with unique decorative art influenced by other ethnicities.
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Si La
Group of around 600 in Lai Châu that migrated from Yunnan about 150 years ago. Women collect fallen hair to gift to their daughters-in-law during marriages.
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Tay
With around 1.8 million members, this is Vietnam’s second largest ethnic group. Traditionally they live in stilt houses and wear traditional clothing featuring a long tunic and a contrasting silk belt.
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Thai
Reside primarily in the Northwest subregion and known for their weaving, which is done on large looms. Major groups include the Black Thai and White Thai, each with different architecture and traditional attire.
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Xa Phang
The Xa Phang are officially a Hoa subgroup living in Dien Bien but with unique cultural traditions, such as shoemaking, a nationally celebrated craft.
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Xa Pho
The Xa Pho, officially a subgroup of the Phu La, celebrates a unique ‘Village Sweeping Ritual’ on the second day of the first lunar month to chase away evil spirits and ensure good fortune, emphasising their strong communal ties.