Lao Cai works to preserve Pa Di people’s traditional crafts

The Pa Di community in Muong Khuong District is actively preserving its cultural heritage, particularly traditional costume-making, as modern influences threaten these crafts. Elders and artisans promote skills through training to ensure transmission to the youth. The Ministry of Culture recognized Pa Di clothing as national intangible cultural heritage in 2020, fostering community pride.

Distinctive traditional craftsmanship

Visitors to Muong Khuong are often captivated by the Pa Di’s traditional attire, especially their distinctive upward-curving hat shaped like the roof of a house. Pa Di elders say the design pays homage to the community’s origins and honours the spirit of family and lineage.

According to artisan Po Chin Din from Chung Chai B Village, the hat is made from handwoven linen stiffened with multiple layers of beeswax before being folded into its characteristic roof-like form.

“The hat symbolises family warmth and prosperity. It is traditionally gifted by a mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law as she joins the family,” Din explained.

Pa Di women’s outfits are created from handwoven natural fabrics, dyed mainly in indigo and accented with green and black. Silver jewellery shaped like locks, roosters, or fish symbolizes wealth, good fortune, and harmony with nature. Through meticulous techniques passed down over generations, Pa Di women have forged a quiet yet distinct aesthetic reflective of their identity.

Crafting a complete outfit can take two to three months, or up to a year when work pauses during busy farming seasons. Recognizing the artistic and cultural value of these garments, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism designated Pa Di decorative clothing art as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2020.

Revitalising fading heritage

For small ethnic communities like the Pa Di, preserving traditional clothing presents significant challenges.
Po Min Thuy, from Ta Chu Phung Village, recalled that Pa Di children once grew up wearing their traditional clothes daily, but modern clothing has gradually replaced these garments.

Community elders worry that without active transmission of weaving, dyeing, and embroidery skills, both the craft and cultural identity embedded in Pa Di clothing may disappear.

To address this, Muong Khuong authorities have launched training classes where artisans and village elders teach young people how to weave, sew, and embroider traditional motifs, helping ensure the craft remains rooted in community life.

Lao Cai Province has also implemented a broader project (2021-2025) to preserve ethnic minority costumes for tourism development. Efforts include collecting and documenting Pa Di garments, jewellery, and textile patterns for museum display, and encouraging residents to wear traditional clothing during festivals, cultural exchanges, conferences, and local celebrations.

According to Duong Tuan Nghia, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Lao Cai’s cultural heritage is increasingly recognised and celebrated, creating a stronger sense of pride and stewardship among local communities.

With a strategy of “turning heritage into assets,” the province aims to transform cultural values into internal resources for sustainable socio-economic development, he added.