The three-day festival will take place in Suoi Giang and Pang Cang villages in Van Chan Commune, home to some of the northwest's best-known ancient Shan Tuyet tea trees.
The event aims to promote the Van Chan Shan Tuyet tea brand, local OCOP products and ethnic minority culture, particularly that of the Mong community, while boosting tourism and market links.
Activities will include tea-making demonstrations, a highland food market, a Shan Tuyet tea party, ethnic costume shows and a ceremony honouring an ancient ancestral tea tree.
Tea growers, cooperatives and artisans will also livestream traditional tea processing and introduce their products to consumers, while visitors can join tea-picking contests, tour tea-growing areas and experience tea picking, processing and tasting.
Located more than 1,300 metres above sea level, Suoi Giang has a core Shan Tuyet tea area of about 400 hectares, including some 290 hectares of naturally growing ancient tea trees.
Many of the trees are hundreds of years old, with large trunks covered in moss and lichen. They have long been closely associated with the culture and livelihoods of the local Mong community, and many have been recognised as Vietnamese Heritage Trees.
Shan Tuyet tea is distinguished by buds covered in fine white hairs resembling snow and is prized for its aroma, strong flavour and distinctive aftertaste.
The wider Van Chan area previously had more than 1,500 hectares of Shan Tuyet tea, including nearly 700 hectares in Suoi Giang. Suoi Giang Van Chan tea received geographical indication certification in late 2022.
Producers have increasingly diversified into green, black, white and premium teas while strengthening links between growers and cooperatives to improve processing, quality and market access.
Lao Cai is home to nearly one million ancient Shan Tuyet tea trees, providing significant potential for high-value agriculture, genetic resource conservation, tourism and economic development in highland communities.
