Thai, Hmong and Khmu villages, and how to visit them

Thai villages usually sit at the edge of the valley floor, with houses raised on wooden stilts, facing fields or water with hills behind. The space under the house is used for storage and animals; the family lives upstairs. The Art of Xoe dance of the Tai people, a circle dance in which dancers join hands to the sound of gongs, drums, lutes and mouth organs, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 and is still performed at weddings, festivals and village events.

Several Thai villages near Dien Bien Phu take part in community tourism, where families host visitors for meals and overnight stays. Villages named in provincial and national sources include Phieng Loi, in the former Thanh Minh commune on the edge of town, Men in Thanh Nua, Che Can in Muong Phang, and Na Su near the border at Nam Po. Earlier cultural model villages included Noong Bua, Co My, Ten, U Va, Pe Luong and Him Lam 2.

The Khmu are a smaller group living in hill villages across the province, including the communes of Pa Thom, Muong Phang and Muong Muon, where rain-praying ceremonies are held. Their Tom narrative singing and bamboo dances are documented by music researchers, who note that many traditional forms are blending with Thai and Kinh music.

In the far west, Ha Nhi communities celebrate their new year on the first dragon day of December, after the harvest. Other groups with their own festivals include the Cong, with a rain-praying ceremony, and the Khang. These events are community occasions; if you are invited, follow your host's lead.

1. Ask before you photograph anyone, especially children, the elderly and people at prayer or in ceremonies. A gesture and a smile are enough to ask; accept a no.
2. Do not give money or sweets to children. It encourages begging and missing school. If you want to help, buy from adults or support a local school through an established channel.
3. Cover shoulders and knees in villages and at memorials and temples.
4. Take your shoes off before entering a house, and look for shoes at the door as a sign.
5. Do not touch people's heads, including children's, and do not point your feet at people or at altars.
6. In a stilt house, do not sit or step near the family altar, and wait to be shown where to sit.
7. If a branch or sign is placed at a village entrance, it may mean a ceremony is under way; ask before entering.
8. Buy handicrafts directly from the people who make them, bargain politely, and never buy wildlife products.

Rice wine is often offered to guests. Accepting a first cup is polite; you can decline further cups with a smile and a hand over the cup. Do not drink and then ride.

• Anyone expecting a staged cultural show at any hour. These are working communities.
• Visitors who want to photograph people without asking. If that is the aim, it is better not to go.
• Large groups arriving unannounced. Homestays and community tourism villages need notice.
• Travellers unwilling to accept basic facilities in homestays: shared bathrooms and mattresses on the floor are common.