The local here live with stones, both people and stones together face against harsh nature, struggle and grow up in all difficulties. There, they are persistent to fight against the dry, droughts, wind, snow, rain….creating a deserted but brilliant, weathered and proud Karst Plateau. 

 In that Harsh living environment, Ethnic Minorities in 4 Northern high stone mountain districts (lying inside the areas of Geologic Park ) not only train their strong minds, indomitable strength in nature to control their lives and protect borders but also have the very unique features of traditional cultures preserved and developed. From Quan Ba up to Yen Minh, Meo Vac then passing over to Dong Van, everywhere you will see the hosts of Plateau wear distinguished colorful dresses of their own tribes. Each tribe show their own color, each tribe has a tradition and each tribe has a custom….but all gather in one and creating a spirit of Karst Plataeu – Dong Van. In Particular, in Dong Van district, the Core of Geologic Park there are 17 Minority groups consisting of Mong, Dao, Tay, Nung, Lo Lo, Co Lao, Bo Y, Pu Peo, Thai, Muong, Hoa ( Chinese), La Chi, Pa Then, San Chay ( Cam Lan ), Giay, Kinh ( Viet)… inhabited in 19 communes, districts ( consisting of 9 border communes ). Here, the Mong people make up for the majority, just come to attend their Gau Tao Festival. Gau Tao Ritual festival blesses people with happiness, good forfune, good health, wishing their chests full of rice, full of corns hung upstairs, buffaloes stand fully in their yards, wishing good rains & wind, fruitful harvests… it’s annually held from the 2nd till 10th Nguyen Dan Tet festival ( Lunar Calendar ). At the Festival, after Fortune Tellers pray and other ritual ceremonies according to customs there are useful competitions and folk plays such as: Pulling ropes, climbing up the Poles, ropes, sing folk songs, recomposing…bringing happy spirits for attendants, expelling daily difficulties and tiredness. At the KHen Mong ( Mong’s music instrument which is organized at Tet Nguyen Dan Festival), the Attendants will have chance to see musicians perform graceful movements along with Khen Dancing to interact grace, KHen’s dance to invite Rice wine, to go to the fields, especially like: dance to pop up legs, dance over nets, swirling to change place or at the same place, turning from place to place, flirting with Khen music, rolling shuttlecocks, turning heels… this Ritual festival is to preserve, renovate, develop, glorify the beautiful cultural features of Mong’s group.

 In addition to Festivals of Minority groups, the weekly Markets also show the unique traditional and cultural facts. At any Weekly Market in Dong Van - Global Geologic Karst Plateau, pictures of Mong young boys who carry KHen music instrument on their shoulders, one hand holds a cage of nightingale and strolling to market in a good mood. Young girls of Lo Lo group who wears colorful dresses go to weekly market with a sparkling eyes, young girls of Mong group with glowing cheeks, wavering skirts by each footstep to the market, Young Girls of Tay, Giao, Co Lao, Pu Peo groups… each one presents their own unique color, making weeking Market look like a Canvas of the diverse flowers, points, and features. Inside the market, Old men and women, middle age men are sitting around a table to drink corn wine, surrounding Thang Co ( Hot Pot well cooked and stewed with different meats, herbs…) to talk without lacking of a Tobacco Pipe close by and turning it from hand to hand make their conservations cozier. Traveling to marketing they may sell and buy nothing but still feel happy. At the Market they might get drunk and impossible to reach home and sleep on the road side but still joyful. Even they have to walk in 1 or 2 days from home to market but still love it… All these things happen at any weekly market and creat distinguished values of Love Market – Khau Vai. It’s a emphasis of Global Geologic Park – Dong Van Stone Karst Plateau. As annual, on 27/March ( Lunar Calendar ) weekly market will open. No buying and selling. It just give and receive love and bring home with a miss. 

 17 Ethnic groups in Dong Van, there is an interaction of traditional cultures between West and East. Thai and Muong Minority groups stem from Son La, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Ye Bai and bring “ White color of Ban flower” from West mountains and forest to highland “ Peach color”. From a melody of Sinh folk songs of Cao Lan tribal group in Viet Bac ( Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang) region to “ melodious rhythm” with Lo Lo bronze Drum beats, with Khen’s sound of Mong group in North pole, creating the distinguished cultural features and huge folk music treasures of 17 tribal groups in Dong Van. Every month, “as an advanced appointment to come” on the full moon day ( at the middle of the month) , in the round moonlight cover silver on all things, in the light of a glistering lanterns in the Old hamlets a folk singing night happens. Popular musicians and rustic actors and actresses from Lo Lo Chai hamlet, Lung Cu commune, Sung La have their singing sounds harmonized with bronze drum beats to preserve spirits of tribe. A words such as Si, Luon and Then fly with Tinh music instruments as well as Tay folk song troupe from Thien Huong, Dong Van town to full moon month of Old hamlets, heel kicking dance and Mong’s Khen instrument sound whizzing up and down from Ta Co Van, Ho Quang Phin commune rising which harmonize with moonlight and mountain stones. One night in a month and in that month all great thirst to conquer nature, all dreams about a beautiful life, all hopes for full yields…all have been transmitted by singers on the behalf of their tribe through master pieces preserved from generation to generation. 

 On this immeasurably high stone region, each tribe has their own elite people who are beloved and respected as Military heroes as Sung Dung Lu, he was not only a pride of Mong tribe but also a high esteem from other Stone region tribes, with his victory to defeat bandits in the past; the late singer Vuong Ngoc Van, a son of Lo Lo tribe who had sent his heart into pieces “ brown Ox” which excited songs on fields, stimulate neighbor’s heart in down hamlets; . The Poet Hung Dinh Quy composed the parallel poems with Mong and Viet letters, plain but profound and touching…many and many of them are male and female teachers, soldiers, police, nurse, peasants… are children and siblings from different tribes born and grown up on this steeping stone area, they co-ordinate and unify to build a rich and beautiful homeland, protect strongly borders and preserve Geologic Park intact; deserving to be a spirit of high land by keeping in the blood vessel of each person as traditional values of their tribe