Mu Cang Chai in Vietnam is the mountainous district of Yen Bai province, about 280 km from Hanoi. Mu Cang Chai is well known by splendid ricefieldsinterraces. In each season of harvest, this isolated region in north of Vietnam welcomes thousands of visitors from all over the country.

Semantically, in local language "Mu or Mo" means "Forest of Wood", "Cang" means "dry" and "Chai" means "Earth", the space, the regions... Mu Cang Chai is the "Region of Forest of Dry Wood ". As a district of the Yen Bai province, Mu Cang Chai is inhabited mainly by ethnic groups such as Hmong (90%), Thai, Dao, Kinh … Every people has its own unique cultural identity.

Travelers come often to Mu Cang Chai during the rice harvest in September, October and May in the watering season. These are the two most appropriate times for the chance to admire the beautiful scenery of the northwest mountains with bright yellow rice terraces or puddles reflecting in the sky like a surface of mirrors.

From mid-September to mid-October, this is the season when rice is ripe. Mu Cang Chai is covered by the yellow color. In that time, the weather is nice and favorable to visit this area. In May and June, this is the time of watering when the first summer rains start pouring down the mountain. The water flows from the mountains until to the terraces. The water floods the fields. So the soil is softer. This is the time when farmers begin to transplant rice for a new season. Therefore, the rice terraces in Vietnam or in Mu Cang Chai have only one harvest a year. The limpid and flashed water in the sun of the afternoon creates a beauty that can surprise all visitors.