Tai Woman, Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam

This post is also available in: French

The term Tai describes the large ethnic group which includes the Thai/Siamese, Lao, Shan, Northern Thai, Thai Lu, Red Tai, White Tai, etc., who occupy a wide band of Asia from the Assam region of India, through southern China, Burma’s Shan States, Laos, Northern Vietnam and of course Thailand itself.

The Black Tai are one of the groups or clans that has emigrated and settled in the Dien Bien Phu Valley of northwestern Vietnam.  This is where we met this woman in one of the busy markets of the city.