Ban Song Khwae

The Village of Ban Song Khwae is located in the village group Nr. 5 in the Community of Ban Sa Nian in the District of Mueang Nan in the Province of Nan. It is a Hmong village. They moved from Ban Pong Ang and founded the village in 1968. The areas around the village are mountainous and are covered by woods; there are also two brooks. The village has now 265 households with 335 families and 1,413 members. Its inhabitants make their living out of agriculture and working for a day loan. Most of them are Buddhists and some are Christians.

Administratively, the village borders Ban Huai Raphi in the north, areas of the Community of Rueang in the south, Ban Nam Khong in the east, and Ban Pang Poei in the west. The distance from the village to its cultural center is about 300 meters, and to the community forest is 300 meters and 500 meters to the nearby waterfall.

The main festival of the village is the New Rice Feast, which takes place annually in September and October. The festival concentrates on the beliefs of the villagers, religious ceremonies. An another very important festival is the Hmong New Year in December. The celebration is very colorful, for there is a wide variety of activities, actions and "Sanuk". Recommended products of the village are textiles with wax-paintings of ancient Hmong patterns, and with famous Hmong knitting.

An interesting place of attraction in the village is the Hill Tribe's Cultural Center, which also functions as the village's museum. It displays instruments, tools and utilities of the group from the past until now. There are demonstrations showing the ways of life of the group, almost in all aspects. It is located only 300 meters from the village. About 500 meters from the village lies a waterfall, which actually is a part of Sanian Brook: the Sua Tua Waterfall.

If you want to come to visit the village by a public bus, take the bus route Nan-Phayao or Nan-Ban Luang. After about 30 minutes drive, you will be there. By a private car, you drive from the provincial City of Nan only 19 kilometers, then you stand already in the village.