Go market in Binh Dinh province was founded during the Tay Son dynasty (1778-1802) and it still exists today. Its special feature is that this market is held only once a year on the first day of the new year. Anyone visiting the market can enjoy the peaceful setting of a countryside market which bears the traditional cultural features of the people of Binh Dinh - the land of martial arts.
According to local village elders, in early 1800 two senior Tay Son generals, Tran Quang Dieu and Vo Van Dung, led a large force consisting of army and naval units from Phu Xuan toward Quy Nhon with a view to recapturing it.
The Tay Son swiftly occupied the territory, surrounding the Go market. In order to boost the morale of the soldiers on the arrival of the new year, the Tay Son generals organised a market-day with a lot of folk games in a flat earth mound near Truong Uc river. After the Tay Son armies had left, the local residents continued to hold the market-day on the first day of lunar new year in commemoration of the Tay Son armies.
Go Market is now located at Phong Thanh village, Tuy Phuoc town, Tuy Phuoc district, 10km to the north of Quy Nhon city. The market is held in an earth mound so it is called Go Market or Mound Market. It is now one of several special spring festivals held in the land of martial arts. From the early morning of the first day of the lunar new year, local people bring fruits and flowers from their garden to the market. When the sun is shining, the market is bustling and crowded with many local people and visitors.
The best-selling items at the Go market festival are betel and areca, which bring both the buyers and sellers luck and happiness. People also buy a lot of papaya which is believed to bring them wealth and prosperity for the new year.
Go market festival is also a meeting place for local people who are busy farming all year round to express their best wishes to each other for the new year. They walk and talk together or drop in at a small inn at the market to enjoy spring rolls – a local specialty, or sip a cup of Bau Da wine.
Go Market festival attracts a lot of local residents and tourists from around the country becaof its spiritual meaning and also for its recreational activities and folk games such as the dragon-lion dance, Chinese chess, boi singing and martial arts performances by famous martial arts groups.
Although the Go market festival only takes place once a year, its peaceful atmosphere lasts through the spring. When the market festival ends, people long for the year to pass quickly so they can attend the festival again.
)