These days, tourist attractions in Mai Chau district, especially those highlighted by the charming and romantic white Ban (Bauhinia) flower blossoms, are attracting a large number of visitors from across the country. Visiting these sites, tourists can immerse themselves in the pristine and majestic beauty of nature.

March is the peak bloom time of Ban flowers. The northwestern region is dyed white with a spectrum of flowers, resembling a landscape painting. On mountain peaks, slopes, and rocky cliffs, everywhere is a pristine white colour dotted with romantic purple spots. Looking closer, full-bloom Ban flowers are like flying butterflies. Some flowers have a purple petal among white ones, some have a light pink petal. The Ban leaves are shaped like horseshoe, but many Thai girls like to think that they have the shape of double hearts.

At close distances, you can see slender Ban flowers resembling the hands of mountainous girls. When in full bloom, the flower spreads wide like butterfly wings with beautiful pistils.

During March, nature enthusiasts often plan journeys to the northwestern region to admire the beauty of the flower and at the same time enjoy the fresh, invigorating atmosphere of the spring weather, and to capture memorable moments.

The Ban flower is closely associated with the cultural and spiritual life of ethnic communities in the Northwestern region, especially the Thai ethnic group. It symbolises love and faithfulness through the love story of a beautiful girl named Ban and a smart man named Khum. The story has it that Ban and Khum were in love with each other. Unfortunately, Ban’s parents did not accept their love because Khum was poor. Failing to persuade her parents, the girl left her home on a Spring morning to look for her lover. She went and went deep into the forest, and finally collapsed and died. In the spot where she died, trees grew with thousands of flowers, the petals of which look like the girl’s beautiful hands. Khum came to the place but all he could find was Ban’s head scarf. He desperately called her name until he died and became a bird named Loc Khum. Since then, when spring comes, white Ban flowers blossom across the forest, while Loc Khum birds keep on singing like the voice of the man calling his lover throughout the Ban flower season.

The flower is also a symbol of pride in the treasure trove of folklore literature of the ethnic minorities in the Northwestern region, as it represents the purity and innocence of women. It is also a symbol of happiness, love, and prosperity, as well as the filial piety of children towards their parents and reverence for spiritual deities.