Sapa’s weekend market is also “a bustling place on weekdays,” reports Travelfish. It’s housed in a “concrete eyesore, a far cry from the original Saturday ‘love market’ where the local ethnic minorities would come to court their sweethearts,” but plenty of minority people “still turn up to peddle ethnic-style bags and shirts to trekkers,” although “more authentic market fairs can be found on the other side of the Red River on Saturdays at Can Cau and on Sundays in Bac Ha.”
H’mong and Red Dzao women sell “beautifully stitched items” on Sapa’s streets, explains City Pass Guide. They range from “small pouches to bags and bed covers,” and there are also some “beautiful textile shops on Cau May with a range of cushion and bed covers.” But some of the vendors are “among the most assertive sellers I’ve ever come across,” says Wanderlust and Lipstick -- “groups of women will station themselves outside of hotels and restaurants waiting for tourists to emerge when they will then very persistently offer whatever items they are carrying in their basket backpacks.” And during our treks, “women would follow us along the entire way offering items for sale, planning on wearing down our resolve over the miles and hours.”