• 3,500 singers join Quan Ho folk singing contest
• Then singing seeks UNESCO recognition

The festival co-organized by Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces in central Vietnam aims to help preserve the thousand-year-old folk music, and seek UNESCO recognition of the music genre as part of the World Intangible Heritage. 

More than 20 top Vi-Dam singing clubs from across the region are participating in the festival, which also features arts performances by local and national artists drawing thousands of local people and tourists. 

Vi-Dam singing, two kinds of folk music from Nghe An and Ha Tinh, often reflect the working and cultural lives of people in the coastal provinces. The art is performed in spring and autumn by men and girls alternately. 

Nghe An province has about 50 Vi-Dam singing clubs with about 2,000 members, who are the main people preserving these arts. 

The two folk singing styles have seen a revival compared to 10 years ago, when fewer people practiced the arts. 

Vietnam now has six examples of UNESCO-recognized  World Intangible Heritage, including Hue's royal court music, Gong space culture in the Central Highlands, the northern province of Bac Ninh's love duet singing, the Giong festival, Ca Tru ceremonial singing, and Xoan singing.