Hoi An City Cultural Days launched in Paris
VOV.VN - Hoi An City Cultural Days was launched in Paris, France, on August 29, to introduce and promote the culture and characteristics of Vietnam’s UNESCO-recognised world heritage site to French people and foreign visitors.
Addressing the two-day festival, Nguyen Van Son, head of the Hoi An municipal administration, highlighted Hoi An’s major development potential, noting that thanks to its cultural and ecological strengths, Hoi An has in recent times grown to become a tourist city, a destination with great tourist attractions in central Vietnam.
Every year, he said the city, formerly known as the Ancient Town, welcomes more than five million visitors, with the number of international travelers increasing considerably.
According to the official, Hoi An has established very close relationships with French agencies and organizations. Currently, it is coordinating with the French Embassy in Hanoi to build a French Quarter on Phan Boi Chau Street. The French Development Agency (AFD) has sponsored a project with a total investment of nearly VND1,000 billion to protect the old quarter.
Hoi An aims to build a creative city to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. It submitted the application in June 2023 and expected to get an approval this October.
If the application is approved, the city will well implement the network’s criteria, actively share management experience, spur sustainable development, protect the environment and heritage, and increase innovative value to promote the digital economy in the coming time, said Son.
In his speech, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang stressed that Hoi An is a favourite destination not only for Vietnamese people but also for many international tourists.
Hoi An City Days in Paris is part of a series of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and France, said the ambassador.
At the opening ceremony, Vietnamese artists presented many cultural performances bearing the imprint of the Southcentral region of Vietnam, including the Apsara dance, the cultural and spiritual life of the Champa people, and the ancient red moon melody.
Many performances of ethnic musical instruments, including monochord, and folk games were introduced at the festival.
