The event was co-organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam University of Fine Arts and the Centre on Vietnamese Culture in France.

The images were taken in 300 out of 600 communal houses in the Red River Delta in North Vietnam, according to the organisers.

Painter Le Van Anh, Director of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, said as a symbol of a village and pride of the Vietnamese community, communal houses hold many artistic values, with the noted one being dragon-fairy carvings.

Dragon is a symbolic creature in the folklore and mythology in Vietnam as according to an ancient creation myth, Vietnamese people are descended from a dragon and a fairy.

For Vietnamese people, the dragon represents the emperor, prosperity and power of the nation. It brings rain, which is essential for agriculture. 

Ambassador to France Duong Van Quang noted that the event depicts part of the Vietnamese culture, adding that this kind of exhibition needs to be expanded to promote the country’s culture to international friends. 

A performance, themed “Vietnam - a Dragon-Fairy Country” also took place as part of the opening ceremony.