Programme highlights cultural charm of northern mountainous region

The event will bring together nine provinces in the region including Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Bac Giang, Son La, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Vinh Phuc.

Speaking at a conference in Hanoi on November 17, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Vuong Duy Bien stressed the richness and diversity of Vietnam’s culture which is contributed to by the indigenous cultures of 54 ethnic groups living throughout the country.

The programme is held annually with each year’s theme being selected to highlight the indigenous culture of a specific region; the 2014 event was dedicated to the sea and islands while the 2015 event highlighted the Mekong River Delta region.

This year’s event is designed to help Hanoians, who have not yet had an opportunity to visit the northern mountainous region, explore and experience the daily life, cultural practices, and cuisine of people from this unique region, right in the capital city.

The programme will feature an exhibition displaying the history, cultural heritages, traditional crafts, signature costumes, and tourist attractions of the nine localities; a rural market selling regional specialties, and performances of traditional musical instruments, folk songs and dances.

A traditional wedding of the Red Dao people in Tuyen Quang and Lao Cai provinces and the ‘Cap Sac’ ritual, a rite of passage declaring the coming-of-age of boys within the community, of the San Diu group in Vinh Phuc province will be introduced to visitors at the event.

Notably, a replica of a traditional stilt house of the Tay people in Thai Nguyen province will be reproduced at the event.

According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Hai, Director of the Thai Hai Reserve Area of Ecological Village, the 24-pillar house will be set up true to the original architecture as well as interior and exterior decoration of locals in the province.

All three generations of a Tay family will be invited to the programme, where they will introduce the visitors to daily activities of their ethnic group within the living space of the exhibited house.

Students from nine universities and colleges in Hanoi will compete in a contest on culture and cultural heritages in the northern region. They will also have an opportunity to try-on traditional costumes and learn folk songs and dances of ethnic groups there under the instruction of local artists.

The event will take place from November 21-23 at the Vietnam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts, 2 Hoa Lu street, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi.