Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 opens in spectacular style

Running from November 1 to 16, the festival unfolds across Hanoi’s most treasured cultural landmarks, including the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Ngoc Son Temple, Temple of Literature, Hanoi Museum, and the scenic Hoan Kiem Lake.

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The first Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 is a large-scale cultural and artistic event, featuring an open creative space where folk artisans meet artists and young creators to renew and enrich Vietnam’s cultural identity in the era of integration, says Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Thu Ha in her opening remarks.

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Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh and representatives of various organisations also press the button to officially launch the festival.

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Under the inspiring theme “Heritage, Connection and Time,” this year’s festival aims to promote the cultural heritage values of Vietnam to international friends, while also affirming Hanoi’s position as a “heritage city” rich in identity and creativity.

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This theme also reflects the aspiration to gradually build a distinctive and creative cultural brand for Hanoi, based on the core cultural values of the nation.

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Building on a thousand-year-old tradition, Hanoi continues to express the aspiration to develop a distinctive cultural brand, where heritage becomes a source of strength and a driving force for sustainable development in the era of integration.

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In the new era, heritage plays the role of a bridge between the past and the future, shaping national identity and serving as a resource for socio-economic development through tourism and creative industries.

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The opening ceremony of the Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 is truly a spectacular and extraordinary artistic feast, perfectly reflecting the programme’s theme, “Heritage – Connection–Time.”

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To create a vivid and comprehensive portrayal of heritage, the opening ceremony mobilised a large-scale cast of nearly 1,000 professional performers from leading institutions such as the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, the Hanoi Chèo Theatre, and especially Hanoi’s folk artisans.

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The programme honoured the authentic cultural identity of local artisans, who play a central role in presenting the original character of the heritage and artistic elements.

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The programme draws on historical elements and the origins of the heritage of Thang Long – Hanoi. Performances included Xẩm singing and traditional Trống Quân drumming, Áo dài (long dress) fashion displays, Múa con đĩ đánh bồng (Girls playing drums) dance, traditional wrestling, and a recreation of the intangible heritage of seated tug-of-war, among others.

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The programme also features performances of traditional art genres such as Chèo, Xẩm, and Ca Trù presented in a contemporary folk style, along with acts from other regions, such as Hát Văn Huế and Múa Chén (Bowl Dance).

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Each performance is carefully staged to preserve the core spirit of the heritage, providing the audience with an experience that is both authentic and moving.

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The Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 is not only a cultural event and a platform for international exchange, but also an opportunity to connect cultural heritage with other regions across Vietnam, such as Hue, Ninh Binh, among others.

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The organisers – the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports - hope the festival will not only be a spectacular one-time event, but will also develop into a strategic annual series of activities, contributing to the formation of a “new creative cycle” for Hanoi’s cultural scene.

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After the festival concludes, performance, exhibition, and heritage presentation activities will be maintained on a regular basis, creating an open cultural space where both visitors and residents can experience heritage in everyday life.