Hanoi (VNA)ඣ - This year’s brocade cultural festival will be held under the theme of “Culture and tourism festival – Oriental quintessence” from November 24 – 29 in Dak Nong province’s Gia Nghia city.

Hamlets of M’Nong, Ma and Ede ethnic people, among others, are proud home of various heritages, both tangible and intangible. It is noteworthy that the gong cultural space of the Central Highlands has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural masterpiece of the mankind. To honour the traditional craft cultural values and help preserve, bring into play and honour the cultural identity of the Vietnam ethnic races, the People’s Committee of Dak Nong province is planning to hold the second Vietnam brocade cultural festival from November 24 to 29 this year in its Gia Nghia city.

Dak Nong trademark

Ton Thi Ngoc Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of Dak Nong province, said this year’s brocade cultural festival will be held under the theme of “Culture and tourism festival – Oriental quintessence” at a national scale. Groups of artisans and performers of Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, and representatives of 14 provinces and cities throughout the country will join the upcoming event. Major activities of the festival include the opening ceremony on November 24 evening, the announcement of the UNESCO recognition of the Dak Nong Global geopark, the exhibition of the brocade space, and the experience of the Vietnam brocade cultural space. Hanh said the cultural festival will serve as a chance to popularise brocade products and create an imprint on the mind of tourists, both domestic and foreign. It will also help look for a stable outlet for the products, thus improving incomes for locals, preserve the trade, and create a trademark for Dak Nong brocade products.

“Raw but valuable jade”

Located at the southern gateway of the Central Highlands and playing the role of a concentration point of trade between regional provinces and the southern key economic zone as well as the south-central coastal area, Dak Nong boasts various advances in terms of geological location, natural resources, and the cultural diversity of the 40 ethnic groups for its investment attraction and socio-economic development. The recognition by UNESCO of the Dak Nong geopark as a global one has helped Dak Nong affirm its value and global level in terms of tourism. Provincial leading officials have said they have been trying to utilise the typical geographical and cultural values of the 40 ethnic groups residing in Dak Nong. Besides, the province also boasts a series of other historical heritages that not only enrich the diversity of the cultural identity of the region but also bear exclusive artistic sketches. Deputy Chairwoman Hanh said provincial authorities have developed 44 destinations and formed three tourist routes to attract visitors to the unique values of Dak Nong. The system of grottos, precious stone mines, and mineral deposits formed in volcano eruptions about 3.5 million years ago in the region is an exclusive character of the geopark system. The official further said that in the immediate future, the province will review the key destinations in the geopark for investment to turn them into tourist sites, adding that local authorities have clearly sensed the tourism potential of Dak Nong. Natural tourism, tourism products in the direction of experiences for visitors, both tangible and intangible cultural values, and the traditions and daily life activities of ethnic people here will be a development orientation for the province in the time to come, Deputy Chairwoman Hanh said./.