First int’l culture, tourism, cuisine festival opens in Ha Giang
The northern mountainous province of Ha Giang kicked off its first international culture, tourism and cuisine festival on March 29, aiming at promoting tourism brand, strengthening tourism cooperation and introducing local staples.
Ha Giang (VNA) – The northern mountainous province of Ha Giang kicked off its firstinternational culture, tourism and cuisine festival on March 29, aiming atpromoting tourism brand, strengthening tourism cooperation and introducinglocal staples.
The opening ceremony was attended by leaders of several ministries and Ha Giangprovince, the ambassadors of Azerbaijan and China, businesses from Yunnan(China), local residents and domestic and foreign visitors.
Sixty booths are arranged at the three-day event, including 17 from China,Azerbaijan, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Thailand.
According to Chairman of the provincial People Committee Nguyen Van Son, bestowedwith stunning natural landscapes, geological and cultural values together witha kaleidoscope of ethnic minority groups’ traditional culture, Ha Giang boastshuge potential and advantages for tourism development.
Over the past years, the province has issued various policies to boost tourismand has gained significant results. Last year, the province was named as emergingtourist destination in Asia at the 2023 World Travel Awards, and made it into the NewYork Times’s list of 52 best places to travel. Most recently, Booking.com selected Ha Giang as one of ten friendliest destinations in Vietnam./.
With its advantages in terms of natural landscapes, rich cultural identities, customs and preserved traditional festivals, the northernmost province of Ha Giang has attracted attention from a large number of travel companies and tourists, and several potential community-based tourist sites have been formed.
The 2023 Mong ethnic cultural festival is taking place in Meo Vac district, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, attracting a large number of domestic and international tourists. The annual event aims to preserve the traditional cultural values of the ethnic community in the district.
The northernmost province of Ha Giang, honoured as the “Asia's Leading Emerging Tourism Destination” by World Travel Awards 2023 and among the 52 best places to travel in 2023 by New York Times, is rolling out measures to optimise its cultural values for tourism development and taking tourism expansion as a way to preserve and promote the local culture.
Eight teams will join the tournament, divided into two groups. Group A features Vietnam, the Philippines, Sichuan Club (China), and Australia, while Group B consists of Vietnam U21, Korabelka Club (Russia), Taiwan (China), and U21 Thailand.
Despite strong home support and high expectations, Vietnam were unable to overcome the defending champions, who secured their third consecutive win over Vietnam in a regional final, following previous victories in 2014 and 2023.
The event, part of Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy strategy through 2030, was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela and USM’s Faculty of International Relations. It attracted thousands of students from universities across Venezuela.
For the first time, Vietnamese audiences will have the opportunity to experience the ballet masterpiece "Don Quixote" in its original version by renowned choreographer Marius Petipa.
The contest carried deep meaning as it was the first time the life of Vietnamese women abroad had been highlighted as the central theme, said poet and writer Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers’ Association.
The event formed part of Vietnam’s ongoing campaign to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the complex at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, scheduled to take place in Paris in July.
Creative cultural festivals are fast emerging as a new catalyst for tourism development in Vietnam, as localities increasingly invest in these vibrant events on a more systematic and larger scale.
This marks the first time Vietnam has hosted a continental-level Muay event which will feature competitions across 28 weight categories in combat and eight performance categories.
Coming to the Vietnamese booth, visitors had the chance to take part in a bamboo dance, a workshop on painting woven bamboo or rattan, or quizzes about Vietnam.
These are impressive achievements, not only showing the efforts and prowess of Vietnamese paddlers but also serving as proof of the sports sector’s strategic and systematic investment.
The cultural event in Canberra not only fostered cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Australia but also contributed to promoting Vietnam’s image internationally
The U23 competition will run from June 16 to 22, followed by the U17 event from June 23 to 28, while athletes competing in the U23 category will undergo weight and skill checks ahead of the matches starting June 18, while similar checks for U17 athletes will take place before June 23.
Vietnam continues to sit just behind continental powerhouses Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, China, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The event served as a vibrant display of solidarity, promoting peace, cooperation, and development through cultural dialogue, and reaffirmed HCM City's role as a dynamic hub for cultural diplomacy and international friendship.
The Indian Film Festival not only honours the artistic value of cinema but also contributes to strengthening the friendship and enhancing cultural exchange between the people of Son La in particular and Vietnam in general and India.
An art exchange programme between Vietnam and Cambodia was held on the evening of June 13 in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long as part of the 2025 Cambodia Culture Week in Vietnam.
Digitalisation does not mean commercialisation or oversimplification of culture. It is a way of selecting, adapting, and spreading traditional values through a modern language.
At the opening ceremony (Photo: VNA) 
