Hoi An’s mid-autumn festival named intangible heritage
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has listed the mid-autumn Full Moon Festival (on the 14th day of the eighth lunar month) of Hoi An ancient town in central Quang Nam province as a National Intangible Heritage.
Lion dances during the annual middle autumn festival in Hoi An. The festival was listed as a national intangible heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (Photo courtesy of Hoi An city's Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation)
Quang Nam (VNS/VNA) - The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism haslisted the mid-autumn Full Moon Festival (on the 14th day of the eighth lunarmonth) of Hoi An ancient town in central Quang Nam province as a NationalIntangible Heritage.
The Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation of Hoi An city saidthe mid-autumn festival of Hoi An was one of 14 recognised by the ministry, andthe official certificate will be handed over soon.
The centre said the festival this year will be held with a series of activitiesand cultural performances in the Old Quarter and on the Hoai River banks onSeptember 29, promoting tourism recovery after the pandemic.
It’s a post-harvest festival during which people gather together in celebrationof a bumper harvest by making cakes and offerings from farm produce, expressingthanks to Heaven for peace and abundant crops, according to the centre.
Lion and unicorn dances are a focus of the festival on the main stage in the HoaiRiver Square and along the streets of the Old Quarter.
The festival is decorated by lanterns in the Old Quarter and candle-lit paperflowers released on the Hoai River on the 14th and 15th day of the eighth lunarmonth. It’s also a favourite rendezvous for local people and foreign touristsvisiting and exploring the culture and lifestyle of Hoi An.
The UNESCO-recognised world heritage site received the annual Nguyen TieuFestival – the fifth national intangible heritage of Hoi An after Thanh Chaubird's nest, Thanh Ha Pottery village, carpentry of Kim Bong Village and Tra Quevegetable garden./.
Christian Manhart, UNESCO Representative to Vietnam, has hailed the nation’s success in connecting its tangible with intangible heritage and affirmed UNESCO’s further close collaboration serving Vietnam’s sustainable development.
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The 500th death anniversary of the founder of Kim Bong carpentry was held at Hoi An city, central Quang Nam province, on February 2, attracting a large number of locals and tourists.
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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.
Lion dances during the annual middle autumn festival in Hoi An. The festival was listed as a national intangible heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (Photo courtesy of Hoi An city's Centre for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation) 
