Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – The Hue Festival 2018 came to an end onMay 2, following a vibrant closing night featuring Hue’s royal court musicperformances and firework shows.

This year’s festival was held in the central province of Thua Thien-Huefrom April 27 to May 2, attracting thousandsof visitors.


The 10th edition of HueFestival, an important event of the ancient imperial capital, wrapped up after sixdays of exciting and impressive activities, said Nguyen Dung, Vice Chairman ofthe provincial People’s Committee at the closing ceremony.

The Hue Festival 2018 offered stages for786 performers representing 20 countries and territories including Vietnam.Audiences were provided chances to enjoy 72 stage shows as well as take part in37 community activities held by local residents.

It aimed to celebrate 712years since the founding of Thuan Hoa - Phu Xuan, which is Hue today. Thefestival was themed ‘Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development: Hue -One Destination, Five World Heritages’.

The five heritagestatuses were awarded to the Complex of Hue Monuments, Hue royal court music,woodblocks, the imperial archives of the Nguyen Dynasty and royal literature onHue royal architecture.

“Van hien kinh ky”, a highlight of the festival, was an art showwhich combined a variety of elements: dance, chorus, animation, poem recitingand music. The 90-minute show featured all cultural values of Hue throughheritage elements.

Meanwhile, a show, titled “Am vong Song Huong” (Resonance of PerfumeRiver), on April 29 involved hundreds of professional and amateur actors andactresses, depicting the life cycle of people living on the rivers from theirmarriage, giving birth and raising children to passing down their occupationfrom generation to generation in a joint effort to preserve Hue culturalvalues.

The same day, streets in the silentcity of Hue were bustling withperformances by art troupes in a street parade. The art troupes from countries and territories, including Japan, theRepublic of Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, Belgium, Poland and Slovakia, broughttheir native colours to the streets. Audiences enjoyed their performances,which demonstrated their circus skills, along with dance and music, anddisplayed their costumes.

An “Ao dai” show took place on May 1 evening, exhibiting exhibited collections of the Vietnamesenational long dress. The show, titled “The Heyday of Hue”, was aimed at depicting “ao dai” in Hue in different eras, with a focus onthose worn during the imperial time under the rule of the Nguyen Dynasty(1802-1945).

The designers, hailing from differentregions in the country, attempted to get closer to Hue by using symbolicpatterns of the city on their designs, besides mimicking the attires of royalsand nobles.

Hue city was the imperial capital of Vietnam for over 100 years. Itis home to five UNESCO-recognised heritages, namely the Hue ancient citadelrelic complex – a World Cultural Heritage site; Nha Nhac (Hue royal courtmusic) - an intangible cultural heritage item; Nguyen Dynasty’s wood blocks – adocumentary heritage item; Nguyen Dynasty’s Chau ban (royal administrativedocuments) – part of the Asia-Pacific Register of UNESCO’s Memory of the WorldProgramme; and literature on Hue royal architecture - a documentaryheritage.-VNA