Lao Cai (VNA) - A festival honouring the quintessence of ethnic groups in the northwestern region is underway in Sa Pa national tourist site of Lao Cai province.
The three-day event, initiated by Lao Cai and supported by eight northwestern localities, also aims to promote tourism development.
It is hoped to become an annual festival which introduces cultural traits, costumes and cuisines of local ethnic groups in the region.
Director of the Lao Cai provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ha Van Thang said this is the first year the province has hosted such an event, which includes musical programmes and activities promoting brocade weaving, specialties of Lao Cai and Sa Pa love market.
A fashion show on brocade weaving (Photo: VNA)
Lao Cai in particular and eight northwestern provinces at large hope that it will help local ethnic groups bolster solidarity and honour their cultural values, he added.
The festival, running until November 21, is expected to mark the resumption of tourism activities in Lao Cai and at the same time promote its tourism programmes while exerting efforts to keep COVID-19 under control, affirming the province as a safe destination./.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recently recognised four cultural icons in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai as national intangible cultural heritages, helping honour the incredible culture of local ethnic minority groups.
The Fansipan cable car system carrying visitors to the highest mountain peak in Vietnam has proved to be a major contributor to the tourism industry in the resort town of Sa Pa over the past years.
Across Vietnam, major entertainment complexes like Sun World Ba Na Hills, Sun World Hon Thom Nature Park, and Sun World Halong Complex have attracted millions of visitors, helping the country be known in the global entertainment map.
Ngai Thau Thuong, a small village of Bat Xat district, the northern Lao Cai province, is located at 2,300m above the sea level on the cloudy Ma Cha Va peak, and is the highest village in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese team will gather on June 26 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, where they will train until July 14 before departing for Indonesia for the ASEAN U23 Championship 2025, which runs from July 15 to 29. Vietnam will face Laos on July 19 and Cambodia on July 22 in the group stage.
The exhibition showcases more than 100 valuable documents and artifacts, divided into two main parts: “Journalist Nguyen Ai Quoc – Ho Chi Minh” and “President Ho Chi Minh – Founder and Mentor of Vietnamese Revolutionary Press.” This is an opportunity to recall the late leader’s journalism journey and affirm his exceptional role in founding and guiding the revolutionary press in Vietnam.
For the first time, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) has granted Vietnam hosting rights for the two championships, including the Asian women’s solo category, which debuts this year as an officially recognised event.
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).
A performance at the festival (Photo: VNA) 
A fashion show on brocade weaving (Photo: VNA) 
