Ninh Thuan (VNA) – The south central provinceof Ninh Thuan will hold a 15- minute firework display to welcome the Grape - Wine Festival 2023 and the ceremony to receive a certificate from UNESCO recognising the pottery-making art of the Cham ethnic minority people as Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urඣgent Safeguarding.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People'sCommittee Nguyen Long Bien said that the festival, running from June 13-18, are an important and meaningful event for Ninh Thuan to attract more tourists, thereby turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector with sustainable development in the coming years. Themed “Ninh Thuan – The land of convergence of different values”, spectators will have a chance to enjoy a low-range firework display in the opening night of the festival which is slated for June 16, 2023at April 16 Square. According to Nguyen Van Hoa, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this year’s festival will be bigger than the previous ones with fairs, musicalperformances, a grapevine trellis contest, vineyard tours, and conferences onthe development of grape farming and processing. The biennial festival seeks to build a brand for the province’s grapes and honour various ethnic cultures.

Ninh Thuan is home to 1,060ha of grape cultivation,which is expected to double to 2,000ha by 2030.

Festival attendees can also visit the province’s Bau Truc Pottery Village, MyNghiep Brocade Weaving Village and Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve.

The Cham people's pottery-making art was inscribed in the list of intangiblecultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding by UNESCO on November 29,2022. Cham pottery products are mainly household utensils, worship objects, andhandicrafts such as jars (called “jek”), pots (gok), food trays (cambak), andvases (bilaok).

Pottery making is direct demonstration of the creativity of Cham womenintimately connected to the history of knowledge in their community.

Notably, instead of using turntables, Cham women move around blocks of clay toshape objects. The products are not laid with enamel but dried and bakedoutdoor in wood and rice straw fires at about 800 degrees Celsius for 7 - 8hours.

Ninh Thuan aims to attract 3.5 million tourists by 2025 and earn 2.9 trillionVND (123.68 million USD) from the tourism sector.

This year, the province expects to welcome 2.7 ⭕million visitors, of whom 20,000are foreigners./.