For a Vietnamese couple living overseas for many years, the Tea Festivalin Dai Tu district in the northern province of Thai Nguyen is anunforgettable experience.
Mathilde Tuyet Tran and her husband,who live in France, said they enjoyed the festive atmosphere andlearning more about the Vietnamese tea drinking culture.
Thefestival, which took place on January 25-27, promoted the tea growingand drinking culture of the Vietnamese people. It attracted manyvisitors.
Organised as a cultural festival and trade fair, theevent presented 200 booths introducing tea products and handicrafts fromvillages in Dai Tu.
There was a competition to honour tea makersand to exchange the technology used in tea processing by businesses,co-operatives, villages and households.
Tourists also enjoyedsinging, a typical music genre of the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groupswho reside in Thai Nguyen. Songs were also sung around a campfire atnight, accompanied by a musical instrument called dan tinh (with asound-box made from a dried gourd).
Tuyet Tran said she felt the joy of the local people as they introduced tourists to different products.
Shesaid she was amazed by a drumming performance by high-school students.She felt the beat reflected the soul of their homeland.
Touristswere impressed by a traditional market displaying specialities such ascom lam (rice cooked in a bamboo tube), nem chua (fermented pork and pigskin), banh gio (pyramidal rice dumpling) and banh chung (squareglutinous cake).
Blessed with favourable soil and climate, Dai TuDistrict has the largest tea plantations in the province. More than6,200ha yield about 57,000 tonnes of leaves each year, making up onethird of the province's total tea output.
Dai Tu is pround of itsprosperity associated with the industry. This is also reflected infarmers' increasing incomes, according to Dang Viet Thuan, Vice Chairmanof the provincial People's Committee.
"The tea festival hasbecome a tradition for local people," he said. "It creates a chance topromote the products to tourists and develop the name of Dai Tu tea."
Thai Nguyen tea products are popular in Vietnam and are also highly valuable exports.-VNA
Mathilde Tuyet Tran and her husband,who live in France, said they enjoyed the festive atmosphere andlearning more about the Vietnamese tea drinking culture.
Thefestival, which took place on January 25-27, promoted the tea growingand drinking culture of the Vietnamese people. It attracted manyvisitors.
Organised as a cultural festival and trade fair, theevent presented 200 booths introducing tea products and handicrafts fromvillages in Dai Tu.
There was a competition to honour tea makersand to exchange the technology used in tea processing by businesses,co-operatives, villages and households.
Tourists also enjoyedsinging, a typical music genre of the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groupswho reside in Thai Nguyen. Songs were also sung around a campfire atnight, accompanied by a musical instrument called dan tinh (with asound-box made from a dried gourd).
Tuyet Tran said she felt the joy of the local people as they introduced tourists to different products.
Shesaid she was amazed by a drumming performance by high-school students.She felt the beat reflected the soul of their homeland.
Touristswere impressed by a traditional market displaying specialities such ascom lam (rice cooked in a bamboo tube), nem chua (fermented pork and pigskin), banh gio (pyramidal rice dumpling) and banh chung (squareglutinous cake).
Blessed with favourable soil and climate, Dai TuDistrict has the largest tea plantations in the province. More than6,200ha yield about 57,000 tonnes of leaves each year, making up onethird of the province's total tea output.
Dai Tu is pround of itsprosperity associated with the industry. This is also reflected infarmers' increasing incomes, according to Dang Viet Thuan, Vice Chairmanof the provincial People's Committee.
"The tea festival hasbecome a tradition for local people," he said. "It creates a chance topromote the products to tourists and develop the name of Dai Tu tea."
Thai Nguyen tea products are popular in Vietnam and are also highly valuable exports.-VNA
