First intangible cultural heritage festival in September

HA NOI — The first festival on world’s intangible cultural heritage will be held in the northern province of Tuyen Quang in September. 

Provinces from across the county will participate in the festival to showcase world-recognised Vietnamese intangible cultural heritage, including nha nhac (royal court music), gongs culture space in Tay Nguyen and quan ho (love duet singing), among others. 

Artistes from the central province of Thua Thien-Hue will perform nha nhac, which is the first Vietnamese intangible cultural heritage recognised by the UNESCO in 2003. Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac will perform gongs. The cultural space of gongs in Tay Nguyen was recognised as a verbal masterpiece and intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2005. 

Quan ho, which received the tag of the world’s intangible cultural heritage in 2009, will be performed by people from the northern province of Bac Ninh. Performers from the mountainous northern province of Ha Giang will perform unique nhay lua (fire jumping), which has been recognised as the national intangible culture heritage since 2013.

Other national intangible cultural heritages, such as xoe Thai dance, Xuan Pha dance and bai choi singing, will be showcased by artistes from the northern province of Son La and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam. The southern Bac Lieu Province will enthral festival-goers with don ca tai tu music, recognised by UNESCO in 2013. 

The festival showcasing the intangible cultural heritage, a part of Tuyen Quang Festival 2018, will be held on September 23. The Tuyen Quang Festival will take place from September 20 to 29, with the participation of various embassies in Viet Nam, including the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean embassies, as well as non-government and international organisations. — VNS