Viet Nam News
By Lam Dao An
Among the dozens of tours being offered from Ha Noi to the northern province of Phu Tho, tours to hear xoan folk singing has been among the best-selling for various travel agencies.
The daily tour, which was officially launched in April 2018, has so far received more than 13,000 tourists.
According to Phu Tho’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, travel agencies have brought tourists to Phu Tho to experience local culture and handicraft villages. On average each month, two or three groups visit Phu Tho.
“I have been impressed most with xoan singing during the tour,” said Dong Duc Cuong, director of Sen A Chau Tourism Company. “This is a good highlight in the schedule.”
Besides watching xoan singing, tourists visit temples and pagodas.
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| The communal house of Hung Lo Village, which dates back 300 years ago. FIle Photo |
“The site includes Lai Len Temple, Hung Lo Communal House, An Thai Communal House and Kim Dai Communal House in Viet Tri City,” said Phung Thi Hoa Le, director of Phu Tho Province’s Tourism Promotion Centre.
Tourists visit handicraft villages and help make sticky rice square cake and round cake as initiated by Prince Lang Lieu, a son of one of the Hung Kings.
“I like to explore ancient houses in the area with historical architecture dated back to Later Le reign (1442-1789),” said Kim Lee, a tourist from South Korea.
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| Folk singing has been turned into a tourism product in tours to Phu Tho Province. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Trung Kien |
“I like experiencing process of making vermicelli, rice pancake and sticky rice square cake in Hung Lo Commune,” said Charlotte Besey, from France. “I joined folk dance with artists at Hung Lo Commune.”
Local authorities have organised regular singing shows at Hung Lo Communal House between 2 and 4pm every day and at Lai Len Temple at the same time on Saturdays and Sundays.
During Hung King Temple Festival at the beginning of the third lunar month, singers will perform xoan singing every day between 8am and 4pm at the two above-mentioned locations, Le said.
Viet Tri People’s Committee has recently launched a new ‘Viet Tri City Tour’ to link xoan singing performance places with nine other destinations within the city.
Tourists can visit also Gia Thanh conical hat making village in Phu Ninh District and Bo soy sauce making village in Thanh Thuy District. Tours to the Hung Temple site have also been combined with other relaxing places like Thanh Thuy hot spring site and Xuan Son National Park.
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| Drying vermiceli in Hung Lo Commune. Tourists can join various processes of handicraft producing here. File Photo |
Preservation efforts
Since xoan singing was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in December 2017, singers in original troupes like An Thai, Thet and Kim Dai have received more attention.
“Before 2017, we received many guests,” said Nguyen Thi Lich, head of An Thai Xoan Troupe. “After official recognition by the UNESCO, we have received even more tourists.
“We welcome 2-3 tourist groups a week. Many of the tourists join our performance as well. We are very happy to entertain tourists with local folk melodies.
According to Nguyen Van Quyet, head of Kim Dai Xoan Troupe, more and more young people join the singing, not only in professional troupes but also clubs throughout the province.
“We have paid special attention to preserve and develop xoan singing,” said Nguyen Dac Thuy, director of Phu Tho’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.
“Up to now, the whole ancient xoan singing places at original troupes has been improved while 20 among 30 relic sites, where xoan singing used to take place in the past, have been restored as well,” he said.
Various traditional festivals that include the tradition of worshipping Hung kings have been restored.
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| Various traditional festivals have been restored. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Trung Kien |
Xoan singing has been promoted in communities. From original xoan troupes, the folk art is now practised in 13 districts and towns in the province. There are now 34 clubs gathering 1,500 members singing xoan songs.
“In the next few years, we will continue to organise workshops to review values of xoan heritage and implement PR programmes in mass media to promote local tourism and folk singing,” Thuy said.
The culture sector will also make documentaries on xoan singing and teach xoan at local schools.
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| More young people can sing xoan at the moment thanks to efforts by authorities to promote the ancient art. VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Trung Kien |
Xoan or xuan (spring) singing is practised in Phu Tho Province, often during the first two months of the lunar year. Traditionally, singers perform songs in sacred spaces such as temples, shrines and communal houses for the spring festivals.
There are three forms of xoan singing: worship singing for the Hung kings and village guardian spirits; ritual singing for good crops, health and luck, and festival singing where villagers alternate male and female voices in a form of courtship.
In 2011, xoan singing was listed as cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding by the UNESCO.
With efforts by locals, the art was removed from the list in 2017 and became and intangible cultural heritage of humanity instead. — VNS