"The festival will be organised between August 1 and 4 in the central city of Quy Nhon," said Nguyen Van Dung, director of Binh Dinh provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.— Photo vietbao

HA NOI (VNS) — More than 50 international martial art troupes and another 30 from Viet Nam will gather for the International Vietnamese Martial Arts Festival in the central province of Binh Dinh at the end of this month.

The province was considered a cradle of Vietnamese traditional martial arts during the "golden" period under the reign of King Quang Trung-Nguyen Hue (1753-92).

"The festival will be organised between August 1 and 4 in the central city of Quy Nhon," said Nguyen Van Dung, director of Binh Dinh provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department.

It will include an exchange activities by Vietnamese martial arts schools and performances by Sumo, Karate-Do and Kendo martial artists from Japan and South Korea.

Highlight of the event will be a Martial Arts Championship for 20 Vietnamese troupes between July 30 and August 3.

Male participants will compete in 10 weight categories and women in eight weight categories.

A Martial Arts Beauty contest will be organised among female contestants from overseas and Viet Nam. The final round of the contest will be held in the city on August 4.

A downtown street festival at 8pm on August 2 will include a mass performance by 600 martial artists.

Other sideline activities include a classical drama by National Young Professional Artists, a photo exhibition, and a festival of regional food.

The biennial martial arts festival has been organised in the province since 2006. Regional martial arts were recognised as a national cultural intangible heritage in 2012. — VNS