Picture of concentration: Visitors view photos showing traditional festivals in France's Val-de-Marne and Viet Nam's Yen Bai Province on display in a new exhibition at the popular Museum of Ethnology. — Photo courtesy Museum of Ethnology

HA NOI (VNS) – Visitors to the Museum of Ethnology can learn about traditional festivals in Val-de-Marne, a province neighbouring the French capital, and Yen Bai, a northern mountainous province of Viet Nam, at the museum's newest exhibition.

Crossed visions: Festival traditions in Val-de-Marde and Yen Bai will show images and objects from two types of festival: seasonal celebrations of nature and those honouring people.

The museum will also offer activities for children such as festival-related storytelling and making con (a sacred ball of the Thai ethnic people).

There will also be films and accompanying lectures on Saturday mornings the second week of every month until May.

Pham Duy Cuong, chairman of the Yen Bai Province People's Committee, said that the exhibition was one of several planned activities to introduce the tradition of festivals and the 14-year collaborative relationship between the two provinces.

"The exhibition teaches visitors about the cultural traditions of Yen Bai and Val-de-Marne's people, allowing them to recognise the similarities between the two cultures. Whether the festivals honour nature or human beings, they always aim to respect truth, goodness and beauty," he said.

The exhibition was first held at the eighth Viet Nam-France Decentralised Co-operation Conference in Hai Phong City in 2010 before moving to Val-de-Marne in 2011. This year's exhibition, which commemorates the 40th anniversary of Viet Nam-France diplomatic relations, will last until June 16. – VNS