The festal event will showcase the folk art of wood statue carving crafted by different ethnic groups living in the province.

 

KONTUM – The Mang Den Tourism Week opened in Kontum Province on Wednesday, a celebration of the ethnic minority cultures that are unique to Viet Nam's Central Highlands.

Among the atttractions, there are a wooden statue carving festival, traditional music and folk songs, local feasts, a re-creation of ethnic minorities' traditional festivals, camping, hiking and boating trips to Kon Plong pristine pine forest.

Situated 1,100m above sea-level, Mang Den has the same temperate climate as Da Lat and huge tourism potential with its lush pristine forests and beautiful lakes and falls.

The theme of the event is a celebration of the region's natural beauty, the Mountains and Forests of Mang Den, and as part of this there are trips to the Pa Sy Waterfall and an exhibition of local craft villages' handicrafts.

According to Dang Thanh Nam, deputy chairman of Kon Plong District's People's Committee, the aim of Mang Den Tourism Week 2014 is to preserve the traditional culture of ethnic communities and introduce visitors to the land and the people of Kontum, as a way of promoting tourism, boosting the local economy and improving the living standards of local residents.

The First Mang Den Tourism Week was organised last year and attracted over 300 ethnic artisans and many thousands of visitors.

Mang Den Tourism Week is part of the year-long National Tourism Year 2014 focusing on the Central Highlands.

Also in the central highlands, a water wharf ceremony and a ceremony to pray for elephant health took place on Wednesday in Dak Lak Province's Buon Don District.

These traditional ceremonies are organised every year in March, by the M'Nong and E Đe ethnic groups in Buon Don, who are famed for their domesticated elephants. After the ceremony, a one-of-a-kind elephant race is held in Krong Na village. — VNS