Southern delight: Artists perform don ca tai tu (southern amateur singing and music) at the Week for Vietnamese Great Unity - Cultural Heritages which kicked off yesterday in Son Tay District, a western outskirt of Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Ha

HA NOI (VNS) — Hundreds of representatives from 54 ethnic groups throughout the country took part the opening ceremony of the National Great Unity – Vietnamese Cultural Heritage Week last night.

The ceremony was held at the Culture-Tourism Village in Ba Vi District on the outskirts of Ha Noi.

Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the week is planned to celebrate Viet Nam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23). It also seeks to strengthen the unity between all 54 Vietnamese ethnic groups and honour their diversified cultures.

Addressing the ceremony, Nguyen Thien Nhan, a Politburo member and Chairman of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee, noted that national solidarity was an important tradition and has been continuously strengthened and developed to become a valuable cultural heritage of the Vietnamese people, which created great strength that helped the entire nation achieve many victories over the thousands of years of its history.

He stressed that this solidarity has become a strong source of power to help the country further develop, adding that the event was a meaningful celebration to enhance national solidarity, and reminded all Vietnamese people to pass down those values to the next generation.

The ceremony was followed by an art programme where some 280 artists delivered performances that included themes of national solidarity, as well as tangible and intangible heritages across the country. It also featured folk tunes and dances staged by ethnic performers.

Also, a series of exhibitions displaying photos, documents and objects spotlighting the nation's great solidarity were opened yesterday.

On the same day, a model of the Cai Rang floating market in the Mekong Delta province of Can Tho was opened at the cultural village.

A string of other Vietnamese cultural extravaganzas will also take place during the week.

Traditional ceremonies and festivals will be re-enacted during the week, such as the le cau mua (praying for rain) ritual of the Kho Mu, AzaKooh festival (praying for bumper crop) of Ta Oi; the wedding ceremony of San Chay and the hair-washing festival of the Thai.

The week will also include a photo exhibition to showcase peoples' lives, natural landscapes, and their cultural heritages.

One-hundred photos on the lotus symbol in Vietnamese culture will also be displayed, depicting daily life, Buddhism, streets, cuisine and ao dai (traditional long dress).

Additionally, hundreds of travel agents will attend the week to promote tourism in the village, which sees to draw 250,000 visitors per year.

The celebration will continue through November 23.

Yesterday, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong attended the National Great Unity festival with local residents in Dan Phuong District on the outskirt of Ha Noi, which is one among those areas that have successfully built a new-style rural area. — VNS