Fishin' around: People visit a stream with huge fish in Cam Thuy District, 70km northwest of Thanh Hoa city. The area has attracted many tourists and researchers with its strange school of fish, many of which weigh up to dozens of kilograms and live for a long time. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuan

HA NOI (VNS)— Various activities have been held since Wednesday in celebration of the National Tourism Year Connecting World Heritage Sites in Viet Nam hosted by the central province of Thanh Hoa.

Amateur troupes from seven provinces have performed Vietnamese traditional art forms, recognised as world cultural non-intangible heritage by UNESCO, in downtown Thanh Hoa City and at the Ho Dynasty Citadel in Vinh Loc District, and Lam Kinh relic site in Tho Xuan District.

The tourism year was expected to promote the tangible and intangible cultural heritage and natural tourist attractions in Viet Nam to domestic and international visitors, while boosting tourism co-operation between Thanh Hoa and other localities in the region and across the country.

This is the first time all world cultural non-intangible heritage art forms in Viet Nam, such as nha nhac (court music), xoan song, quan ho (love song) and gong culture in the Central Highlands, in addition to ca tru (ceremonial singing), were performed at the same place.

The art troupes hail from Ha Noi, Thua Thien Hue, Bac Giang and Phu Tho, as well as Kon Tum, Nghe An and Thanh Hoa.

The final show will be organised here next Tuesday night, gathering 300 artists. It will have the theme Ky Uc Mot Mien Di San (Memory of a Heritage Site) at Lam Son Square in downtown Thanh Hoa City. The show will be broadcasted live on Thanh Hoa Television and Radio, as well as Viet Nam Television.

A workshop on promoting local tourism investment will be organised this weekend, as well as awarding ceremonies for a photo contest themed "Year of National Tourism" and a writing contest themed "Thanh Hoa land and people".

The Ho Dynasty Citadel was recognised as a world cultural heritage site in 2013. It measures 870m by 883m and was built in 1397.

The citadel's construction was supervised by the Tran Dynasty's top mandarin Ho Quy Ly (1336-1407), who later occupied the citadel when he forcibly took the throne in 1400, changing the country's name from Dai Viet to Dai Ngu.

Ho Quy Ly's rise to power launched the short-lived Ho Dynasty, and that is why the citadel is still known as the Ho Dynasty Citadel.

Many cultural, sports and tourism events such as folk song competitions, a sea tourism festival, and international sculpture camp and gastronomy festival were held in Thanh Hoa throughout the year.

In 2015, the province was expected to attract about 100,000 foreign tourists and about 5.5 million domestic visitors.

Located 150km to the south of Ha Noi, Thanh Hoa is a key tourist destination. With a magnificent history and cultural traditions, the city is home to several national heroes and cultural celebrities. It has more than 1,500 relic sites.

Along with that, hundreds of festivals, folk songs, dances and local specialties also contribute to developing the Thanh Hoa tourism brand. — VNS