What is special about the festival in Ha Long?

Ha Long City currently has 16 traditional festivals, typically: Long Tien Pagoda Festival, Ba Men Temple Festival, Tran Quoc Nghien Temple Festival, Bang Ca Village Festival, Dai Ky Phuc Festival at Van Yen Communal House, Giang Vong Communal House Festival... These festivals create great potential for cultural tourism.

Thanh Y Dao boys and girls excitedly go to Bang Ca village festival.

In his speech at the workshop “Promoting green economy, digital economy, heritage economy of Ha Long City in the era of national development” held on December 26, 2024, Dr. Do Danh Huan, researcher at the Institute of History, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, paid special attention to sea festivals in Ha Long, including the Ba Men Temple Festival. The Ba Men Temple Festival takes place from January 18-19 on Ha Long Bay, imbued with the culture of sea fishermen.

According to Dr. Do Danh Huan, not only Ba Men Temple Festival, many festivals in Ha Long are closely associated with the sea space. This is also understandable, because this is a land that is heavily influenced and affected by sea elements. The cultural activities and lifestyles of residents still preserve many sea elements, which are most vividly expressed in traditional festivals. This is a huge heritage resource for sustainable tourism development, cultural industry development and heritage economy. Dr. Do Danh Huan also noted that the preservation and promotion of festival heritage needs to be placed in relation, integrated with the natural heritage of Ha Long Bay, taking Ha Long Bay as the center of heritage economy. Traditional festivals in localities and neighboring areas play the role of satellites, complementing and enriching the heritage of Ha Long Bay. From its core area, that is, Ha Long Bay, diverse and rich tourist routes will be built, creating attractiveness for visitors.

In order to preserve and promote traditional cultural values ​​and intangible cultural heritages in the area, Ha Long City has developed the Project "Ha Long - City of Festivals". The goal is to upgrade the scale of Bang Ca Village Festival and King Le Thai To Temple Festival. In 2025, 5 traditional festivals will be restored and reorganized, including: New Rice Celebration Festival of the Tay people in Dan Chu commune, Dai Phan Festival of the San Diu ethnic group, Loi Am Pagoda Festival, Cai Lan Temple Festival, Long Tien Pagoda Festival.

Ha Long City will build a scientific dossier for the Tran Quoc Nghien Temple Festival to propose ranking it as a national intangible cultural heritage.

In addition to traditional festivals, the city will organize more modern festivals such as: Sports Sailing and Dragon Boat Racing Festival, Cherry Blossom Festival and Japanese Cultural Week, Motorized Parachute and Paragliding Festival, Full Moon Festival and Artistic Light Show, Ha Long Spring Flower Festival, Flower Festival in Quang La Flower Paradise, Ripe Guava Festival... At the same time, the city will also build a scientific dossier to propose the ranking of national intangible cultural heritage for the Tran Quoc Nghien Temple Festival. These are considered very positive steps to exploit the advantages, potentials, and values ​​of heritage to serve the development of heritage economy. Heritage economy is also mentioned in the Pilot Project on Night-Time Economic Development in the city, period 2024-2025.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/le-hoi-tai-ha-long-co-gi-dac-sac-3340011.html