Binh Lieu: Fantastic festivals through the seasons

Culture in Binh Lieu finds its most joyful expression in the many festivals that fill its calendar. Throughout the year 2025, nearly every season brings a celebration that beckons visitors to join in the fun and tradition

In spring, as peach blossoms dot the hills, the Tay people of Luc Na village host the Luc Na Communal House Festival - a vibrant event where villagers pay tribute to ancestral spirits and pray for a prosperous year. Drums and gongs resound in the mountain air while locals in bright traditional dress perform lion dances and share home-brewed rice wine with guests.

Not long after, young San Chi men and women gather for the Soong Cọ Festival, an upland courting ritual famous for its soulful folk songs. Amid the backdrop of green hills, pairs of youth engage in call-and-response love duets, their voices echoing through the valleys in melodies that have sparked romances for centuries. It’s a highland version of a “love market” filled with folk music and traditional customs.

Spring in Binh Lieu also features one of the region’s most curious traditions: the Kieng Gio Festival. Literally meaning “forbidden wind,” this unique day observed mainly by the Dao community is when villagers symbolically avoid the winds of ill fortune. Many Dao families stay home to perform ancestral rites and ward off bad spirits, making it a quiet yet culturally fascinating time to visit. Travelers let the stillness and spirituality of Kieng Gio deepen their appreciation for local beliefs and connection to nature’s rhythms.

As the year progresses, Binh Lieu’s festival spirit continues into the autumn months. Come September and October, the rice terraces that blanket the district’s hills turn a lustrous gold, signaling harvest time and the arrival of the Mua Vang Festival. Mua Vang, meaning “Golden Season,” is a celebration of abundance and a thanksgiving for the harvest. Villages bustle with activity: ethnic minority farmers host fairs showcasing their rice, corn, and cinnamon, while dance troupes perform the nimble steps of the vùng cao (high region) to joyful drumbeats.

In recent years, this festival has grown to include fun outdoor events for visitors, from photography contests capturing the brilliant yellow terraced fields to rustic sports and even paragliders soaring above the patchwork of gold.

Finally, as winter approaches and a chill crisps the air, Binh Lieu wears a cloak of white blossoms. Hillsides in Huc Dong commune and beyond are blanketed by the delicate white petals of So flower – the camellia oleifera flower, locally beloved for its serene beauty.

To honor this natural spectacle, the district hosts the So Flower Festival each year around November or December. Tourists and locals alike stroll through groves of blooming camellia trees, sip hot green tea pressed from camellia seeds, and enjoy folk performances under the gentle snow-like cascade of petals.