Vibrant traditional costumes, lively songs and dances, and traditional rituals come together at festivals across Quang Ninh, creating a diverse and rich cultural picture. Home to 43 ethnic groups and rich cultural landscapes stretching from mountainous and lowland areas to the coast, each festival offers a vivid glimpse into the customs, beliefs, daily life and spiritual traditions of local ethnic communities.
The Cua Ong Temple Festival is held to commemorate and honour the contributions of General Tran Quoc Tang and other forebears who helped defend Vietnam’s northeastern frontier. It also serves to showcase and promote the outstanding cultural and historical values of Cua Ong Temple, a special national historical relic, contributing to the promotion of cultural and historical values and the fostering of national pride.
The procession escorting senior villagers to Tien Cong Shrine to offer incense in commemoration of the ancestors who reclaimed and opened up the land is a distinctive cultural feature of the Tien Cong Festival in Phong Coc ward.
The “Going to the Field” Festival in Phong Coc ward was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2024. Originating from the Ha Dien and Thuong Dien rituals, the festival celebrates the farming traditions of Ha Nam Island residents and expresses hopes for abundant harvests and a prosperous life.
Dao Thanh Phan girls stand out against the pristine white blossoms at the height of the so (tea-oil camellia flower) season during the So Flower Festival in Luc Hon commune.
San Chi women’s football has become a distinctive cultural tourism product of Binh Lieu commune and is regularly organised during festivals and community events, helping promote the rich cultural identity and people of the highlands.
Dao Thanh Y women compete in traditional hair styling at the Khoi Kem Festival in Duong Hoa commune, recreating a cultural practice that has been preserved and passed down through generations.
The knife-climbing ritual at the Dai Phan Festival of the San Diu ethnic group expresses the aspiration to overcome challenges and welcome good fortune, while also demonstrating devotion and faith in divine protection.
Then melodies of the Tay people in Binh Lieu, Luc Hon and Hoanh Mo communes bring rustic and profound sounds to local festivals. In particular, the Practices of Then by the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups in Vietnam have been inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, further affirming the rich cultural identities of ethnic groups in Quang Ninh province in particular and Vietnam in general.
A performance of traditional Dao Thanh Phan wedding costumes at the Kieng Gio (Wind Avoiding) Festival in Hoanh Mo commune.
Introducing and promoting local cuisine is one of the distinctive features of many traditional festivals in Quang Ninh, offering visitors engaging experiences. A culinary competition at the Cultural and Sports Festival of Ethnic Groups in Dien Xa commune.
By Duy Khoa
