Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival promotes national cultural identity

The eighth Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese long dress) Festival 2022, officially kicked off at Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1, on March 5.

The opening ceremony of the festival was attended by Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan.

On the opening night, audiences admired 15 outstanding collections with over 300 designs, which were divided into four major themes, including Origin, Sublimation, Integration and My beloved city.

Particularly, the designs from the collection “My beloved city”, reflect the image of Ho Chi Minh City with famous destinations, new architecture and modern technology.

Themed ‘I Love Vietnamese Ao Dai’, the festival aims to honour the beauty of the traditional outfit, as well as encourage local residents and tourists to wear Ao Dai.

The event also contributes to preserving and upholding the national culture, while promoting the land and people of Vietnam, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.

The 2022 festival will also feature a wide variety of attractive activities, such as an Ao Dai parade themed ‘Aspiration for Peace’, art performances, an Ao Dai exhibition, a drawing contest on Ao Dai entitled ‘Ao Dai and Flowers’, and an Ao Dai design competition, among others.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang said that the festival is a testament to the vibrancy, inner strength, strong vitality, and consensus spirit of the city’s residents, while affirming the strong and rapid recovery of the city’s tourism sector.

The 2022 Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival also witnessed participation represented by many artists, singers, beauties and models.

Some selections from the opening ceremony: