Ninh Bình Tourism Festival promises arts and culture galore

The annual festival in the first week of June is one of multiple tourism and cultural programmes held in Ninh Bình this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the area's recognition by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site.

Ninh Bình Tourism Week 2024 is getting ready to launch, with this year's event featuring a plethora of arts and cultural exhibitions as well as a goat fighting contest to mark the 10th anniversary of Tràng An's recognition by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site.

The annual festival will be held from June 1 to June 8 in the northern province of Ninh Bình, with the theme Sắc Vàng Tam Cốc Tràng An (The Golden Colour of Tam Cốc Tràng An), according to the event's organisers.

It promises to offer amazing attractions to tourists from across the country and abroad, while artists – especially photographers – are also encouraged to come and enjoy the unique and beautiful natural landscapes.

The organising board said it hopes the event will help boost Ninh Bình's products and services for tourists while affirming the area's reputation as a unique, safe, friendly and attractive destination.

The week will feature various activities including an opening ceremony, the introduction of a walking street, art performances and displays of the province's traditional handicrafts, as well as photography tours themed "Mùa Vàng Tam Cốc" (Tam Cốc Golden Season).

During the event, a photo exhibition titled "Mùa vàng Tam Cốc Tràng An" (Tam Cốc Tràng An Golden Season) will be showcased along with many other cultural programmes such as water puppet shows, chèo (traditional opera), xẩm (buskers’ singing) and folk songs from the three regions.

Phạm Tuấn Phương, vice chairman of the provincial Literature and Arts Association, said: "The association will display 120 works at the exhibition. The works are created by members of the association focusing on the theme of Tam Cốc. Many of them have won awards at photo contests in the Red River Delta region, in the country and abroad."

This year's Ninh Bình Tourism Week will also include a goat fighting event hosted by the provincial Farmers' Association.

The provincial People's Committee (Government) mobilised businesses and local people to participate in and contribute resources to the event. It asked that all activities promote the province's unique cultural and historical features, tourism potential and strengths, especially the outstanding global value of the Tràng An World Cultural and Natural Heritage site with a focus on the Tam Cốc Bích Động tourist site.

The Tam Cốc Tràng An Golden Season is an annual event held since 2018 in early summer, as the rice fields ripen along the Ngô Đồng River.

Tam Cốc paddy field, known as one of the five most beautiful rice fields in Việt Nam, is entering its most beautiful time of the year, just in time for Ninh Bình Tourism Week.

The field is attractive in part because it shows the interconnectivity between nature and people, the border between heaven and earth and the daily lives of the local people.