The open-air show Huyền Tích U Va (U Va Legend) highlights the culture of the Thái ethnic group in Điện Biên Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Tư

ĐIỆN BIÊN — Over 70 artists have gathered to perform the historical legends and folk dances of the Thái ethnic group in a new tourism product launched in the northern province of Điện Biên.

The tourism product, an open-air show entitled Huyền Tích U Va (U Va Legend), is jointly organised by Điện Biên Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People’s Committee. Its launch is part of the Ban (Bauhinia) Flower Festival which is set to open in the province on March 16.

U Va Legend consists of three parts - the ancient cultural heritage of the Thái group, the legend of the piêu shawl and the ban flower tree, and Xên Pang Festival, a significant cultural event of the ethnic group which involves ancestral worship and gratitude towards the heavens and the earth. The festival represents the enduring humanistic values, pride of the Thái people, and the connection between the present and the past.

With the backdrop of the natural landscape of the U Va hot mineral resort and the U Va lotus lake, the show is expected to provide visitors with new, unique and captivating experiences.

Performers take part in the U Va Legend show of Điện Biên Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Tư

The organisers hope that U Va Legend will become a unique tourism product of Điện Biên Province, helping to connect the community and businesses, creating an attractive, widespread and cohesive product.

Ban Flower Festival, a highlight of Visit Vietnam Year – Điện Biên 2024, will kick off on 7-5 Square in Điện Biên Phủ City with the theme Về Miền Hoa Ban (Visiting Ban Flower Land).

Held from March 13 to 18, the festival boasts a diverse lineup of activities, including an incense offering ceremony at the Điện Biên Phủ martyrs' memorial temple, the launch of Visit Vietnam Year – Điện Biên 2024 featuring a music extravaganza and a high-altitude fireworks display, and a photo contest showcasing the resplendent Ban flower landscape.

The event also includes a show of traditional costumes of ethnic groups, an ethnic sports competition, an exhibition featuring cultural and tourism products, and activities to connect tours and travel routes.

Festival-goers can immerse themselves in the rich cultural tapestry of the northwestern mountainous region, with offerings such as a market space spotlighting distinctive local agricultural products, a competition featuring traditional folk games like seesawing, còn ball throwing, stilt walking, blindfolded tag and sack racing.

Additionally, traditional folk songs, dances and music, including the unique art forms of then and xòe of ethnic groups like the Thái, Tày, Mông, Hà Nhì, Khơ Mú, Si La, Lào and Xạ Phang, will be performed.

Several activities will also be held in the month such as Mường Đăng District Ethnic Culture and Sports Festival and Paragliding Tournament 2024, and folk-art performances of ethnic minority groups in all districts, towns, and cities throughout the province.

According to Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Lê Thành Đô, the province has determined that the festival is an opportunity to promote the beauty of the locality’s natural landscapes, people and typical tourism products to both domestic and foreign visitors. The province is striving to welcome more than 1.3 million visitors in Visit Vietnam Year – Điện Biên 2024.

Held for the first time in 2014, the annual event holds significance beyond celebrating the ban flower - the typical flower of the northwestern region in the spring, serving as a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Điện Biên Phủ Victory, the 115th anniversary of Điện Biên Province, and the 75th anniversary of the provincial Party Organisation.

The ban flower symbolises the land and people of the northwest region and Điện Biên. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Tư

The festival also stands as a testament to the symbolic importance of ban flower that represents the identity of the land and people of the northwest region and Điện Biên in particular, as well as contributing to popularising Điện Biên's tourism brand. — VNS