A model of a phoenix made by residents from Tân Quang Ward for Tuyên Citadel Festival 2024. — Photo lehoithanhtuyen.com.vn

TUYÊN QUANG — Tuyên Citadel Festival 2024 will take place in the northern province of Tuyên Quang to celebrate the national biggest traditional Vietnamese festival, welcoming the middle of autumn.

There will be unique series of events in the province, from August 31 to September 15, with the highlight of the festival on the closing night, being a huge parade of giant and colorful lanterns.

The night-time parade will be aired live on Việt Nam National Television from Nguyễn Tất Thành Square in Tuyên Quang City at 8pm.

"We will welcome tourists to visit Tuyên Quang to experience Tuyên Citadel Festival with a wide range of activities that are cultural typical characteristics," said Hoàng Việt Phương, deputy chairman of the provincial People's Committee.

"Preparation for the festival is taking place in the whole province. Local people are busy making lantern models with many unique colors and shapes for the parade."

This year's Tuyên Citadel Festival is the 20th year of the Mid-Autumn Festival held in the province and visitors can look forward to hundreds of giant, colourful lanterns, featuring the images and characters of fairy tales, legends and historical figures.

The lantern parade will take place across Tuyên Quang City until the full moon of the lunar eighth month.

The festival started in 2004, when some families modelled and decorated a few big animal lanterns which were dragged along the street with a lion dance and song. It was a big hit with children and adults alike and gradually evolved into the festival it has become today, the biggest of its kind in Việt Nam.

It holds records for three times for having the largest traditional lantern models shown on the mid-autumn night, the largest tray of offerings and the largest pair of revolving lanterns (đèn kéo quân) for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

After 20 years, it has become a unique tourism product, a meeting place for locals and tourists contributing to promoting the potential and strengths of Tuyên Quang Province and creating momentum to attract investment into local tourism development.

Over the past years, the lanterns have become ever more beautiful and more sophisticated featuring new styles while still representing traditional culture.

This year is the second time that the province has implemented the project to innovate the organisation of the Tuyên Citadel Festival to make the festival become a national and international tourism product.

The opening ceremony will begin at 8pm on September 13 with a show of art and will feature artists from the southern and central provinces of Trà Vinh, Đắk Nông, Phú Yên, Thừa Thiên-Huế and the northern Bắc Ninh.

The artists will perform Huế royal court music, cồng-chiêng (gong) art performance and sing love duets, among other musical styles. These art genres are UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritages.

Two art troupes from Japan and Republic of Korea are expected to perform at the opening ceremony.

Other cultural, sports and tourism activities will be held during the festival, including a series featuring ethnic groups of Tuyên Quang Province.

A conference will be held focusing on preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritages in the context of tourism development. — VNS