This year's Hùng Kings’ Festival features a variety of unique activities that embody the heroic spirit of the Hùng Kings era while maintaining a connection to contemporary society. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

PHÚ THỌ — This year's Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day Festival promises an array of captivating activities, including bronze drum performances, xoan singing, lion-dragon dance performances, an elite martial arts festival and traditional water puppetry shows.

The Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day Festival and the Culture and Tourism Week of Ancestral Land for the Year of the Snake 2025 will take place from March 29 to April 7 (corresponding to the 1st to the 10th day of the third lunar month). The events aim to pay tribute to the ancestors and forefathers who founded and defended the nation.

According to the organising committee, these two major events will feature various unique activities that embody the heroic spirit of the Hùng Kings era while maintaining a connection to contemporary society. The Hùng Kings’ Commemoration Day events will be solemnly and respectfully held in accordance with national cultural traditions, with incense and floral offerings by delegations from the Party, Government, ministries, central agencies, provinces, cities and a large number of people nationwide.

Events will include bronze drum performances, nighttime cultural and artistic performances, the 'Việt Trì Live Music' street music programme, xoan singing performances by xoan singing clubs and folk music groups from the city's education sector, community art performances, band performances from guitar clubs, folk and ballroom dance club exchanges, Lion - Dragon dance performances, the Martial Arts Elite Festival honouring national heritage and traditional water puppetry shows.

The palanquin procession offers incense, flowers, chưng cakes and dày cakes – the items closely linked to the legends of Hung Kings. — VNA Photo

As part of the cultural tourism week, local authorities are committed to organising a variety of vibrant, wholesome activities that highlight the region’s cultural roots. These initiatives will offer visitors and residents an opportunity to experience and explore cultural heritage while promoting the rich historical and cultural identity of the Land of Ancestors.

Key highlights include a special exhibition featuring historical documents and artefacts from the Hùng Kings era in Phú Thọ and Vĩnh Phúc provinces at the Hùng Kings Museum; the 'Gratitude Golf Tournament - Phú Thọ 2025'; a cultural camp and an exhibition showcasing local products and specialties; and artistic performances for tourism groups.

The event will also feature the Phú Thọ 2025 Trade Fair and an OCOP product exhibition, the 'Colours of Land of Ancestors Tourism - Phú Thọ 2025' event, the 'Phú Thọ - Land of Ancestors' photography exhibition, a bánh chưng (square sticky rice cake) and bánh dày (round glutinous rice cake) making contest, folk music performances, and various recognised intangible cultural heritage displays such as xoan singing, chầu văn (Vietnamese Spiritual Singing​), quan họ folk singing and chèo (Vietnamese traditional opera​). The 'Back to the Roots' Marathon 2025 will also take place.

According to the organising committee, this series of activities aims to instill a deep sense of national identity, patriotism and the 'Drink Water, Remember the Source' tradition among younger generations. It also seeks to foster national pride and solidarity while promoting and preserving the region's intangible cultural heritage, including a belief system of Hùng Kings worship and the xoan singing of Phú Thọ.

Worshipping the Hùng Kings is widely practiced in Việt Nam and among Vietnamese communities abroad as a way to maintain and promote their traditional cultural identity. — VNS