Visitors play on flooded fields in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp during the floating season. — VNA/VNS Photos Nhựt An

ĐỒNG THÁP — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp will launch a special floating season festival in Hồng Ngự Ward on September 13.

Visitors can experience traditional activities that locals have practiced during the floating season, helping promote the distinctive cultural features of this period.

The all-day event will begin at 7am with performances of tài tử music on boats.

Tài tử music, originating in Southern Việt Nam over 100 years ago, was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2013.

Participants can shop for regional fruits and specialties at a floating market or join folk games of catching ducks and seeking eggs. Around 100 ducks and 500 eggs will be released in the fields.

The organiser will host a photo contest to highlight the beauty of the landscape, people, culture, and lifestyle of the land during the floating season. The contest will close for entries on October 13 and announce winners on October 31.           

A visitor feels joyful at catching different kinds of fish.

Apart from the festival, visitors can immerse themselves in nature and experiences during the floating season in Hồng Ngự and Thường Lạc wards and Thường Phước Commune, or tourist areas and attractions, such as Tràm Chim National Park, Gào Giồng Ecotourism Area, and Đồng Sen Ecotourism Area.

Visitors can experience local people’s activities, such as riding boats through flooded fields, setting fish traps, catching fish, and picking điên điển (Sesbania sesban) flowers.

After the activities, they can enjoy seasonal specialties such as sour soup cooked with điên điển flowers and young linh (Siamese mud carp), braised linh fish, and straw-grilled snakehead fish, from ingredients they have caught themselves.

The floating season occurs annually from August to November, when floodwater flows into fields and canals, bringing fish, shrimp, and alluvium that fertilises farmland. — VNS