Young girls pose with cherry blossom at the previous festival. VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – Various Japanese bands and artists will perform in the Cherry Blossom Festival this weekend to celebrate the mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries.

The festival will kick off on Saturday evening at Lý Thái Tổ Park, near Sword Lake, the downtown of Hà Nội.

During the festival, visitors can join a wide range of cultural activities such as exhibitions of Việt Nam and Japan’s heritage and flowers, ikebana (art of flower arrangement) presentations and opportunities to try on Japanese kiminos.

Traditional music of Việt Nam will be performed, including xẩm (blind wanderers’ music), ca trù (ceremonial singing) and instrumental music.

On the occasion, 200 cherry trees from Japan will be offered and planted as a gift to Hà  Nội. Some of them will be displayed at the Lý Thái Tổ Park during the two-day festival.

Visitors will have a chance to enjoy the hues and shades of blooming cherry blossoms, said Trương Minh Tiến, vice director of the Hà Nội Department of  Culture and Sports.

He added that growers and horticulturalists will be dispatched by the Japanese government to take care of the planting as well as ensuring that the flowers will continue to bloom each year.

Japanese experts said the cherry trees from northeastern Japan are suitable with the weather conditions and soil in Hà Nội. They will be planted at Hoà Bình Park on Hoàng Quốc Việt Street in Bắc Từ Liêm District.

This year marks the tenth cherry blossom festival held in Hà Nội. It is considered the most outstanding event of the year to introduce Japanese culture to local residents and visitors.

A seminar to boost tourism investment will be held on Sunday in Hà Nội with the participation of many enterprises from both countries.

Famous anime films (Japanese cartoons) will be presented for free at Kim Đồng Cultural Centre, 19 Hàng Bài Street, Hà Nội, with two films screened per day.

The cherry blossom festival also took place yesterday in Hạ Long City in the northern province of Quảng Ninh.

The golden apricot flowers on Yên Tử Mountain are on display for the first time at the cherry blossom festival, which will run until Monday.

This is the fourth annual festival organised by the People’s Committee of Quảng Ninh Province and the Wanokai International Culture Association (WICA) from Japan.

Festival activities include the opening ceremony, performance and art programmes by Vietnamese and Japanese artists, cultural activities and an exhibition of cherry blossoms and apricot flowers.

The golden apricot is a valuable, rare flower on Yên Tử Mountain. This year, the flowers have bloomed beautifully and 80 trees are on display, along with 60 cherry blossom trees from Japan, in some northern mountainous provinces of Việt Nam.

There are also stalls introducing tourism, culture and foods from Việt Nam and Japan. VNS