The annual festival is held as a religious ritual dedicated to the god of agriculture to win his blessing for verdant crops and prosperity for villagers throughout the year. It consists of an offering ritual, a ploughing ceremony and folk games.
According to Chairman of the Ba Be district People’s Committee Luu Quoc Trung, over the past years, tourism in the locality has been developed, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and becoming a key economic sector of the district. Therefore, the district attaches much importance to preserving and promoting cultural identities of local ethnic groups.
At the end of the festival, people had a chance to experience a cultural space, featuring local people and land. They also enjoyed local food and joined an art exchange, together with playing folk games. In addition, visitors could enjoy the beauty of Ba Be - the largest freshwater lake in Vietnam, buy OCOP (One Commune, One Product) and local agricultural products.
“This is the second time I have visited Ba Be lake. However, this was my first time joining Long Tong Festival. I was impressed by the landscape and people here. I bought many local products. If I have a chance, I will be back,” said Luu Thi Hoai Huong, a tourist from Hai Duong province.
“The Long Tong Festival has become an indispensable need in Ba Be district, gradually meeting the needs of people to enjoy spiritual culture, arousing the pride of national traditions, creating conditions for cultural activities, arts and folk games to develop. This is also an opportunity to promote local tourism, making it a key economic sector to promote local socio-economic development,” affirmed Luu Quoc Trung.
Here are some photos during the event.
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Ritual procession of trays |
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Performing religious ritual |
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A leader of Ba Be district beats the drum to open the festival. |
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Visitors during the event |
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Girls and boys in the Tay ethnic group's costumes sing and dance. |
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Folk games held during the event |
Translated by Minh Anh