PANO - The 5th Quang Nam Heritage Festival opened in Hoi An City, Quang Nam province on June 22nd in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, UNESCO General Director Irina Bokova, representatives of 73 countries and territories worldwide and thousands of Vietnamese and international visitors.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed on the values of cultural heritages and the importance of protecting and promoting them for sustainable development. He added that the Party and State have so far attached great importance to preserving these cultural values and urged Quang Nam province and local people to exert more joint efforts to protect these cultural heritages, especially three UNESCO-recognised heritages in the province.

The opening ceremony, including two parts, "The land of love" and "My hometown's festive days", has impressed audiences with interesting and beautiful songs and dances.

Before the event, 700 artists in colorful costumes from 7 different countries and territories had entertained audiences with performances, reflecting the specialities of each nation, in the Street Carnaval.

Earlier, various activities, such as the third International Choir Competition and “Vietnam-ASEAN cultural heritage space” exhibition were organized to welcome the big festival.

In addition, the Asian Record Organization recognized the Quang Noodle as one of the 12 Vietnamese dishes meeting criteria "Asian cuisine value".

Along with the main activities, the organizing panel will also run an artistic exchange, "Quang Nam with international friends", the Cham Cultural Festival, a seminar on promoting values of cultural heritages and sports competitions.

The festival will end on June 26th with the final round of the Miss Ethnic Vietnam Contest.

Translated by Tran Hoai