AsemconnectVietnam - Visitors should get ready for a fantastic display at the Ban (Bauhinia) Flower Festival, a highlight of Visit Vietnam Year - Dien Bien 2024, which is set to open in the northwestern province of Dien Bien on March 16.

 Spanning from March 13 to 18, the festival boasts a diverse lineup of activities, including an incense offering ceremony at the Dien Bien Phu martyrs' memorial temple, the launch of Visit Vietnam Year - Dien Bien 2024 featuring a music extravaganza and a high-altitude fireworks display, and a photo contest showcasing the resplendent Ban flower landscape. The event also includes a show of traditional costumes of ethnic groups, an ethnic sports competition, an exhibition featuring cultural and tourism products, and activities to connect tours and travel routes.

Festival-goers can immerse in the rich cultural tapestry of the northwestern mountainous region, with offerings such as a market space spotlighting distinctive local agricultural products, a competition featuring traditional folk games like seesawing, con throwing, stilt walking, blindfolded tag, and sack racing, among others.

Additionally, traditional folk songs, dances and music, including the unique art forms of Then and Xoe of ethnic groups like the Thai, Tay, Mong, Ha Nhi, Kho Mu, Xi La, Lao, and Xa Phang, will be performed.

Several activities will also be held in the month such as Muong Dang district ethnic culture and sports festival and Paragliding Tournament 2024, folk art performances of ethnic minority groups in all districts, towns, and cities throughout the province.

According to chairman of provincial People's Committee Le Thanh Do, the province has determined that the festival an opportunity to promote the beauty of the locality’s natural landscapes, people and typical tourism products to both home and foreign visitors. The province is striving to welcome more than 1.3 million visitors in Visit Vietnam Year - Dien Bien 2024.

Held for the first time in 2014, the annual event holds significance beyond celebrating the Ban flower - the typical flower of the northwestern region in the Spring, serving as a celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the 115th anniversary of Dien Bien province, and the 75th anniversary of the provincial Party Organisation.

The festival also stands as a testament to the symbolic importance of Ban flower that represents the identity of land and people of the northwest region and Dien Bien in particular, as well as contributing to popularising Dien Bien's tourism brand in the foreseeable future./.

Source: VNA