Dien Bien: The Ban Flower Festival, a highlight of the National Tourism Year 2024, is set to open in the northern mountainous 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 the National Tourism Year 2024 featuring a music extravaganza and a high-altitude fireworks display, a photo contest showcasing the resplendent Ban flower landscape, 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 expect to immerse themselves 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. Additionally, traditional folk songs, dances and music, including the unique art forms of Then and Xoe performed by ethnic groups like the Thai, Tay, Mong, Ha Nhi, Kho Mu, Xi La, Lao, and Xa Phang, will be performed.

Held for the first time in 2014, the annual event holds significance beyond celebrating the Ban flower, serving as a celeration of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory, the 115th founding 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: Vietnam News Agency