Hanoi Old Quarter comes alive for Cultural Heritage Day
The Old Quarter will host a month-long series of events, transforming the ancient streets into an inviting cultural corridor.
THE HANOI TIMES — As Vietnam marks the 20th anniversary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day, which falls on November 23, the Hanoi Old Quarter is unfolding into a living cultural stage, filling its ancient streets with performances, exhibitions and hands-on experiences from now until December 15.
A vivid reenactment of the Tet pole-raising tradition at Kim Ngan Communal House. Photo: Huy Pham/ The Hanoi Times
According to the Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and the Hanoi Old Quarter, this year’s celebration spotlights the artistic and spiritual values that generations have safeguarded, while inviting the community to take an active role in preserving and reimagining the city’s heritage for the future.
With more than a millennium of history, the Old Quarter, famed for its “36 guild streets”, remains a tapestry of narrow tube houses, ancient temples, bustling market lanes and craft traditions that have survived upheaval and modernization.
This year’s festivities aim to let that living heritage breathe anew.
The celebration begins at the 40 Lan Ong Relic Site with a program honoring 30 years of the heritage value of Hanoi’s Ao Dai, Vietnam’s iconic traditional dress.
Visitors can also explore an exhibition on the renowned physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong, along with a fragrant experiential space dedicated to medicinal teas, a nod to the street’s long-standing identity as a center of traditional medicine.
Just a short strall away, the Kim Ngan Communal House at 42-44 Hang Bac hosts “Kim Ngan Communal House Storytelling Space,” a project inspired by the structure’s distinctive architectural motifs. The project introduces a new synchronized identification system for architecture, signage and display items, an effort to make the communal house’s heritage more accessible and engaging.
The space of Center for Cultural Exchange No. 22 Hang Buom Street, Hoan Kiem Ward, Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Thuy
Inside this immersive setting, visitors can step into recreated scenes of historic craft guild councils, explore traditional jewelry and hornware and see how ancient decorative patterns are being researched and adapted for contemporary tourism materials and cultural souvenirs. It is a thoughtful attempt to harmonize and elevate heritage displays across the Old Quarter.
On the evening of November 22, Kim Ngan Communal House will again come alive through “Old Quarter Music Stories,” a heritage performance by leading artists of Dong Kinh Co Nhac Group. This year’s program invites visitors to experience the refined beauty of ancient Vietnamese music within an authentic Old Quarter atmosphere.
Beyond performances and exhibitions, visitors will have the opportunity to engage with heritage through hands-on activities. Workshops will allow participants to print ancient patterns using Thanh Lieu woodblocks, as well as create their own souvenirs from traditional materials such as silk, wood and do paper.
A representative of the Organizing Committee emphasized that heritage should not be viewed solely as memory, but as a dynamic creative resource for developing tourism and cultural industries. Through this year’s program, the government and community aim to further establish the Old Quarter as a vibrant creative hub.
With the participation of artists, artisans, designers and local residents, the month-long celebration reaffirms the enduring role of Hanoi’s Old Quarter as a “cultural heart” of both the city and the nation.
