Heritage shines as Thang Long-Hanoi Festival 2025 connects centuries of culture with today’s creativity

THE HANOI TIMES — The Thang Long–Hanoi Festival 2025 drew to a close on November 16 after two weeks of vibrant activities at cultural centers and heritage sites across the capital.

The closing night featured a brief awards ceremony honoring participating groups and individuals, followed by a detailed festival recap film and an elaborate artistic program showcasing Hanoi’s cultural heritage, from traditional music to craft village traditions.

Audiences enjoyed hat van, xam, ca tru and dance performances as well as new songs about Hanoi performed by young artists with expressive and modern styles.

These performances brought to the stage the familiar “street vendor world” of Hanoi, including the evocative nighttime calls of food sellers – one of the city’s most recognizable cultural sounds.

Together, the performances created a deeply atmospheric cultural space that reflected the entire festival’s spirit.

As the first edition, the Thang Long–Hanoi Festival 2025 sparked public creativity, encouraged residents to become cultural contributors, connected thousand-year heritage with contemporary life and opened a new creative chapter for the capital.

Under the theme “Heritage – Connection – Era,” the festival presented a vivid portrait of Hanoi’s cultural legacy to residents and visitors alike. From November 1 to 16, the event attracted nearly 200,000 in-person attendees, almost one million social media engagements, and 40,000 digital views.

The Hanoi Tourism Ao Dai Festival at the Hanoi Museum drew 25,000 visitors, while activities at the Temple of Literature–Quoc Tu Giam welcomed 75,000.

For the first time, a 360-degree stage was set up at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel during the November 7 opening ceremony, featuring 1,000 performers and becoming a technological highlight of the festival.

More than 30 artistic performances, exhibitions, creative programs, workshops and displays took place at iconic venues, including the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hanoi Museum, Temple of Literature, Ngoc Son Temple and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square.

Many programs blended tradition with modernity, such as the Ao Dai Festival, heritage conservation seminars and craft workshops.

For the first time, solo puppetry appeared on a major cultural stage, with continuous performances highlighting the richness of this unique art form.

The open space at Ho Van, within the Temple of Literature complex, transformed into a “creative village” featuring artisans from traditional craft villages and Hanoi’s culinary experts.

Hanoi wards and communes contributed 15 signature performances, creating a “creative playground” where heritage met contemporary life. Eight Vietnamese tug-of-war communities and the Gijisi Tug-of-War Association from South Korea, along with 19 puppetry troupes totaling nearly 800 artists, participated in the largest puppetry festival ever held in Hanoi.

Hanoi wards and communes were also active, contributing 15 signature performances to build a “creative playground” where heritage meets contemporary life.

The event gathered eight Vietnamese tug-of-war communities along with the Gijisi Tug-of-War Association from Dangjin, South Korea and 19 puppetry troupes with nearly 800 artists, creating the largest puppetry festival ever held in Hanoi.

International programs added strong highlights, including the art show Eternal Moment with Swiss composer Dominique Barthassat and the “Heritage Convergence” program at the Temple of Literature connecting the cultural legacies of Thang Long, Hue, Hoa Lu and the Central Highlands.

The festival is a major cultural and artistic platform, linking heritage with contemporary creativity, promoting the image of the thousand-year-old capital and strengthening Hanoi’s status as a UNESCO Creative City.

The event is expected to awaken heritage, immerse it in modern life and create new cultural and economic values for the city. With the theme “Heritage – Connection – Era”, the festival opened a journey linking the past, present and future, guiding audiences through distinct cultural stories from ancient Thang Long to Hanoi’s modern aspirations.

In 2026, the festival will return with the theme “The Essence of Hanoi,” expressing the ambition to make Hanoi a hub where Vietnamese heritage converges, interacts and enriches global cultural identity.

Affirming the capital’s cultural identity

During the festival, Ho Van (Van Lake), located within the Temple of Literature relic, drew thousands of residents and visitors in a festive and warm atmosphere.

Culinary stalls showcased the refined flavors of Hanoi, recreating an image of the elegant and traditional old capital. Visitors enjoyed classic dishes and engaged in cultural spaces.

At the Hanoi Museum, visitors explored the special exhibition “Archaeological Discoveries from Vuon Chuoi”, a journey back to the roots of ancient Thang Long.

The Vuon Chuoi site revealed traces of ancient Vietnamese settlements that developed continuously through the Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, Go Mun and Dong Son periods, reflecting the depth and continuity of Vietnamese culture.

“The Thang Long–Hanoi Festival 2025 represents our pride in the thousand-year heritage of Thang Long–Hanoi,” said Bach Lien Huong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports.

“Through the festival, we want to affirm that heritage is more than a legacy to admire. It is a resource for tourism, creative industries and building the cultural brand of the capital.”

Huong said the festival pursued two goals: honoring heritage and transforming it into creative energy, which required balancing modern expression with the depth of Hanoi’s thousand-year legacy.

“The festival must make people feel that it belongs to them. Young people must be able to connect with the heritage and culture of their ancestors,” she said. “We want heritage to be told in a language young people understand.”

Huong added that the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and the Hanoi Department of Education and Training will introduce heritage education programs in schools through extracurricular activities, heritage contests and experiential learning at monuments and museums.

Artists, teachers and students will join to produce learning content inspired by heritage through performing arts, short films and digital applications, the director said.

“This is how heritage becomes a natural part of students’ lives, familiar and creatively inspiring,” she said.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Society, Hanoi has shown leadership by turning commitments into action and using heritage as a new engine for development.

“The Thang Long–Hanoi Festival 2025, the biggest cultural event of the capital this year, proves Hanoi’s strategic vision as a UNESCO Creative City, placing culture at the center of sustainable development,” he said.

Son added that every festival, art space, exhibition, song and ao dai performance affirms that “Hanoi is not a city of memories alone, but a city of the future.”

“In that future, culture – as President Ho Chi Minh said – ‘lights the path for the nation’ and guides the development of the capital and of Vietnam.”