Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025 opens honoring city's heritage
The festival promises to delight both locals and visitors who come to Hanoi at the year’s end with a feast of culture, heritage and creativity.
THE HANOI TIMES — The Thang Long - Hanoi Festival 2025 officially opened on the evening of November 7 at the UNESCO-recognized Thang Long Imperial Citadel, marking the debut of a new cultural highlight for the capital.
Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Thu Ha makes a speech at the opening ceremony of the Thang Long- Hanoi Festival. Photo: Hoang Minh/ The Hanoi Times
Organized by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, this is a large-scale cultural event honoring the city’s rich traditions while embracing modern innovation.
In her opening remarks, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Thu Ha said that Hanoi, a city with a thousand-year-old heritage, has long been a cradle of civilization and creativity. “With a profound cultural legacy, Hanoi continues to nurture artistic innovation, generating distinctive cultural products and services that reflect the spirit of a creative capital,” she said.
She noted that “the first Thang Long–Hanoi Festival 2025 is a major cultural and artistic event that offers an open, interactive space where traditional values blend with the digital age and where folk artisans meet young creators to renew and enrich Vietnam’s cultural identity in an era of integration.”
The vivid cheo singing performance by artist Thu Huyen.
The vice chairwoman expressed hope that the festival would mark a turning point where heritage comes alive and blends with modern life, creating new cultural and economic values for the capital.
Beyond a celebration of culture, the event reaffirms Hanoi’s role as a UNESCO Creative City, where thousand-year-old traditions shine anew through technology and visionary development.
The opening ceremony unfolded in three chapters, with the first, titled "Heritage", taking the audience on a journey through Thang Long–Hanoi’s storied past, where Xam melodies and the beat of military drums evoked the spirit of the ancient capital.
The second, "Connecting Heritage" offered a lively dialogue among cultures, linking Hanoi’s traditions with those from across Vietnam and the world and enabling the audience to enjoy Cheo, Xam and Ca Tru performances reimagined in modern folk styles.
The wonderful night of light, songs and dances.
In the final chapter, "The Era", local artists celebrated modern creativity inspired by tradition, reflecting Hanoi’s innovative spirit and its commitment to keeping Vietnamese cultural values alive and evolving through time.
A highlight of the evening was the re-enactment of traditional festivals, showcasing the diversity of local identities through vibrant performances such as the playful Con Di Danh Bong dance with men in women’s costumes performing with drums, Cheo singing on boats, recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the Giao Long or “Kill the River Monster” dance, among others.
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The first "Thang Long – Hanoi Festival 2025" takes place from November 1 to 16, featuring over 30 outstanding cultural, artistic and tourism events. Thousands of domestic and international artists and artisans gather to celebrate Hanoi’s living heritage. Highlights include street folk performances, heritage exhibitions, the elegant Hanoi Ao Dai Tourism Festival, handicraft showcases, interactive talks and creative business networking activities. Festival events are held across iconic cultural venues such as the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hoan Kiem Lake, the Temple of Literature and the Hanoi Museum. Together, these activities honor, preserve and promote Hanoi’s cultural values while fostering creativity and the growth of the creative industries, reaffirming the capital’s timeless charm as a city where heritage connects generations and inspires the future. |
