Go to the design festival at Dong Xuan Market and the sandbar in the middle of the Red River.

According to plans by the organizing committee, which includes the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and Architecture magazine, Dong Xuan Market and the sandbar in the middle of the Red River will become the center of the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026.

Dong Xuan Market will be a central space for the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 - Photo: NGUYEN HIEU

The organizers have just announced The framework for the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 shows the organizers' direction to shift the 2026 festival from simply organizing a festival to building an urban creative ecosystem.

Dong Xuan Market: From a traditional market to a market of the creative economy .

According to the organizers, the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 aims to become an urban creative institution, a place for gathering, testing, and disseminating new ideas, contributing to improving the quality of life for the capital's residents; shifting from organizing a festival to building an urban creative ecosystem.

Accordingly, the Dong Xuan - Bac Qua market area and the Dong Xuan Cultural and Industrial Center are being planned. It is the central area of ​​the festival.

Creators and designers will arrange and integrate heritage with creativity, piloting a model of a commercial and cultural development zone, connecting artisans, designers, and small business owners to form a heritage-creativity-commerce experience route…

Dong Xuan Market will transform from a traditional market into a market of the new era of creative economy.

Recently in Hanoi, the Dong Xuan Market area has also been used to host many cultural activities. For example, in 2025, the Hoan Kiem Ward People's Committee held its Mid-Autumn Festival there.

In addition, the Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2026 will also feature Hanoi's Old Quarter with its 36 traditional streets. There will be experiential spaces for exhibitions, demonstrations, and interactions that connect the life of the craft streets with Hanoi's system of elite craft villages.

The Future Space area, comprising a network of parks across Hanoi, will include creative educational activities and a beneficial playground for students of all levels to participate in.

Ecological Space The sandbars in the Red River will be used to test unique ideas, prioritizing landscape art, using local materials, circular design, and seasonal experiences; and researching a waterway experience route on the Red River…

Sustainable opportunities for designers, artists, and the community.

Held annually since 2021, the Hanoi Creative Design Festival, according to the organizers, not only revives forgotten heritage and transforms creative spaces but also connects young people and the community.

More importantly, it has brought together resources, harnessed potential, and promoted innovative economic development policies in the capital.

Jonathan Wallace Baker, Head of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam, affirmed that the shift from a festival to building a creative ecosystem will create sustainable opportunities for designers, artists, creative businesses, students, and the community.

UNESCO wholeheartedly supports Hanoi's creative journey and is delighted to accompany the city on its path to becoming a space of imagination, connection, and innovation.

BIRD OF HEAVEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/di-le-hoi-thiet-design-o-cho-dong-xuan-va-bai-giua-song-hong-20251211140701967.htm