Preserving the beauty of traditional national culture

Xoe dance performance has become a highlight at programs and festivals of the Thai ethnic group.

The province currently has 18 intangible cultural heritages, notably the Thai Xoe Art recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Along with that are the Kin Pang Then Festival, Hair Washing Festival, Xip Xi Festival of the White Thai ethnic group; Xe Pang A Festival of the Khang ethnic group; Lang Pang A Festival, Xen Pang A of the La Ha ethnic group... which not only have profound spiritual significance but are also invaluable assets of the ethnic communities.

Mr. Pham Hong Thu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: Identifying culture as the spiritual foundation of society and the driving force for sustainable development, the Department has advised the province to direct the implementation of many activities to preserve and promote the fine cultures of ethnic groups, organize annual traditional festivals; encourage the establishment of folk art clubs; integrate cultural preservation with community tourism development; digitize ethnic cultural data...

A practice session of the Laotian elderly art troupe, Chieng La commune.

In addition, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism focuses on training and capacity building for cultural staff, artisans, and mass art cores. From 2024 to present, the Department has coordinated to organize 7 training courses on cultural heritage; 10 training courses on cultural preservation for nearly 900 students, contributing to improving the capacity to disseminate, preserve and promote the cultural values of ethnic groups.

Up to now, the whole province has more than 3,000 mass art troupes operating regularly, covering 100% of villages, hamlets, sub-areas, and residential groups, contributing to preserving and spreading the national cultural identity, with the core force being the young generation. Ms. Lo Thi Quynh, Secretary of the Youth Union of Song Ma commune, said: The commune's Youth Union currently has more than 2,000 members, 82% of whom are ethnic minorities. Every year, the Youth Union launches the movement "Youth preserves national cultural identity" associated with new rural construction. Since the beginning of the year, it has coordinated to organize 7 exchange activities, performing ethnic culture; directing the Youth Union branches to integrate the experience activity "Preserving and promoting the beauty of traditional Thai culture" into monthly activities.

Teaching panpipes and flutes to union members and youth of Song Ma commune.

Currently, the province has 2 People’s Artists and 33 Meritorious Artists who have been awarded titles for their contributions to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Many folk artists are still diligently teaching traditional values to the younger generation. They are “living treasures” that play an important role in preserving and spreading cultural identity.

A typical example is People's Artist Dieu Van Minh, 73 years old, Hamlet 5, Quynh Nhai Commune, who has spent more than 40 years collecting, researching, translating and preserving the art of Then singing of the White Thai people. Mr. Minh shared: Then singing is the soul, the history, the morality of the nation. Each Then verse contains a philosophy of life, educating people to be good, to love and respect their ancestors. I always tell myself to try to pass it on to the next generation to preserve those good values.

Along with preserving heritages, Son La is promoting the development of community tourism associated with exploiting indigenous culture. Many homestay models have been built in Hua Tat village, Van Ho commune; Luot village, Ngoc Chien commune; Ang village, Moc Son ward... bringing new livelihoods to local people. In the first 6 months of 2025, Son La welcomed nearly 3,000 tourists, with revenue reaching nearly 3.5 billion VND, of which cultural - community tourism accounts for an increasingly large proportion.

Youth Union members of Song Ma commune learn to embroider Pieu scarves.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, a tourist from Hong Ha ward, Hanoi city, shared: I have been to many places, but I was very impressed with the campfire night at Ang village, Moc Son ward, everyone wore traditional costumes, danced xoe and enjoyed sticky rice, stream fish... This was a very interesting experience.

Preserving and promoting national cultural values has contributed to preserving traditional beauty, while opening up a sustainable direction for tourism, economic and educational development in the locality. When the community joins hands to cultivate, these values will spread widely, becoming an important foundation for building an advanced Son La culture, imbued with national identity.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/van-hoa-xa-hoi/giu-gin-net-dep-truyen-thong-van-hoa-dan-toc-Plc3UZlHR.html