Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee, Tran Song Tung, said: “Ninh Binh Tourism Week 2023 has the theme “Golden Colors of Tam Coc - Trang An” with many cultural and artistic activities and unique tourism products. With many unique and impressive cultural and tourism activities, featuring distinctive characteristics; through the special art program at the opening ceremony, admiring the artistic rice fields, experiencing the pedestrian street; showcasing and displaying traditional handicrafts and OCOP products from various provinces and cities; a Tam Coc Golden Season photo tour; a program to survey and introduce Ninh Binh tourism products, an art photography exhibition; displaying and introducing cultural traces of the Tran Dynasty in the Trang An Heritage site through archaeological excavations; along with several art programs, water puppet shows, Cheo singing, Xam singing, folk songs from the three regions of Vietnam… a vibrant cultural space that will surely please visitors.”

The painting "Carp Gazing at the Moon" as seen from above.

The 2023 Tourism Week is scheduled to run until June 4th, 2023, at the Tam Coc - Bich Dong Tourist Area, Trang An Ecological Tourist Area, and several other tourist areas and attractions. The opening ceremony, held on a vibrant, real-life stage set up in a rice field in the area of ​​Cave 2 on the Tam Coc tourist route, is the highlight of the event.

The "Golden Tam Coc Trang An Tourism Week" is an annual event held since 2018, coinciding with the time when the rice fields turn golden along the Ngo Dong River. The program aims to promote and showcase the unique, attractive, and outstanding tourism resources of Ninh Binh, especially the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site. The focus is on activities taking place in the Tam Coc - Bich Dong area, along both sides of the Ngo Dong River, on the tourist route: Dinh Cac - Hang Ca - Hang Hai - Hang Ba, to a wide audience of domestic and international tourists. This contributes to stimulating tourism during the off-season, increasing visitor numbers and revenue, and striving to make tourism a key economic sector of Ninh Binh province by 2030. This event will further promote tourism recovery and development after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, it affirms Ninh Binh's brand and position as a safe, friendly, high-quality, and attractive tourist destination.

Artistic performances at the Opening Ceremony.

This year's Tam Coc rice paddies have created a picturesque scene of "Carp Gazing at the Moon," also known as the painting of carp playing in the moonlight, spanning over 9,500 square meters of dreamy rice fields. The "Carp Gazing at the Moon" painting symbolizes aspiration, effort, and unwavering determination to overcome all difficulties and achieve success. In particular, the image of the carp is also a symbol of good fortune and auspiciousness.

Through the idea of ​​depicting rice paddies in a painting, the local people pray for a year of national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, and a bountiful harvest. Another very important message conveyed through this painting is the desire for farmers to work together with the government to preserve the cultural and natural values ​​of the heritage site in order to develop community tourism. This is also an important foundation for Ninh Binh's sustainable tourism development.

Text and photos: THANH MAI