When the festival is more than just a memory

Traditional festivals are increasingly asserting their role as an important resource, not only preserving and maintaining community memories but also opening up effective exploitation directions for cultural and spiritual tourism.

Ceremony in Long Tong Festival.

Among the festivals of the province, the Long Tong Festival of the Tay and Nung people in ATK Dinh Hoa is one of the unique cultural features. The festival usually takes place on the 9th and 10th of January every year, the time when heaven and earth are in harmony, when people have just gone through a year of hard farming and are preparing to enter the new crop season.

Not only does the festival bring a unique experience of the Tay - Nung culture, it also becomes an opportunity for tourists to explore the ATK region - a revolutionary land, where many historical values ​​of the nation are preserved. Long Tong is therefore not only a memory of the community but has become a "tourist festival", an attractive cultural destination every spring.

Along with the Long Tong Festival, the Cau Muoi Temple - Pagoda - Temple Festival is also a clear demonstration of the appeal of traditional festivals to visitors from all over. Opening on the 4th of January and lasting throughout the month, the Festival attracts thousands of people to come to worship, pray for peace and participate in spiritual rituals at the beginning of the year.

One of the unique features of the festival is the custom of buying bags of rice and salt to offer and then bring them home. Salt grains symbolize luck, rice grains symbolize abundance; bringing the first fortune of the year home is the belief in a peaceful and favorable year.

It is the combination of folk beliefs and spiritual experiences that has helped Cau Muoi become one of the festivals that many tourists visit every early spring.

According to statistics, the whole province currently has over 300 large and small festivals, taking place at many times of the year, spread across localities. Each festival has its own color, reflecting the cultural and religious life of the people, while creating opportunities for tourists to understand more deeply about local history and culture.

Among them, many big festivals such as Van Mountain - Vo Mountain Festival, Duom Temple Festival, Hang Pagoda Festival, Dinh Hoa Long Tong Festival, Ban Pjoo Long Tong Festival, Ba Be Long Tong Festival, Mu La Festival... have been and are making an important contribution to building the Thai Nguyen tourism brand.

The strong attraction of traditional festivals in recent years is creating an important driving force for the development of cultural and spiritual tourism in the province. The number of tourists increases steadily through each festival season, leading to the development of accommodation, food, transportation, gift products, etc.

Rice planting competition in Long Tong Festival.

Many localities that previously only organized festivals within the community have now been more proactive in planning space, upgrading infrastructure, and focusing on safety and civilization factors to better serve tourists.

Not only does the festival have spiritual value, it also brings about clear economic benefits. Households providing services around the festival area have more income; local specialties such as tea, traditional cakes, and local agricultural products are consumed more strongly. Many places have formed a model of linking festivals with community tourism, creating jobs for local people and contributing to retaining tourists.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202512/khi-le-hoi-khong-chi-la-ky-uc-bfc622c/