Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival echoes the soul of the nation

Possessing two inter-provincial world heritage sites and two intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO is a rare advantage of Hai Phong. Photo by THANH CHUNG

This is the first festival after Con Son and Kiep Bac were recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage. Through this festival, the heritage is spread more widely and everyone sees their responsibility there.

A colorful cultural picture

Hai Phong City today converges the richest cultural picture in the country. This land has both the pristine Cat Ba island, where the lifestyle of fishermen is preserved, and the sacred space of Con Son - Kiep Bac associated with the national hero Tran Hung Dao and the ideology of Truc Lam Zen sect.

On the fertile plains are hundreds of traditional festivals, from Cao Temple Festival, Nham Duong Pagoda Festival, Kinh Chu Cave Festival to folk activities associated with craft villages and cuisine . Sea culture blends with Red River culture, urban port culture meets Northern village culture, creating a multi-layered, multi-colored identity.

According to the Permanent Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Hai Binh: “Hai Phong has a cultural connection that greatly supports the economic and cultural development of the locality, which is an important basis for developing Hai Phong culture that is both advanced, humane and imbued with identity. Culture creates an endogenous source of strength to help Hai Phong better promote the value of its heritage.”

Possessing two inter-provincial world heritages and two intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO is a rare advantage. This not only enhances Hai Phong’s position on the international cultural map but also creates great attraction for domestic and foreign tourists. These heritages, when exploited properly, can become a “brand” to promote the image of a modern port city while still preserving its traditional roots.

On the other hand, the rich system of relics spread across communes and wards is a favorable condition for connecting cultural tourism routes and destinations, forming diverse experiential products, from spiritual pilgrimage, historical exploration, to traditional craft village tourism. This is also the basis for developing community tourism, linking heritage with people's lives, making historical values a driving force for socio-economic development.

Connect to enhance heritage

From the above advantages, the promotion of Hai Phong heritage values needs to aim at the parallel goals of sustainable conservation and highly effective exploitation. However, in order for these heritages to be effectively promoted, there needs to be more connection between the heritages. That is the connection between the internal heritages in the heritage complex, world landscapes and the combination of natural heritages with spiritual heritages. Besides, there is also the connection between tangible heritages and intangible heritages.

In the 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival, many folk cultural arts will be performed at the festival such as hat van, folk performances, ca tru singing, hat xam singing... According to information from comrade Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, "The stage at the autumn festival has many art programs, especially traditional arts and intangible cultural heritages performed to serve the people and tourists from all over the world".

Also at this year's Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism combined the introduction of 3 tours with itineraries so that visitors have the opportunity to learn about the heritage and experience the cultural features associated with the heritage. This not only spreads the value of the heritage but also helps create more tourism products. This is considered one of the effective solutions to promote and advertise the value of the heritage.

Accordingly, the Festival Organizing Committee has built 3 tours including: "A journey to 5 world heritage destinations" tour expected to last 2 days; "Following the footsteps of the Three Patriarchs of Truc Lam" tour, a 1-day journey and "Discovering the world heritage of Con Son, Kiep Bac" tour with a 2-day experience... In these tours, visitors not only participate as pilgrims to the land of Buddha but also experience the daily activities of the local people.

In addition to placing the heritage as a unique destination of Hai Phong, in order for tourists to fully understand the global value of this relic, it is necessary to place the relics in the flow of the entire complex of relics and scenic spots of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac.

“From the time of developing the dossier until being honored, Hai Phong regularly coordinated with Quang Ninh and Bac Ninh provinces in activities. After being honored, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism also coordinated with the two provinces' counterparts to advise the People's Committees of the three provinces and cities to unify the development of unified regulations on planning, coordination regulations, and communication plans to best promote the value of the heritage complex,” said Mr. Vu Dinh Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

For heritage to truly come alive, it is indispensable to have the hands and hearts of the community, those who directly preserve and pass it on. Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong, a resident of Nhi Chieu ward, confided: “Preserving heritage is not a big deal, but starts with small things: keeping the environment around temples and pagodas clean, welcoming visitors with a smile. Each person does one thing, the heritage will last forever.”

Connecting heritage, therefore, is not only the task of the government or businesses, but also the common responsibility of the whole society. When the community participates, heritage does not only live in the past, but continues to shine in the present and the future. Conservation needs to go hand in hand with research, restoration, and embellishment to preserve the original value of heritage. While exploiting, it is necessary to be creative, bringing heritage into modern life through festivals, performances, exhibitions, souvenir products, digital tourism experiences, etc. When doing well in both of these stages, Hai Phong can "transform" its rich heritage system into a "cultural gold mine", contributing to spreading identity and promoting sustainable economic and tourism development.

Con Son Pagoda, also known as Thien Tu Phuc Tu, is an important Buddhist center of the Truc Lam Zen sect of Dai Viet. The relic site also has many other important relics such as Nguyen Trai Temple, Tran Nguyen Dan Temple, and Thanh Hu Dong.

Kiep Bac Temple is a historical relic worshiping Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, associated with the resistance base against the Yuan-Mongol army in the 13th century. The temple was built in the early 14th century on a plot of land in Kiep Bac valley.

In addition to Con Son Pagoda and Kiep Bac Temple, Hai Phong also has Thanh Mai Pagoda, Nham Duong Pagoda and Kinh Chu Cave located in the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son - Kiep Bac relic and scenic complex recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage.

The 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival takes place from October 1 to 12 at Con Son Pagoda and Kiep Bac Temple in Tran Hung Dao Ward. At the festival, traditional rituals take place, such as: sacrificial ceremony, procession, seal opening ceremony, peace praying ceremony, flower lantern festival, memorial ceremony, military gathering on Luc Dau River... In addition, the festival has many lively activities such as Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week, exhibition "Con Son, Kiep Bac - World Cultural Heritage Journey", performance of the Saint...

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Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/le-hoi-mua-thu-con-son-kiep-bac-vang-vong-hon-dan-toc-522955.html