Ha Long Lion and Dragon Dance Festival 2025: A playground to honor national cultural identity

NDO - From April 30 to May 2, at October 30 Square, Ha Long City (Quang Ninh Province), the second expanded Ha Long Lion and Dragon Dance Festival in 2025 will take place. The event will gather 10 Lion and Dragon Dance troupes from many provinces and cities in the country such as: Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Dong Thap... and especially with the participation of an international delegation from Dongxing City (China).

This is the second consecutive year that Ha Long City has organized the Lion Dance Festival on an expanded scale, demonstrating professionalism, attractiveness and affirming the position of a traditional cultural and sports festival. The event is a highlight of Quang Ninh Tourism Week 2025, at the same time concretizing the Project "Ha Long - Festival City".

More than 200 martial artists from 10 teams participated in the second Ha Long Open Lion Dance Festival in 2025.

During the 3-day festival, the Lion Dance troupes competed in 4 main categories: Lion Dance on Mai Hoa Thung for men and women, Lion Dance on Mai Hoa Thung for men and men, Lion Dance on Earth and Dragon Dance. Each category has its own unique identity, requiring skillful coordination, skillful techniques and high aesthetics.

According to martial artist Nguyen Tan Van - the tournament's referee supervisor, this year's tournament brings together strong teams from all over the country, who have achieved many high rankings in national and international tournaments. In particular, the Lion Dance event, considered the most difficult, still had 9/10 teams register to compete, clearly demonstrating the determination and outstanding professional level of the teams.

Thanh Linh Duong team ( Quang Ninh ) performs the dragon dance competition.

Inviting the Dong Hung delegation (China) to participate in the exchange not only raises the scale but also helps strengthen international cultural exchanges, expanding the influence of Vietnamese Lion Dance art to the world .

Among the participating teams, Thanh Linh Duong team (Quang Ninh) - representing the host team - performed excellently and won the overall runner-up position. Athlete Luong Ngoc Tan, one of the outstanding faces of the team, brought home 3 awards, including the first prize in the male and female Lion Dance category.

Sharing his feelings after the tournament, Ngoc Tan expressed his pride in representing the host team and winning the Gold medal: “Mai hoa thung is a difficult event, requiring performers to have good technical foundation, strong physical strength and a strong mentality. To achieve such results, my teammates and I have made constant efforts throughout the training process.”

Lion dance is one of the competitions at the Festival.

Not only is it a playground for those who are passionate about the art of Lion and Dragon Dance, the festival has also become a unique cultural tourism product, contributing to promoting the image of Ha Long - a friendly, hospitable and unique city. The event attracts a large number of people and tourists from home and abroad to admire and experience.

At the end of the tournament, Do Cong Tuong team (Dong Thap) excellently won the first prize with 2 gold medals in the categories of Lion Dance with Mai Hoa Thung Nam-Nam and Lion Dance with Dia Buu.

Second place went to the home team Thanh Linh Duong with 1 Gold and 1 Silver medal. Third place went to Tuong Nghia Duong team with 2 Bronze medals.

With its increasingly expanding scale, high professional quality and enthusiastic response from art troupes, the Ha Long Lion and Dragon Festival promises to continue to be an impressive cultural and tourist destination during each festival in Quang Ninh.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/lien-hoan-lan-su-rong-ha-long-mo-rong-2025-san-choi-ton-vinh-ban-sac-van-hoa-dan-toc-post876929.html