Impressive marks of successful festival season

Scale and depth

On the afternoon of October 19, crowds continued to flock to the Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival. Visiting booths on the final day of the festival’s Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week, Luong Van Toan from Yen So ward, Ha Noi, said that no previous festival at Con Son – Kiep Bac had been as extensive in space, duration, and depth as this year’s.

This sentiment was shared by many locals and visitors throughout the 2025 Autumn Festival.

This year’s festival took place from October 1 to 19, lasting eight days longer than previous editions.

Many visitors said coming to the festival was a way of reconnecting with their roots, expressing patriotism, national pride, and gratitude to the heroes who defended the country.

Here, tourists also enjoyed various folk and cultural activities infused with modern elements such as traditional water puppet performances, Vietnamese costume experiences, lotus tea tasting, and traditional cake making.

According to Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Director of the Hai Phong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this year’s festival program was meticulously prepared. Both the ceremonial and festive parts were expanded in scale and standardized in rituals to match the stature of a world cultural heritage site, while maintaining solemnity and tradition.

The new features of this year’s festival opened a rich cultural and spiritual space where past and present intersect, tradition and modernity coexist. This marks a significant transformation, helping the Con Son – Kiep Bac Festival not only preserve its historical values but also become a cultural product of international stature.

Good impression on visitors

As the first major festival since the merger of Hai Phong and Hai Duong, with Con Son – Kiep Bac relic site recognized as a world cultural heritage site, the 2025 Autumn Festival attracted large numbers of domestic and international tourists, leaving a lasting impression on visitors.

According to the Con Son – Kiep Bac Relic Management Board, from September 22 to October 18, about 365,000 visitors came to the site, up 155% from the 2024 festival (which was affected by Typhoon Yagi) and 12% from the 2023 edition, a record increase to date.

This success was the result of careful and thorough preparation. The festival’s organizing committee closely supervised all direction and implementation tasks.

Thanks to the dedicated direction of city leaders and the active, flexible, and effective coordination among departments, agencies, the Hai Phong Newspaper, Radio and Television, craft village artisans, enterprises, and especially the enthusiastic support and participation of local people and visitors, the 2025 Con Son – Kiep Bac Autumn Festival concluded successfully with unique and impressive features that reflected the cultural identity of the heroic and culture-rich port city.

THU HUONG