Urgent preparations for 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival
This will be the first festival to be held since the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac relic and landscape complex was recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage site.
Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong City People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Hung presided over a meeting on August 14 to review preparations for the 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival.
According to a report of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, festival activities will take place at Kiep Bac and Con Son relics from October 1 to 11.
The main day of the festival, October 7, will feature a series of events, including a ceremony commemorating the 725th death anniversary of National Hero Tran Hung Dao; the festival opening ceremony and announcement of UNESCO’s inscription of Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac complex as a world heritage site; a ceremony commemorating the 583rd death anniversary of National Hero and World Cultural Celebrity Nguyen Trai; etc.
The commemoration and festival opening ceremonies will be elevated in scale with a spectacular art program, combining real-scene performances and modern mapping technology, staged on an expanded platform stretching from Kiep Bac temple’s main gate to the Luc Dau river.
Along the sacred pathway, landscape clusters and spaces introducing Hai Phong’s signature traditional craft village products will be set up.
The festival’s vibrant activities will include the “Army Gathering on the Luc Dau River” performance, the Holy Mediumship Festival, a requiem - lantern festival, water puppet shows, and a thematic exhibition titled “Con Son, Kiep Bac, Thanh Mai, Kinh Chu, Nham Duong – the World Heritage Journey.”
A new highlight will be the launch of three tourism tours: “One Destination – Five Heritage Sites,” “In the Footsteps of the Three Patriarchs of Truc Lam Zen,” and “Con Son - Kiep Bac Heritage Journey.” These will explore five relic sites in the Hai Phong portion of the complex: Con Son pagoda, Kiep Bac temple, Thanh Mai pagoda, Kinh Chu cave, and Nham Duong pagoda.
Notably, the Culture – Tourism – Trade Promotion Week will be held from October 7 to 11, featuring 10 signature craft villages, OCOP products, culinary specialties, and hands-on experiences of traditional crafts.
The organizers will set up eight artistic landscape installations and a nightly performance stage. Communication, decoration, and landscape improvement are being emphasized to expand the festival space and leave a strong impression on visitors.
After hearing the progress report and opinions from related departments, sectors, units, and businesses, Vice Chairman Nguyen Minh Hung stressed that this is the first festival after UNESCO’s recognition of the Yen Tu - Vinh Nghiem - Con Son, Kiep Bac complex as a world cultural heritage site. This requires not only heritage preservation but also promotion of its value to drive cultural and tourism development and create new tourism products.
To boost tourism promotion, the Vice Chairman requested that, in addition to the five Centrally-governed cities, Hai Phong plans to invite twinned provinces and cities, embassies, and major international travel agencies, especially from potential markets with large numbers of visitors to Vietnam.
Alongside announcing the new tourism products, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will also compile a list of accommodation facilities, restaurants, eateries, and attractions for introduction to visitors.
HAI HAU - HOANG PHUOC