Special features of Con Son - Kiep Bac culture and tourism week

Spreading impact from the week

Held for the first time at the 2023 Con Son - Kiep Bac Spring Festival, the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week with 18 booths and 180 products from localities inside and outside the former Hai Duong province quickly attracted visitors to the festival. Products introduced included cultural heritage, relics, festivals, cuisine, distinctive products, typical agricultural products, handicrafts of craft villages; products from member enterprises of the Tourism Association...

Building on that success, at the 2024 and 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Spring Festivals, the scale of the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week was expanded with more than 40 booths. In addition, visitors enjoyed many forms of traditional art such as ca tru (ceremonial singing), hat cheo (traditional operetta), and folk games; watched fashion shows; sampled cuisine... Visitors could also have hands-on experiences such as making ceramics, carving printing blocks, and playing the folk game of pot breaking.

“Although I came to the festival for pilgrimage, I was very impressed with the side activities and was able to choose many gifts that are distinctive local products,” Pham Thi Thu Nguyet, a visitor from Hung Yen, shared her impression.

Nguyen Quoc Tuan, owner of Tuan Ruoi Tu Ky Restaurant in Hai Duong ward, said that by participating in the week, the restaurant wanted to bring the highest quality products. This was not only about product promotion but also about bringing the local culinary culture closer to visitors.

New features, larger scale

As planned, the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week will be held on a larger scale at the 2025 Con Son - Kiep Bac Autumn Festival. Accordingly, each product group will be expanded and connected with performance spaces, where artisans will demonstrate lotus tea brewing; linked with check-in points and product display and sales spaces at booths grouped by OCOP and typical agricultural products of the city; craft village spaces (displaying products and demonstrating production processes for visitors to experience); and spaces introducing the city’s tourism products and services (publications, books, beautiful travel photos, tours, accommodation facilities, restaurants...).

Nguyen Hoang Long, Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said that eight traditional craft villages had agreed to participate in the week and would send artisans to demonstrate and showcase their production. The department has also coordinated with contractors to produce introductory clips of craft villages with English subtitles.

According to Pham Thi Dao, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the culture week will have five booths covering 400 m2 to display the city’s typical agricultural products; 30 typical individuals and units will participate with 200 types of products, including fresh agricultural produce, products made from rice, vegetables, and meat, and beverages.

With its ever-expanding scale, the Culture, Tourism and Trade Promotion Week at the Con Son - Kiep Bac Festival not only helps elevate the traditional festival but also creates momentum for the development of the city’s tourism and trade. The week brings cultural products closer to visitors while making the festival more impressive and colorful.

THANH HOA