Xoan singing – the miraculous revival

Xoan singing, a traditional ritual art form, is believed to date back to the time of the Hung kings (2890 BC to 250 BC) in the ancestral land of Phu Tho.

Xoan singing in front of the communal house
Xoan singing in front of the communal house

In 2011, Xoan singing was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. After many years of restoration, preservation and development, the folk singing has seen a miraculous revival, and has been honoured by the UN body through its addition to the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017.

The senior practitioners are teaching young people.

The paths to villages that are famous for this traditional art form.

Performances of Xoan singing at a festival in the communal house’s yard

Xoan singing with the community

The young inheritors of the folk art form in the ancestral land