Various activities promote heritage values of Dong Ho folk painting

The certificate presentation ceremony will be broadcast live on VTV1. Alongside the presentation, a special art programme entitled “Heritage quintessence — A millennium of brilliance” will also be staged, featuring a drone performance and celebratory fireworks display.

UNESCO’s inscription of the craft on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding highlights the urgent need to preserve its traditional techniques while restructuring the development model of craft villages in the context of a market economy and deeper international integration. On that basis, the locality will gradually build a brand for craft village products grounded in tradition while applying digital technology to promote the heritage.

Within the framework of the event, a series of activities will also take place, including the certificate presentation ceremony, the announcement of the Yen Tu–Vinh Nghiem–Con Son–Kiep Bac complex of monuments and landscapes as a World Cultural Heritage site, and the opening of the “Returning to the Heritage Region — 2026” Festival.

This year’s festival will feature a wide range of distinctive cultural activities, with performances showcasing several elements of intangible cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO as a key highlight. The event is scheduled to open at the outdoor stage of the Bac Ninh Provincial Culture and Exhibition Centre at 8 a.m. on March 28, with the participation of art troupes from provinces and cities across the country. Each heritage performance will last between 30 and 45 minutes.

In addition, an exhibition space titled “Journey Through the Colours of Intangible Cultural Heritage” will be open to the public at the Bac Ninh Provincial Culture and Exhibition Centre from March 27 to 31.

A series of pilgrimage activities to the ancestral site of Vinh Nghiem will also take place at the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda complex, featuring traditional rituals such as incense offerings in commemoration of the Truc Lam Patriarchs, prayers for national peace and prosperity, and Buddha and patriarch processions.

Notably, the Vietnamese Folk Painting Exhibition and Dong Ho Painting Tribute will be held at the Dong Ho Folk Painting Conservation Centre in Thuan Thanh Ward, Bac Ninh from March 26 to 30.

In addition, a variety of tourism, sports, culinary, and entertainment activities will be organised. Visitors will also have the opportunity to watch and take part in traditional folk games along pedestrian streets in Bac Giang Ward and Kinh Bac Ward from March 27 to 29.