Vietnamese stars and 1,000 festival-goers plant seeds of hope at Van Long wetland nature reserve

Following the success of its inaugural edition in 2025 at Cuc Phuong Forest, the Trang An–Ninh Binh Forestival Music and Creativity Festival has officially returned. This year’s event carries the theme “Chien Binh Binh Minh" (Warriors of the Dawn), inspired by the millennia-old archaeological heritage of the ancient Trang An people. Beyond its immersive multi-sensory music experience, Forestival 2026 continues to demonstrate its commitment to the community through a native forest restoration initiative aimed at preserving biodiversity and restoring natural habitats.

This year’s green journey brought together the first 1,000 ticket holders and a host of artists, including Ha Anh Tuan, Bui Cong Nam, Phung Khanh Linh, Nguyen Hung, DJ 2Pillz, and actress Lam Thanh Nha, to plant seeds of hope at the Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve in Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province. The activity was supported by the Ninh Binh Department of Tourism and the Ninh Binh Special-Use and Protection Forest Management Board.

Unlike the 2025 initiative, which primarily focused on increasing forest cover, this year’s tree-planting programme directly supports habitat conservation for the Delacour’s langur, one of the world’s rarest primate species. Festival-goers and artists planted more than 1,000 native tree species, including Va nuoc and fig trees, which provide a vital food source for the langurs during winter while also helping to create a thriving habitat for wetland flora and fauna.

Amid the vast landscape of the Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve, the tree-planting event under Forestival 2026 dissolved the usual barriers between artists and the public. Everyone rolled up their sleeves, donned boots, and waded through the mud to plant each sapling by hand in the wetland soil.

The Van Long tree-planting initiative is part of the Viet Nam Forests social project, launched by Viet Vision in 2019. Funding for the programme is drawn from singer Ha Anh Tuan’s artistic activities and is implemented in close collaboration with government agencies and businesses to raise public awareness and maximise positive environmental impact.

To date, the project has planted and nurtured more than 34,800 healthy trees under the supervision of local authorities and communities. Its green footprint spans numerous provinces and cities, including 1,500 trees in Lam Dong, 305 trees in Da Nang, 26,000 cypress trees in Ha Giang, 5,000 Hopea odorata trees in Binh Thuan, and 2.7 hectares of forest restored in Cuc Phuong. The latest initiative in the Van Long wetland area in 2026 stands as a powerful affirmation of the project’s long-term commitment to a greener and more sustainable future.